🇩🇪German Source WordCode: DE

auf den Boden der Tatsachen zurückholen

Pronunciation / Transliteration: auf den Boːdn deːɐ̯ ˈtatzaxtn tsʊˈʁʏkˌhoːlən

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Take down a peg/teɪk daʊn ə pɛɡ/
verb phraseCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #14200 frequency
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🇩🇪 Example Sentence in German:

"Diese Niederlage hat ihn auf den Boden der Tatsachen zurückgeholt."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As verb phrase
  1. 1

    To humble someone; to cause someone to lose their conceit or overinflated sense of self-importance.

    "His arrogant attitude during the meeting made everyone want to take him down a peg."
  2. 2

    To lower someone's social standing or status through constructive criticism or defeat.

    "Losing the chess tournament really took her down a peg or two."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

This idiom dates back to the 17th century, originating from the nautical practice of lowering ship flags or the mechanical adjustment of pegs on musical instruments like lutes to lower the pitch. Over time, lowering a peg came to metaphorically signify reducing someone's pride, arrogance, or elevated status.

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