upset the apple cart


upset the applecart

To ruin or interfere with one's plans or goals. Look, he's not trying to upset the applecart—he just needs to meet later in the day now, that's all.See also: applecart, upset

upset the apple cart

Fig. to mess up or ruin something. Tom really upset the apple cart by telling Mary the truth about Jane. I always knew he'd tell secrets and upset the apple cart.See also: apple, cart, upset

upset the apple cart

wreck an advantageous project or disturb the status quo. The use of a cart piled high with apples as a metaphor for a satisfactory but possibly precarious state of affairs is recorded in various expressions from the late 18th century onwards. 1996 Business Age The real test will be instability in China…Another Tiananmen Square could really upset the apple cart. See also: apple, cart, upset

upset the/somebody’s ˈapple cart

(informal) do something that spoils a plan or stops the progress of something: Another, much cheaper hairdresser has opened next door, which has upset the apple cart.See also: apple, cart, upset