trim down to size

English

Verb

trim down to size (third-person singular simple present trims down to size, present participle trimming down to size, simple past and past participle trimmed down to size)

1. Alternative form of cut down to size
   • 1962, W. Cleon Skousen, So You Want to Raise a Boy?, page 106:

     If parents try to trim a 7-year-old egoist down to size with sarcastic quips or disparaging comments, they only add to his sense of inferiority and thereby agitate his continued construction of a defensive front.

   • 2005, Louis L'Amour, To Tame a Land, page 102:

     I seen him trim Ollie Burdette down to size and run him out of town.

   • 2012, Daniel W. Patterson, The True Image, page 296:

     Someone may have wanted to trim a local dandy down to size.