square off

Verb

square off (third-person singular simple present squares off, present participle squaring off, simple past and past participle squared off)

1. (Canada, US, intransitive) To get ready for a confrontation (debate, argument, fight).
   • Hey, man, don't square off on me with some bullshit.1984, Daniel Petrie Jr., Beverly Hills Cop, spoken by Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy), Paramount Pictures
   • When James Baldwin Squared Off Against William F. Buckley Jr. [title]2019 October 18, Thomas Meaney, “When James Baldwin Squared Off Against William F. Buckley Jr.”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 16 Jul 2020

   Synonyms:

   square up

   Antonyms:

   stand down

2. (industrial design) To increase the boxiness of (a design).
   • After the aeronautically inspired curvaceous designs of the 1930s and 1940s, many American automotive designs of the 1950s through 1970s were somewhat more squared off.

   Antonyms:

   round off