soft-pedal

soft-pedal
v (-ll-; US -l-) [I, Tn]
(infml 口) make (an issue, etc) seem less serious or important; play (sth) down 减弱（问题等）的严重性或重要性; 使（某事物）大事化小
    The government has been soft-pedalling (on) the question of teachers' pay. 政府一直低调处理教师的工资问题.

牛津英汉双解词典