to pour oil on troubled waters
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To soothe by gentle words; to bring about a state of calm after great anger or excitement, etc., by tact and diplomacy.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to pour oil on troubled waters” mean?
To soothe by gentle words; to bring about a state of calm after great anger or excitement, etc., by tact and diplomacy.
Is “to pour oil on troubled waters” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.