bring down a peg
Reduce someone's arrogance
To bring someone down a peg is to humble them, to reduce their self-importance or deflate their ego.
The image comes from pegs on a board marking rank or score—lowering someone's peg means demoting them: After his arrogant speech, the loss brought him down a peg.
Also take down a peg or knock down a peg or two.
- demoteLower someone's position
- humbleUnassuming about oneself
- deflateRelease air from
- debaseLower in quality
- lowerReduce or move downward
downgrade · put in their place · unseat · dethrone · fall from grace · belittle · puncture · diminish · chastise · reprimand · criticize · devalue · rebuke · admonish · subordinate · displace · mortify · eat humble pie
ego adjustment
bring down a pegpuff up
Inflate or swell
big up · build up · put on a pedestal · go to someone's head · stroke someone's ego
bring, brings, bringing, brought, bringer, down, downer, downs, downed