Sometimes relations between nations can be considered to be "cooling"? What does this mean?
I can't tell if it means:
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The relationship is getting better because it's "cooling-off" from "hot" threats.
or
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The relationship is getting worse because the nations are becoming cool towards each other, i.e. cool in the sense that they have "cold" hearts.
Best Answer
Cooling relations generally refer to relationships that are somehow deteriorating from a previous, probably, more positive state. It may imply also the opposite if the starting point is a negative one.
Cooling off is generally used to express the concept of losing intensity, which can be both positive or negative according to the context. In you first sentence 'cooling off' has positive implications because it implies less tensions, less threats.
to cool off:
Source:http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cool+off