"It is softening away on both sides".
The meat had kept its shape and its tender consistency, but softened away to nothing with a few chews, releasing a flavor like lamb but without the tang, like filet steak with less sweetness, like venison without gaminess.
"Sometimes it's a good idea to give them something to experience that is from the Mozart period but not necessarily the music right away, to soften the introduction".
Other times the anxiety would soften, but still grumble away.
And: "Good restoration should contain its opposite: going away, softening, decay.
Sometimes, to create an effect of light fading away, she would soften the ends of her lines by painting over them with a water-soaked brush, a method she called "whooshing".
Keratinolytic medications, such as alpha hydroxy acids, beta hydroxy acids, or urea, cause the skin to swell, soften, crumble, and then flake away; they may be used topically on calluses to facilitate debridement.
She is on a crusade to "soften" her party and strip away the old overtones of racist, antisemitic extremists while defending the core of her father's nationalism, and courting a new white-collar electorate fearful of crime, immigration, Muslims and losing their jobs.
I think to soften that language would take away from that stuff.
Use a Q-Tip to soften it and wipe it away, but don't attempt to pick at the area or mess with it too much.
