break the ice

Using shared interests to break the ice on social networking sites can help users overlook other differences at first.

Older kids might prefer to break the ice by reaching out with a text or via a social media app, Sweeney said.

Sacks said he hoped the event would “break the ice” on discussions around Trump and could create a “preference cascade, where all of a sudden it becomes acceptable to acknowledge the truth.”

An awkward silence was filled with the sounds of forks and knives clinking on plates, so Monty tried to break the ice.

Join a Jenga game to break the ice.