- Home
- Idioms
- whittle down to size
whittle down to size
whittle someone down to size
Fig. to reduce someone's ego; to cause someone to have better, more respectful behavior. (Fig. on whittle something down (to size).) After a few days at camp, the counselors had whittled young Walter down to size. It took some doing, but they whittled him down to size.
Common Names:
Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
Lihi | | - | Hebrew |
Chimwemwe | | chim-WEM-way | Southern African, Chewa |
Fulke | | FULK | English (Archaic) |
Fritz | | FRITS | German |
Lycus | | - | Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized) |
Shae | | SHAY | English (Modern) |