"cut someone down to size" construction

Form

NP
Agent
cut
NP
Patient
down
to size

Examples

Agent [Michael Moore 's David-and-Goliath commentaries]
cut cut
Patient [conservative bigwigs]
down down
to size [to size.]

Meaning

A Speaker speaks to show that a Patient is not as important as they think they are.

Roles

Agent
Someone who believes the Patient is too highly regarded or thinks too highly of themselves, and speaks in disapproval of this fact.
Patient
Someone who is the target of the Speaker's disapproval.

Frames

Judgment_communication ( Communicator, Evaluee )

Inherits from

Sub-constructions

Phraseological constructions