the.com/glossing
Explaining the hard word in the margin, or smoothing the hard truth into the room.
means Adding brief notes that explain or translate difficult words and passages, or smoothing over a topic without engaging it deeply.
from From Greek glossa, tongue, which became glossa for an obscure word needing a note, then the note itself; the marginal scribble outlived the scribe.
Linguistic glossWord-by-word annotation translating one language under another.
Glossary bornMargin notes piled up into the back-of-book list.
Gloss overSame root, opposite virtue: explaining versus skating past.