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general::
Phrase(s): take one’s belt in (a notch) [and] pull one’s belt in (a notch)
1. Lit. to tighten one’s belt a bit. (Probably because one has not eaten recently or because one has lost weight.) • He pulled his belt in a notch and smiled at his success at losing weight. • He took in his belt a notch and wished he had something to eat. 2. Fig. to reduce expenditures; to live or operate a business more economically. (As if one were going to have to eat less.) • They had to take their belts in a notch budgetarily speaking. • The people at city hall will have to pull in their belts a notch unless they want to raise taxes.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs