dial back

To lessen something, especially in intensity. I could barely move my arms all week—I guess it's time to dial back the workouts!

See also: back, dial

References in periodicals archive ?

It's a return to harsh language just a day after he appeared to dial back some of his rhetoric.

'Do not try us': Trump warns North Korea

The legislation calls for the cancellation of a new nuclear air-launched cruise missile and a new generation of intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as other commonsense steps to reduce costs and dial back dependence on unnecessary and dangerous nuclear weapons systems.

United States : Senator Markey: Nuclear Modernization is a Budget Boondoggle

From her cracking cover of Tame Impala's Same ol' Mistakes onwards, though, she chucks out the electronics and switches the dial back to pop, trying on first Adele's and then Amy Winehouse's shoes for size.

latest releases By Andrew Greenhalgh

Kazuo Hirai yesterday said the company would dial back operations in handsets

Sony could abandon TVs, smartphones

The Fed meets for two days beginning Tuesday, and officials could signal when the Fed will dial back the stimulus that has helped boost the stock market this year.

Positive signs push stocks higher

Summary: Wall Street is bracing for a wave of economic reports this week, including the August jobs report, which might prove decisive in determining whether the economy is strong enough for the Federal Reserve to dial back its bond purchases in mid-September.

Economy, Fed on the spot

As no aircraft is 100 percent safe "it is going to be a challenge for the FAA to dial back from some of the overheated rhetoric," said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at the Teal Group.

Inside Air Travel

Hopefully we can dial back the clock and start again in Brazil.

PUSH FOR DI RESTA

This time around, Brown has opted to dial back the synth to make room for more traditional instrumentation.

Ladyhawke Anxiety

For one thing, it suggests that the only hope for progress is to jump into a time machine and turn the dial back to, oh, say around 1960-70 and start all over again, minus the haircuts.

Perspective - Ah, the good old days... forget 'em

UW Madison sleep researchers said it's because the environment makes their brain circuits grow dense new synapses and they need sleep to dial back the energy needs of their stimulated brains.

Enriched learning drives need for sleep even in fruit flies

But after hanging on the line for 45 minutes, the 27-year-old was told by someone at the other end they couldn't deal with his inquiry on that line and that he would have to go outside to a public phone and dial back.

Phone protest by job seeker

com that declines in advertising were especially high in businesses associated with the housing market, which has been in a slump: "Although the Post-Dispatch is performing relatively well, especially compared with other metropolitan newspapers, we believe it is prudent to dial back our expenses modestly.

St. Louis 'Post-Dispatch' and 'Portland Press Herald'

In many of the swing districts they need to take over the House of Representatives, Democrats are being counseled to dial back their support of abortion and gay rights while soft-pedaling their criticism of the Bush administration's domestic war on terror.

Pen statists: in Pennsylvania's Senate race, both sides are running for the middle

but can also dial back the lights' output to take advantage of the hour-to-hour fluctuations in rates that utilities charge for power.