Soft Soap and Smarmy

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Soft Soap and Smarmy: Soft soap is a term for flattery, especially when it includes fake praise intended to persuade, or get a favor. Smarmy refers to the appearance of smugness or insincerity. A smarmy smile may bring to mind an insincere preacher such as the one Burt Lancaster portrayed in Elmer Gantry. Joel Osteen comes to my mind. George W. Bush has been advised by his handlers to try to avoid smirking, a characteristic gesture of smarminess.

Click on the title of this article for the Wikipedia definition of Soft Soap and use the link below for the Merriam-Webster definition of smarmy.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smarmy
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