draw in one's horns
Variant of horn
horn (hôrn)
noun
- a hard, hollow, bony or keratinous, permanent projection that grows on the head of various hoofed animals, esp. bovid ruminants
- an antler
- anything that protrudes naturally from the head of an animal, as one of the tentacles of a snail, a tuft of feathers on certain birds, etc.
- the projections imagined as growing on the brow of a cuckold
- the substance that horns are made of
- any similar, now often synthetic, substance
- a container made by hollowing out a horn a powder horn
- a drink contained in a horn
- cornucopia
- anything shaped like or suggesting a horn; specif.,
- a peninsula or cape
- either end of a crescent
- the pointed part of an anvil
- ☆ a projection above the pommel of a cowboy's saddle
- an instrument made of horn and sounded by blowing, as the shofar
- any brass instrument; specif., French horn
- ☆ Jazz any wind instrument
- a device with a kind of blaring sound for signaling or warning
- Bible an emblem of glory, strength, or honor
- Electronics
- a horn-shaped speaker
- a horn-shaped antenna
- Geol. a jagged mountain peak resulting from the erosion of several cirques, as the Matterhorn in the Alps
Etymology: ME < OE, akin to Ger < IE base *er-, upper part of the body, head > L cornu, Gr keras
transitive verb
- to strike, butt, or gore with the horns
- to furnish with horns
- Archaic to cuckold
adjective
around the horn
☆blow one's own horn
☆horn in (on)
☆lock horns
on the horns of a dilemma
pull in one's horns
or draw in one's horns or haul in one's horns- to hold oneself back; restrain one's impulses or efforts
- to back down; become less dogmatic, positive, zealous, etc.
the horn
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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