pull oneself up
51pull punches — idi a) to lessen the force of one s punches deliberately b) idi inf Informal. to restrain oneself from full action; hold back …
52pull a punch — phrasal 1. : to hit an opponent with less than one s full power 2. : to act or express oneself in a cautious or guarded manner : pussyfoot she has pulled no punches in coming directly to the extreme issues involved Sara H. Hay …
53take oneself in hand — • to take oneself in hand • to pull oneself together (from Idioms in Speech) to contain oneself Quickly I took myself in hand and, with a glance at the weather, decided on a short walk. (A. Cronin) For the moment Jan could not remember where she… …
54compose oneself — you have to compose yourself before you take the stand Syn: calm down, control oneself, regain one s composure, pull oneself together, collect oneself, steady oneself, keep one s head, relax; informal get a grip, keep one s cool, cool one s jets …
55compose oneself — CALM DOWN, control oneself, regain one s composure, pull oneself together, collect oneself, steady oneself, keep one s head; informal get a grip, keep one s cool; N. Amer. informal decompress. → compose …
56compose oneself — (Roget s IV) v. Syn. control oneself, calm oneself, collect one s wits, pull oneself together; see calm down , quiet 1 …
57compose oneself — Syn: calm down, control oneself, regain one s composure, pull oneself together, steady oneself; informal get a grip …
58recover oneself — as nervous as she was, she convincingly recovered herself Syn: pull oneself together, regain one s composure, regain one s self control; informal get a grip (on oneself) …
59drag oneself up by one's boot straps — See: PULL ONESELF UP BY THE BOOT STRAPS …
60drag oneself up by one's boot straps — See: PULL ONESELF UP BY THE BOOT STRAPS …