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Phrase(s): smooth something out
1. Lit. to flatten or even something by smoothing or pressing. • Wally smoothed the bedspread out. • Wally finished making the bed by smoothing out the spread. 2. Fig. to polish and refine something. • The editor smoothed John’s style out. • You need to smooth out your delivery when you are speaking. 3. and smooth something over Fig. to reduce the intensity of an argument or a misunderstanding; to try to make people feel better about something disagreeable that has happened. (Fig. on Q.) • Mary and John had a terrible argument, and they are both trying to smooth it over. • Let’s get everyone together and try to smooth things out. We can’t keep on arguing with one another. • We can smooth over the whole affair.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs