whittle away

whittle away
transitive verb
(fig.)
1) (completely) auffressen [Gewinn, Geldmittel usw.]

whittle away somebody's rights/power — jemandem nach und nach alle Rechte/alle Macht nehmen

2) (partly) allmählich reduzieren [Anzahl, Team, Gewinn, Verlust]; verkürzen [Liste]
* * *
◆ whittle away
I. vi
▪ to \whittle away away at sth
1. (take bits off) an etw dat herumschneiden [o fam herumschnippeln
2. (fig: gradually decrease) jobs an etw dat sägen fig; rights etw beschneiden geh
II. vt
▪ to \whittle away away ⇆ sth etw verringern
* * *
vt sep
1) bark etc wegschneiden, wegschnitzen
2) (= gradually reduce) allmählich abbauen, nach und nach abbauen; rights, power etc allmählich or nach und nach beschneiden or stutzen

the benefit/pay increase has been whittled away by inflation — der Gewinn/die Gehaltserhöhung ist durch die Inflation langsam zunichtegemacht worden

* * *
transitive verb
(fig.)
1) (completely) auffressen [Gewinn, Geldmittel usw.]

whittle away somebody's rights/power — jemandem nach und nach alle Rechte/alle Macht nehmen

2) (partly) allmählich reduzieren [Anzahl, Team, Gewinn, Verlust]; verkürzen [Liste]

English-german dictionary. 2013.

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