Idiom
pull in one's horns
Meaning
To become less impassioned, aggressive, or argumentative; to exercise restraint; to yield or capitulate.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“You should pull in your horns before you get into trouble.”
“He pulls in his horns when he realizes he is losing the argument.”
“You need to pull in your horns if you want to make friends here.”
“After the manager warned him about his aggressive tone, he decided to pull in his horns during the meeting.”
“The store owner decided to pull in her horns and lower the prices after customers complained about the expensive new menu.”
“The neighbors finally pulled in their horns and stopped shouting once the police arrived to check on the noise.”
“The young lawyer decided to pull in his horns and listen quietly after the judge told him his behavior was disrespectful to the court.”
“Realizing that his reckless expansion strategy had pushed the company to the brink of insolvency, the CEO was forced to pull in his horns and focus on basic survival.”
Examples
simple
“You should pull in your horns before you get into trouble.”
“He pulls in his horns when he realizes he is losing the argument.”
“You need to pull in your horns if you want to make friends here.”
contextual
“After the manager warned him about his aggressive tone, he decided to pull in his horns during the meeting.”
“The store owner decided to pull in her horns and lower the prices after customers complained about the expensive new menu.”
“The neighbors finally pulled in their horns and stopped shouting once the police arrived to check on the noise.”
“The young lawyer decided to pull in his horns and listen quietly after the judge told him his behavior was disrespectful to the court.”
complex
“Realizing that his reckless expansion strategy had pushed the company to the brink of insolvency, the CEO was forced to pull in his horns and focus on basic survival.”
Origin
From the behaviour of a snail when it is threatened, which retracts its tentacles into its shell to avoid external harm. The phrase has existed in English since at least the 14th century.
Key words
Related idioms
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