pare off

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 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.
See also:
  • base off (of) (something else)
  • check off
  • bite off
  • blow off
  • blow someone/something off
  • blow off the map
  • brass off
  • brass someone off
  • brassed off
  • call off
References in periodicals archive
Reserving the soaking liquid, drain the shiitake, pare off the stems and discard.
Let's just pare off the stuff that no one can get to work and make CT useful again.
If the pumpkin is particularly big, cut it into quarters then, using a small, sharp knife, pare off the skin (unless you plan to roast it, in which case the skin can stay on).
Over the next 2 months, Democrats and Republicans will have to figure out what to pare off the long wish lists put together by House and Senate committees, and, more importantly, take on the politically distasteful task of determining how to pay for what remains.
You can then pare off the pale orange flesh much as you would do a melon, slicing the mango sections in half and then running a sharp knife between the skin and flesh.
With a clean scalpel (available from chemists) pare off thin layers.
Further, when we go through reduction-in-force drills, we end up justifying each person from the bottom up and always pare off 5 to 10 percent.
USE a potato peeler to pare off the potato skins as thinly as possible, then cut the potatoes into even-sized chunks (not too small; if they are large, quarter them, and if they are small, halve them).
With a vegetable peeler, pare off colored surface of peel of 3 large oranges.
Then thinly pare off the potato skin using a potato peeler and grate the potato straight into the flour using the coarse side of the grater.
To use the whole fruit, you'll probably want to pare off the tart green skin.
First prepare the orange and lemon zests, and to do this it's best to use a potato peeler and pare off the outer zest, leaving the white pith behind.
Use a potato peeler and pare off the wafer thin skin but leave the storks intact as they look very pretty.
For covered cord pare off 3' of outer fabric or rubber insulation, being careful not to cut insulation covering the individual wires.
Air-charter expenses and trip overhead pare off roughly 45 percent of the gross, he notes.