Old softie

Also spelled "old softy".

Although it's listed in dictionaries as describing a weakling, an emotional fool, a pushover or similar, it is most often used in a sense to pay a compliment to a person who is not that but who, despite having a gruff or hard exterior, has a sympathetic and kind-hearted spirit, a warm way of interacting with fellow humans, especially those who are experiencing difficulties of some kind.

The actor Danny Trejo always seems to take roles of tough evil villains who take no prisoners, but in real life he's a big old softie. and a really great family man.

Nobody ever accused Margaret Thatcher of being an old softie; she was a virago who wanted to be superior to everybody.

by Piss Miggy October 29, 2023

Schrodingers Softie

The complete opposite of Schrodingers Asshole. It's a person (Y) who sees something another person (X) said and will either cause a fuss and be offended, or be clever and pretend what the other person said is ragebait while pushing their personal feelings aside. It depends on whether or not the people around them find what X person said was offensive or not.

Bob: Yeah, I don't think chinese food is that good in general.
Jeff: How could you say that?
Bill: Everyone has their tastes, Jeff.
Jeff: Heh.. totally. He was just messing with me to get me mad.
Bob: Stop being a Schrodingers Softie, Jeff!

by ap0q March 18, 2026