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	Pronounced	Usage
Lebron	-	African American (Rare)
Padrig	-	Welsh, Breton
Mateja (2)	-	Serbian
Leachlainn	-	Irish
Girisha	-	Hinduism
Arrats	-	Basque