haul in one's horns

noun

1. 1. a hard, hollow, bony or keratinous, permanent projection that grows on the head of various hoofed animals, esp. bovid ruminants
   2. an antler
2. 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.
3. the projections imagined as growing on the brow of a cuckold
4. 1. the substance that horns are made of
   2. any similar, now often synthetic, substance
5. 1. a container made by hollowing out a horn: a powder horn
   2. a drink contained in a horn
6. cornucopia
7. anything shaped like or suggesting a horn; specif.,
   1. a peninsula or cape
   2. either end of a crescent
   3. the pointed part of an anvil
   4. ☆ a projection above the pommel of a cowboy's saddle
8. 1. an instrument made of horn and sounded by blowing, as the shofar
   2. any brass instrument; specif., French horn
   3. ☆ Jazz any wind instrument
9. a device with a kind of blaring sound for signaling or warning
10. Bible an emblem of glory, strength, or honor
11. Electronics
    1. a horn-shaped speaker
    2. a horn-shaped antenna
12. Geol. a jagged mountain peak resulting from the erosion of several cirques, as the Matterhorn in the Alps

Origin: ME < OE, akin to Ger < IE base *er-, upper part of the body, head > L cornu, Gr keras

transitive verb

1. to strike, butt, or gore with the horns
2. to furnish with horns
3. Archaic to cuckold

adjective