nip in the bud

Definitions

1. 1

   To remove a bud (from a plant) to prevent flower and fruit from forming.

2. 2

   To stop something at an early stage.

   • If you see a bad habit begin to develop, try to nip it in the bud so that it does not become ingrained.
   • Ori. I do confeſs I'm too eaſie, too much Woman, / Not coy enough to take Affection, / Yet I can frown and nip a Paſſion, / Even in the Bud: I can ſay / Men pleaſe their preſent Heats; then pleaſe to leave Us.
   • “I couldn’t be any more upset,” said Inge Bank, 82, who lives near the bar. “We have to nip it in the bud if the Nazi party is coming back.

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