tap down

tap down

To drive or pack something down by repeatedly striking it lightly and swiftly. A noun or pronoun can be used between "tap" and "down." Just tap the piece down gently. You could break the whole machine if you hit it too hard. He tapped down the tobacco into his pipe and lit it with a match.
See also: down, tap
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

tap something down

to pound something down with light blows. Please tap that nail down so no one gets hurt on it. Tap down the tack, if you would.
See also: down, tap
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and 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
"Carry little tissues or be like Jamaica, where you carry your little flannel and you tap down yourself."
Finlay Ralston, 17, and Cameron Mackintosh, 18, also impressed while 15-year-old Cameron Bremner held his own when he came on as sub - underlining the talent on tap down Loch Ness-side.
It was not just to foster growth in both the countries but also to tap down extremism, he said citing a direct correlation between economic deprivation and increased extremist activity.
Almoez used his left foot to tap down a crisp chip from Akram Afif from just outside the penalty area, deftly lifted the ball with his right foot to get it to a comfortable height, before getting airborne and shooting past the diving Japanese goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda as a host of defenders were left rooted to their spots.
The ability to tap down spike marks on your putting line, the right to move loose impediments in bunkers, no penalty for accidentally moving your ball or double hits.
Since every step in bhangra starts with your left leg raise your left leg up, with your knee bending almost up to your waist and then try bouncing on the ball of your right foot to tap down your left foot on the opposite side.
A deliberate tap down by Gareth Rees meant Swansea were temporarily reduced to 14 men.
A quick tap down from the consequent line-out was taken by centre Tom Owen but he lost control of the ball in the tackle in his dive for the line.
But turning the tap down to half, to fill a bowl, it just injects a cloudy deposit.
"Often we had really good positions to launch attacks from, whether line-outs in their half or even when we took a tap down there we played our way down there and then just turned the ball over.
The family has to carry in its drinking water from a tap down the street.
The Yorkshireman is facing a disciplinary tribunal for using his golf ball to tap down a spike mark on his putting line at last month's BMW Masters in China.
Dyson, 35, was disqualified from last month's BMW Masters in Shanghai - meaning he could no longer qualify for the Race to Dubai finale this weekend - after using a golf ball to tap down what appeared to be a spike mark.
Using an old firing pin or a steel rod of the same diameter, tap down on the bolt body with a wooden mallet.
Pause for a moment and stand still, Use both hands to tap down and back up one leg, then the other.