chip away

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

chip away

1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To reduce or weaken bit by bit.
   • 1991, Jan Gorak, The Making of the Modern Canon: Genesis and Crisis of a Literary Idea, page 24:

     Iraneus contrasts the unity and integrity of these writings with the distorted, contextless citations of the Gnostics. He describes the code of textual harassment that allows these heretics to chip away at the Scriptures, […].

Synonyms

• plug away, beaver away

See also

• salami tactics