take the bread out of someone's mouth


Deprive someone of his or her livelihood, as in Lowering wages is taking the bread out of the workers' mouths. [c. 1700]

Words Nearby take the bread out of someone's mouth

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.