pull the rug out from under

1. Remove all support and assistance from, usually suddenly. For example, Stopping his allowance pulled the rug out from under him, forcing him to look for a job. This metaphoric term alludes to pulling on a rug a person is standing on so that he or she falls. [Mid-1900s]

Example Sentences

It was exciting in the fourth episode when we killed a character, watching an audience in my small little edit bay, watching them go with that episode, knowing we were about to pull the rug out from under them.

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“These people did everything right — they applied through a lawful program, they were vetted. And to pull the rug out from under them in this way should be, I think, offensive to our own idea of what justice is in this country.”

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Comprehending the way Martin set up Ned on the page to be the triumphant hero, only to pull the rug out from under his readers, is one matter.

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"The TPS statute does not authorize the Secretary to pull the rug out from under vulnerable TPS recipients and rescind an extension that has already been granted; she simply has no statutory authority to do so," the complaint said.

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This masterful twist left everyone thinking Smithy had said yes… only to pull the rug out from under us.

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