pare

pare (something) to the bone

To reduce or decrease something significantly. A noun or pronoun can be used between "pare" and "to." The arts program at my alma mater has been pared to the bone. Our department needs to pare our spending to the bone this quarter.
See also: bone, pare

pare down

1. Literally, to shave off small pieces of something to make it smaller. A noun or pronoun can be used between "pare" and "down." You need to pare down your nails—they're like little daggers! If you pair the boards down on either side, they should fit into the space.
2. To reduce or decrease something in small increments. A noun or pronoun can be used between "pare" and "down." We've had to continually pare down out expenses ever since one of our investors pulled out. See if you can pare your report down a bit—15 pages is far too long.
See also: down, pare

pare off

1. To remove something (from a larger portion or something else) by snipping, trimming, or shaving. A noun or pronoun can be used between "pare" and "off." He sat on the porch quietly paring off the skin from the apple. We need to pare a bit of wood off to make these table legs even.
2. To snip, trim, or shave something off something. A noun or pronoun is used between "pare" and "off." I just want to pare these overgrown leaves off the shrub. The statue looks a little uneven—could you pare a bit off the left side?
See also: off, pare
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

pare something down (to something)

to cut someone down to something or a smaller size. I will have to pare the budget down to the minimum. I hope we can pare down the budget. After much arguing, we pared it down.
See also: down, pare

pare something off (of) something

 and pare something off
to cut something off something.(Of is usually retained before pronouns.) See if you can pare a bit of this extra wood off the edge of the base of this pillar. Pare off some of the wood.
See also: off, pare
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

cut, pare, etc. something to the ˈbone

reduce something to the point where no further reduction is possible: We have cut the costs of the business to the bone, but they are still too high for us to make any profit.
See also: bone, something
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

pare down

v.
1. To reduce the size of something by cutting or shaving off its outer layers; trim something: I pared down the tiles so that they would fit snugly together. The pegs were too big for the hole, so I pared them down with a pocketknife.
2. To reduce the size or amount of something by gradually taking away parts of it: We should pare down the supplies we keep in our storage room until we have only what we absolutely need. The article was too long, and it took me a long time to pare it down.
See also: down, pare
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • involve with
  • involve with (someone or something)
  • involved with
  • arrange for
  • arrange for some time
  • arrange some music for
  • back into
  • back into (someone or something)
  • add in
  • angle
References in periodicals archive
From connecting Filipino food-preneurs to foodies and local suppliers, to promoting dishes and delicacies that are deliciously local, Let's Eat Pare has become a true hub for Pinoy food.
Solid, Pare!
Pare was lucky to photograph it in 1997, when Soviet-era advertisements designed by Rodchenko and the futurist poet Vladimir Mayakovski were re-created--a rare tribute to the radical period in which Pare is interested.
Russia's modernist relics: the Lost Vanguard: Russian Modernist Architecture 1922-1932, Richard Pare (New York: Monacelli Press, 2007)
Tears in the wall of a disk, which promote inflammatory chemicals that cause pare, can be sealed by threading heat generating probe along the disk fibers.
Investigate options for chronic pain management
Pare received his PhD in natural product chemistry from Carleton University in 1984.
The Maxxam Award / Le Prix Maxxam
The results of the survey will help Pare raise the profile of the conditions and campaign for better services and treatments.
Survey to help arthritis sufferers
Rose, "Saber universal y memoria local: la Miscelanea Austral de Diego Davalos y Figueroa (Lima, 1602)"; Claudia Dematte, "Melanges et litterature melee: de La Dorotea de Lope de Vega (1632) au Para Todos de Juan Perez de Montalban (1632)"; and Harriet Stone, "La compilation du savoir chez Ambroise Pare et dans le Dictionnaire universel d'Antoine Furetiere."
Books received
I am pleased to report that the DCRM Conference, hosted by the Beinecke Pare Book and Manuscript Library with support from Yale University Library, was enormously successful.
New trends in cataloging rare and special materials
The sale is part of the company's efforts to pare down less profitable assets.
ConAgra Foods Inc., Omaha, Neb., agrees to sell Bumble Bee Seafoods, San Diego, to Center Partners Management, a private investment group. (At Closing News)
Based on the novel The Wives of Bath, which was inspired by the boarding school experiences of author Susan Swan, Lost and Delirious centers on the beautiful and popular Tory (Jessica Pare) and the spirited and brainy Paulie.
Lost girls
rStarring Jessica Pare, Thomas Gibson and Dan Aykroyd
Stardom
Eleventh grader Dorothee Pare from Verdun, France, wanted to find out.
Publish YOUR Work
And both could only have been the work of mature artists with sufficient mastery of their medium to be able to synthesize, pare away, eliminate extraneous linear detail....
Reviews of the Century
Francois Pare. (Translated from the French by Lin Burman).
Exiguity: Reflections on the Margins of Literature. (Book Reviews/Recensions)