cushion the blow

"That is so it will not cushion the blows which might fall on your back," I said.

"All we can do is try to cushion the blow.

And this time James wasn't around to cushion the blow.

"As I said, what you can to cushion the blow.

New snow made the going more difficult, for it cushioned the blow each time.

Thing didn't make a sound, cushioning the blow for me.

The hand landed hard, not enough meat on it anymore to cushion the blow.

The Legislature needs to increase benefits while finding ways to cushion the blow on employers.

Even where price increases have taken place, retailers with good stocks may be able to cushion the blow for a while.

He was also credited by some for at least making an effort to cushion the blow of his government's welfare cuts.

And rather than cushioning the blow, changes in Federal taxes have actually added to their woes.

We expected to get ran from the backside, and used the boards to cushion the blow.

It just might have cushioned the blow enough that I only stayed out for a few minutes, instead of the several hours he had intended.

But somehow hearing the news from them cushioned the blow."

A recovery win against Phoenix doesn't really help cushion the blow either.

But Navy is cushioning the blow by eliminating its training carrier.

Mexican Government efforts to cushion the blow for those who do not export have been altogether inadequate.

Underlying some of the Mayor's budget cuts is the idea that the private sector can cushion the blow.

Most tenants can afford the increases, they say, and government subsidies helped cushion the blow for others.

To cushion the blow, wages and pensions were increased.

"It's not good," she said, too mentally taut to cushion the blow.

Although it may not make executives want to move, he said, "it cushions the blow."

The mattress had cushioned the blow, and one survived.

They were seeking to cushion the blow, to avoid mass expressions of disgust when Bush's name was announced.

"The hope is that eventually oil will cushion the blow from bad rainfalls," a Western economist said.