Definition of soft soaping:
(n) :
Any fluid or semifluid soap.
(n) :
Any jellyish soap made by cooking natural oils and fats with potassium hydroxide.
(v) :
Alternative form of soft-soap. [(informal, idiomatic, transitive) To attempt to persuade by flattery or pleasing words; to butter up.]
(n) :
Alternative form of soft-soap (“flattery, persuasion”). [Persuasion by means of flattery or pleasing words.]