thinning the herd

Verb

thin the herd (third-person singular simple present thins the herd, present participle thinning the herd, simple past and past participle thinned the herd)

1. (idiomatic) to cull, to reduce the size of a group
   • Early on, if we came into a pot we came in for about three times the big blind because we generally wanted to thin the herd. Now we don't have to worry about that so much, for the herd will thin itself. It's smaller to begin with, since three or four players are gone, plus we're starting to get...2006, John Vorhaus, Killer Poker Online/2: Advanced Strategies For Crushing The Internet Game, Kensington Publishing, →ISBN, page 140
2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see thin, the, herd.