to pare / to reduce / to remove / Taiwan pr. [xue4]
削
=
刂
+
肖
:
Olymp's rulers decided that they want to reduce (削) their staff. In front of the elevator (e1) Xu Xian (xu) and the little prince (肖) have to fight with kitchen knifes (刂) to see who will be allowed to stay.
to lower / to decrease / to reduce / to subtract / to diminish
减
=
冫
+
咸
:
Joan of Arc (ji) found that there's a giant popsicle (冫) obstructing the way to the bar inside of the anthill (an3). To clear the way, she reduces (减) the size of the popsicle by scattering salt (咸) all over it.