A dough or hammer is used to tenderize certain cuts of meat.
Soften is a verb that refers to the action of making something soft (flabby, flabby, lax or soft). For example: “To tenderize the meat, it is best to beat it with a dough or boil it for an hour,” “The new mattress is a little hard, but I know it will soften as the days go by,” “The recipe indicates that it is best to soften the chickpeas in warm water.”
Beyond the use of the term in the physical sense, soften can also be linked to softening a position, a thought or something symbolic: “The government does not plan to soften its position and will remain firm in the negotiations,” “The solidarity campaign has managed to soften the heart of thousands of people” , “Analysts believe that the official candidate must soften his image to reach other sectors of the electorate” .
Soften how to let go of intransigence
In some cases, this sense of the word soften can serve to refer to erroneous ideas, usually related to an anger between two people over superficial issues. If someone gets angry with a friend for minor reasons, it is possible to say that "when he softens, the relationship will go back to the way it was before." This is because obfuscation (i.e., a state of great confusion and inability to reason correctly) is considered homologous to extreme robustness .
The idea of softening, in this framework, is used with respect to what is carried out to get a person to put aside their intransigence or anger : “We are going to leave him locked up for a few days: this way he will soften” , “The “The authorities sent soldiers to soften up the suspects,” “I have great resistance, they won't be able to soften me up easily.”
Breaking in a new car means putting it on the road with certain precautions.
Put a new vehicle on the road
In some South American countries , finally, the notion of softening is linked to the fact of putting a new vehicle on the road (0 kilometer) until the parts of its engine settle and fit together perfectly, and that the pressure of the lubrication circuit and engine compression can be carried out correctly.
In this sense, specialists recommend traveling a certain number of kilometers taking various precautions to soften the car, such as constantly monitoring the temperature and oil and avoiding speeds that exceed a value determined by the manufacturer. This process of softening brand new cars is considered very important to achieve optimal performance and greater durability.
A few decades ago, cars fresh from the factory used to come with a sticker indicating the need for such special treatment , with phrases such as “Soften; Do not remove before traveling 1000 kilometers . Thanks to the presence of this warning message, drivers behind one of these vehicles knew that they should not require their owners to exceed certain speeds or accelerate suddenly.
Experts on the subject assure that old vehicles that continue to function admirably owe their condition to an adequate break-in process . Over the years, engine technology has advanced considerably, and currently zero kilometer cars are delivered with a prior break-in process, without stickers like those mentioned above. All of this has led consumers to think that it is no longer necessary to soften cars to achieve optimal performance and extend their useful life.
However, this is not entirely true: to ensure that the different components of a new car offer ideal performance, it is still necessary to travel a certain number of kilometers, according to the manufacturer's instructions , taking the aforementioned precautions.