draw in one's horns
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V. be modest &c. adj.; retire, reserve oneself; give way to; draw in one's horns &c.
From Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Peter Mark Roget
To draw in one's horns; to retract an assertion through fear: metaphor borrowed from a snail, who on the apprehension of danger, draws in his horns, and retires to his shell.
From 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
