smooth back

smooth back

To cause something to move back and remain flattened with or as with one's hand or hands. A noun or pronoun can be used between "smooth" and "back." I smoothed back the feverish child's hair and placed a damp washcloth on her forehead. I smoothed the crinkled paper back so the scanner would be able to read the barcode.
See also: back, smooth
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

smooth something back

to flatten and position something by pressing or smoothing. He smoothed his hair back out of his eyes. Jeff smoothed back his hair.
See also: back, smooth
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • cut back
  • choke back
  • brush back
  • bring back
  • claw back
  • chop back
  • carry (one) back
  • carry back
  • buck off
  • break one's neck, to
References in periodicals archive
Smooth back face allows for a quieter catch and effortless exit of the stroke.
Paddle points: expert hints on selecting the right paddle for your fishing kayak or SUP
The unit's specs include 350 megapixels display, rounded corners and smooth back casing, 1.5GHz processor, dual-core with 2GB of RAM, and 8 megapixels back shooter and 2 megapixels front camera.
Where to Buy the BlackBerry Z10 in Australia; 7 Packages from Optus
SCANDALE N08 THE SKIRT [euro]44.90 AND N04 SMOOTH BACK BRA [euro]39.90, AVAILABLE AT BROWN THOMAS DUBLIN
What lie BENEATH; SEXY NEW RANGE OF LINGERIE IS A MUST TO HELP YOU SHAPE UP FOR THE PARTY SEASON
Instead of the distinctive textured triangle pattern found on the back of the previous Slate, the Slate 2 has a smooth back with a semi-matte finish.
Hands On: Motorola Droid Razr, HP Slate 2
To avoid broken and baby hairs around the hairline, spray a tiny amount of Sebastian Shine Define, pounds 17.25, and smooth back any flyaways, Similarly, if your hair is prone to frizz use a good frizz fighting serum and blow dry the hair fully so you have a smooth and sleek base to work with.
up your game; Top knots and chignons are perfect for party season. So tame your flowing tresses like January Jones from Mad Men and show off your facial features with an up-do. Ian Davies at Ocean Hairdressing, Cardiff, has the tips
This grip is designed to provide a measure of comfort through the contoured rubber material while also offering functionality with consistent hand positioning made possible by the smooth back surface of the grip.
PSE Bow Madness
Its modern and minimal shape is completed by the hidden beauty of its smooth back. It features a 60MB internal memory, with a MicroSD slot, increasing the expandable memory of the phone to 8GB, making it the perfect tool to store tons of music and photos.
Samsung launches the C3053 in the Middle East
Even though the pulse is small, we see a rich spectrum of harmonics because the glottal waveform is maximally distorted (in comparison to a smooth back and forth wave).
How are harmonics produced at the voice source?
intricate lacework at the wrist; the smooth back of the hand shivers
Voc Rehab
Smooth back your hair, leaving a few pieces loose in the front.
Spring's hot new hair
New for this year is The Bounty, which starts with a smooth back and forth swinging motion, eventually rising to an angle of up to 75 degrees.
AT DRAYTON MANOR PARK; SAVE pounds 4
His colleague Lucy Skinn, who organised the fundraiser, said: "To go from being one of the hairiest men I have ever seen to having a smooth back like that is amazing and he's raised pounds 275."
Winners by a nose
''We call Australia home now, but as of Iraqi origin we are proud to participate in this election and we hope and pray that everything goes smooth back home and we get a democratic Iraq.''
Australian Iraqis vote, communists label election 'fraudulent'
Tall, attractive and in his early twenties, with hair he was continually trying to smooth back from his brow, Roddy was popular with all the staff.
A war correspondent of "the old school". (The Last Word)