cut down to size

Related to cut down to size: cut some slack, gunning for, if push comes to shove, pulling the strings, no avail

cut (someone or something) down to size

1. To criticize one in an attempt to deflate their ego. A: "That guy always dominates the class discussion with his rambling, inane thoughts like he's some genius." B: "I know! It's time to cut him down to size."
2. To minimize the importance of something. We need to cut the board down to size before they continue their pattern of overreach.
See also: cut, down, size
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

cut (someone) down to size

To deflate the self-importance of (someone).
See also: cut, down, size
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
See also:
  • cut (someone or something) down to size
  • cut somebody down to size
  • cut someone down to size
  • take (one) down to size
  • verbal diarrhea
  • needle (one) about (something)
  • yap away about (someone or something)
  • yap on (and on) about (someone or something)
  • follow (one's) lead
  • follow lead
References in periodicals archive
CUT DOWN TO SIZE: The last vestige of Westgate House will be demolished this weekend.
When Gwyneth Paltrow orders pizza burgers and chili fries in 2001's Shallow Hal, we witness the modern spectacle of a glamorous woman not being cut down to size but being brought up to it.
Think Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, a scourge of recent years which was cut down to size by a campaign to convince parents that babies should sleep on their backs.
In Doorman, Craig Conway plays Tony, a professional hardman with a fund of stories about the troublemakers he and his colleagues make it their pleasure as well as their business to cut down to size: 'This bloke went back in time - when he woke up his clothes were out of fashion...'
"This way she will get her major rival cut down to size because giving grandiose budget speeches in the Bundestag and getting the state finances consolidated in the reality of federal Germany are two different things."
Large rolls of material can be cut down to size economically and efficiently, allowing companies to maintain a more flexible and profitable inventory level, according to the manufacturer.
But it's not only the grass that has been cut down to size, so has Brian Horton's team with the implications of administration hitting hard.
MEPs want to see the draft legislation cut down to size by deleting from the Commission's draft some 140 pages of detailed technical specifications.
Should you buy those junior clubs or get a used set of adult ones cut down to size? These are the questions that can try parents' souls.
And when famous faces are involved, the show becomes extra-special as anyone with ideas above their station is soon cut down to size. For the first of a new run, the host welcomes reality stars Gemma Collins and James 'Arg' Argent, presenter Carol Vorderman, comedian Ellie Taylor and TV presenter Rick Edwards.
How the big boys must be wary of Dyche's heroes now after they left for home with another highprofile opponent cut down to size thanks to goals from Ashley Barnes (right) and Steven Defour.
Standing at just 165cm - 5ft 4in - Joaquin Guzman of the ruthless Sinaloa cartel also had his hair cut down to size after guards shaved off his hair and moustache on his return to jail.
And the crowd were delighted at the sight of Freddie Burns being cut down to size on his Kingsholm return.
CITY conservationists have called for a proposed 13-storey office block to be cut down to size because it will loom over a historic pub and neighbouring buildings.
A lesson to all politicians who think they can launch a charm offensive of their own choosing, only to be cut down to size by an experienced media person who instinctively knows there''s more to running the country than cracking jokes and patting babies on the head.