每日一词学英语(91): whittle down

英国一个地方招女巫，有3124人应聘，300人进入面试，在三个评委面前展现自己。（From Times Online, July 28, 2009: Witches gather in search of £50,000 job at Wookey Hole）

After performing their routines in front of three judges the candidates were whittled down to a final 15. 最后选出15人进入下一轮选拔。

Whittle sth down: to reduce the size or number of sth
*I finally managed to whittle down the names on the list to only five.

这是又一种“减少”的表达法，意为“削减”，从“切；削”而来。

Whittle A (from B) B (into A): to form a piece of wood, etc. into a particular shape by cutting small pieces from it
*He whittled a simple toy from the piece of wood.
*He whittled the piece of wood into a simple toy.