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

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

From Seattle Times • Dec. 11, 2021

The US central bank is keen not to upset the applecart but seems to have done so anyway.

From The Guardian • Apr. 6, 2017

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

He keeps upsetting the applecart and he is not a good enough player to justify it.

From BBC • Jan. 1, 2013

"Nothing much--merely almost upset the applecart for me!"

From Nobody by Jacobs, W. L.