Despite the cultivated kookiness, this is not an operation with a soft centre.

BBC: A targeted message from Obama 2012

His expectation is that Mr Clinton, weakened by scandal, will let things be, while he himself continues to mollify his hard right with new settlements and pacify his soft centre with professions of loyalty to Oslo.

ECONOMIST: Send off the referee, says Israel | The

It has a soft spot for the centre-right, but insists on a healthy editorial independence.

ECONOMIST: Poland's government and the media

They use their clout with the centre to go soft on corruption cases involving their leaders.

BBC: Is India's federal spirit weakening?

An overly thick exterior will easily overwhelm the filling within, while a too thin shell will not maintain the structure of the bonbon if the centre is very soft.

FORBES: The Anatomy Of A Perfect Chocolate Bonbon

The Londoners demonstrated far superior finishing when England centre Clubb made the most of some soft defence to touch down midway through the first half.

BBC: St Helens 16-27 Harlequins

In the past few weeks, Mr Gore has reverted to the attack-dog mode that served him so well in previous campaigns, such as the one in 1988 when he savaged Michael Dukakis (another north-eastern centre-left Democrat) for being soft on crime.

ECONOMIST: The Democratic race: Nasty isn’t nice | The

Then she weeded her yams and cassava where they grew in the soft, dark earth and watered the pineapple plant that marked the centre of her plot.

NPR: 'Ancestor Stones:' Life and War in Sierra Leone

The Sale man missed a chance to double England's lead when centre Dominic Waldouck carved through the home defence and earned England a somewhat soft penalty, and although he missed with the kick, Hodgson did not have to wait long to make amends.

BBC: Aussie Barbarians 9-15 England

In contrast to Davy, with his charisma and flair, Faraday was a gentle, soft-spoken man whose lectures always put science, rather than the scientist, at centre stage.

ECONOMIST: Science