Idiom
handle with kid gloves
Meaning
To treat (a person or a subject) very delicately or carefully, especially so as not to cause offense or controversy.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“You must handle the new intern with kid gloves today.”
“I handle my roommate with kid gloves when she is tired.”
“The boss is very sensitive about the budget cuts, so we need to handle him with kid gloves during the meeting.”
“The reporter had to handle the interview with kid gloves because the witness was still very shaken by the accident.”
“Because the political situation remains volatile, the diplomat must handle every negotiation with kid gloves to avoid causing an international incident.”
Examples
simple
“You must handle the new intern with kid gloves today.”
“I handle my roommate with kid gloves when she is tired.”
contextual
“The boss is very sensitive about the budget cuts, so we need to handle him with kid gloves during the meeting.”
“The reporter had to handle the interview with kid gloves because the witness was still very shaken by the accident.”
complex
“Because the political situation remains volatile, the diplomat must handle every negotiation with kid gloves to avoid causing an international incident.”
Origin
The idiom emerges from the mid-19th-century use of gloves made from the skin of a young goat, or kid. These kid gloves were noted for a texture so soft and pliable that a wearer might handle delicate objects without risking the abrasions or clumsiness associated with sturdier leather. To treat a matter with such gloves was to apply a degree of caution that bordered on the fastidious, ensuring that neither the object nor the social situation sustained a scratch.
Key words
Related idioms
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