pull in one's horns

Thesaurus

Verb

1.

pull in one's horns - make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity; "We'll have to crawfish out from meeting with him"; "He backed out of his earlier promise"; "The aggressive investment company pulled in its horns" back away, crawfish, crawfish out, back out, retreat, pull back, withdraw draw back, move back, pull away, pull back, recede, retreat, withdraw, retire - pull back or move away or backward; "The enemy withdrew"; "The limo pulled away from the curb"