pare something away

Feverishly, I make adjustments in various departments, paring away at the budget while trying not to damage academic standards.

On view till Feb. 11, the show is lively, but a third of it could have been pared away as fat.

It's as if everything that might clutter our perception of the central issues has been pared away or simplified.

The potatoes were peeled and the bad spots pared away, and everything went into the pan.

Pare away and discard outer peel of each piece.

Even the identity of its subject, Carlo Gesualdo, is pared away.

Everything that could possibly be distracting is pared away.

Rather, he said, "the most articulate performances are always those which have been pared away."

He pared away almost all detail, leaving just the hint of a harmony or rhythm.

In cutting its expenses last year, the company pared away 10,540 of its 28,100 employees, saving $100 million annually.