Pull in one's horns

Barry . . . stood, during this tirade, half stupefied with rage, and half frightened, at the open attack made on him. . . . However, he couldn't pull in his horns now, and he was obliged, in self-defence, to brazen it out.

"I see Cooky's finish," I heard Smoke say to Horner. "You bet," was the reply. "Hump runs the galley from now on, and Cooky pulls in his horns."

Anyone else would have pulled in his horns and gone slow for a spell, but he's one of those fellows whose horse is always going to win the next race.

Editor & Publisher Edwin Palmer Hoyt decided to pull in his horns. Said Hoyt: "We've decided it is time to pause, recapitulate and prepare to recommence."

"Smaller hardware stores in the area were scared," he said. "They stopped making investments. They pulled in their horns."