pour oil on troubled waters

US special envoy on climate change, John Kerry, went out of his way to pour oil on troubled waters when speaking at the IEA event.

I don’t want to pour oil on troubled waters, but it could be seen as slightly bullying and I just want to point it out in case his behaviour is exacerbating the situation.

In an attempt to pour oil on troubled waters, Professor Sue Bailey, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, conceded that "many of the criticisms that are levelled at DSM" were valid but warned that the row was "distracting us from the real challenge, which is providing high-quality mental health services and treatment to patients and carers".

This of course roused the English officers, and we had to pour oil on troubled waters.

Then when Tommy was old enough to accompany her sisters to "lessons" at the Vicarage, again Elizabeth had to pour oil on troubled waters, for the vicar, an old friend of her father's, who had undertaken the education of the three girls, and whose word had hitherto been taken as law, often became very irritable when Tommy would argue instead of accepting facts.