cut down to size
To humble or humiliate, especially someone or something that is perceived as overly…To humble or humiliate, especially someone or something that is perceived as overly domineering or too proud.
» They were pieces of paper, cut in the size of bills.
Tatoeba contributors · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(idiomatic, informal)To humble or humiliate, especially someone or something that is perceived as overly domineering or too proud.
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see cut, down, size.
Examples
6 sentencesThey were pieces of paper, cut in the size of bills.
Just then his boss came in and cut him down to size.
Yanni had cuts of completely different sizes and depth.
Stir-fry the ingredients which were cut into bite-sized pieces.
The publisher asked me to cut down the size of the last two chapters.
deDer Herausgeber bat mich, die beiden letzten Kapitel zu kürzen. — al_ex_an_der
Forms
cuts down to size, cutting down to size, cut down to size, cut down to size| Base form | cut down to size · to cut down to size |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | cuts down to size |
| Present participle | cutting down to size |
| Past simple | cut down to size |
| Past participle | cut down to size |
irregular · Lesson
Synonyms
4 synonymsWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle