take the starch out of

Idioms  

1. Deflate or ridicule someone, as in That practical joke at the office party really took the starch out of Nick. This expression, first recorded in 1840, alludes to the starch used to stiffen a shirt.

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Example Sentences

The guys give off the impression, both online and in person, that they just want to take the starch out of this stuffed-shirt town.

From Washington Post • Feb. 27, 2023

The interview, on the whole, had been well calculated—it may have been carefully calculated—to take the starch out of a woman grown.

From Concerning Sally by Hopkins, William John

"Sure, it would take the starch out of them if anything did start the cattle."

From The Mistress of Bonaventure by Bindloss, Harold

I don't mind detectives and post-office inspectors—I talk to 'em eight minutes and then sell 'em stock—but them reporters take the starch out of my collar.

From The Gentle Grafter by Greening, H. C.

Well, then, I'll tell you a secret about him that'll take the starch out of your pride.

From Norston's Rest by Stephens, Ann S. (Ann Sophia)