applecart

American  

[ap-uhl-kahrt] / ˈæp əlˌkɑrt /

noun

1. a pushcart used by a vendor of apples.

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idioms

1. upset the / someone's applecart, to ruin plans or arrangements; spoil something.

   He was making a fantastic profit until a competitor upset the applecart by cutting prices.

applecart British  

/ ˈæpəlˌkɑːt /

noun

1. a cart or barrow from which apples and other fruit are sold in the street

2. to spoil plans or arrangements

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Etymology

Origin of applecart

First recorded in 1780–90; apple + cart

Example Sentences

“A Fed hike could upset the applecart in a major way, sucking a lot of capital into the U.S.,” he says.

From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026

From applecart and biodiversity to xeriscaping and zucchini, this delightfully readable resource is filled with hope.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 11, 2021

In a competition that has been marked by relative minnows upsetting the applecart on many occasions, South Africa now face the biggest test of nerve and skill in the history of their women’s side.

From The Guardian • Nov. 30, 2018

If you are facing large, unresponsive, deadening and seemingly intractable forces, especially officious or elitist bureaucratic troglodytes, you try to disrupt them, which gives the audience the vicarious pleasure of overturning the applecart.

From Salon • Mar. 21, 2016

And those confounded people must go and upset the applecart.

From Caesar's Wife A comedy in three acts by Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset)