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knock the corners off

Verb CEFR C2

Definitions

To accustom (a person) to the vicissitudes of life; to cure a person of naïveté, selfishness, etc. by exposure to reality.

ambitransitive

Examples

“That's the point⟳. He needs a father to knock⟳ the corners off him and whip him into shape⟳.'”
“[…] these prefects, about ten of them, indulged any sadistic leanings they had by making our lives as difficult as possible. This was allowed to go unchecked by the staff who probably overlooked it as part of school life designed to knock⟳ the corners off.”

CEFR level

C2
Mastery
This word is part of the CEFR C2 vocabulary — mastery level.
See all C2 English words →

See also

knock the daylight out of knock the living daylights out of knock the persimmon knock the stuffing out of knock together knock under

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