file down

file down

To reduce something with the use of a file. A noun or pronoun can be used between "file" and "down." Do you think I can just file down the corn on my foot?
See also: down, file
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

file something down

to level off a protrusion by filing. File this edge down so no one gets cut on it. Please file down this edge.
See also: down, file
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

file down

v.
To cause wear on something by rubbing against or filing it, reducing its size: I filed down my fingernails before the party. The dentist filed the jagged tooth down.
See also: down, file
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • ask down
  • bear down
  • chow down
  • chow something down
  • clunk
  • clunk down
  • brush down
  • button down
  • bolt down
  • call down
References in periodicals archive
People seem to just know the salads are there and file down the stairs instantly.
BUST-UP AT BRIDGE Tempers flare as players file down the tunnel HART-WARMING Joe Hart & Lampard at the end CAUGHT OUT Lescott handles Sturridge's shot
Every few days, take a nail file or pumice stone and file down the wart.
We would file down a halfpenny piece Till it was the size of a silver shilling, And get gas from an old gas meter That we had no other way of filling.
At the Aston Workshop in Beamish, Vic helped 19-year-old Nic Clark, of Cramlington, Northumberland, file down the wing of a stripped car.
They tend to get lost in borders unless you plant masses of them and look totally ridiculous lined up single file down the side of pathways.
Keep your nails cut short and file down any thickened nail.
Families walked and drove ramshackle vehicles out of the city or walked in single file down a rail track.
But if grinding persists beyond age 6, dentists can check the child's bite, file down a high tooth, or fit him with a plastic mouth guard to wear at night to protect his teeth.
To get the handle to fit tight in the bracket, you might need to file down the pole a bit
Another key challenge relates to an issue that has been a big downfall for REITs in the past - REITs have traditionally prospered in the up cycle but fared less successfully in file down cycle.
A procession of around 25 English casuals marched single file down Cockspur Street on to Trafalgar Square.
Migratory peasants, thought by some to be Chinese laborers and by others to be Hisidic Jews, were seen walking single file down a desolate stretch of suburban highway near a recently built corporate park.
There is much fanning and perspiration coming from the crowded pews, and the elders of the congregation file down the center aisle dressed more like participants in a lodge "turnout" than worshippers.
You may have to file down the end to make it sink as deeply into the steel sleeve as it can go.