upset the applecart
Spoil carefully laid plans, as in Now don't upset the applecart by revealing where we're going. This expression started out as upset the cart, used since Roman times to mean “spoil everything.” The precise idiom dates from the late 1700s.
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Question 1 of 9
You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?
Words nearby upset the applecart
ups and downs, upscale, up-sell, upset, upset price, upset the applecart, upsetting, upsetting lever, upsetting moment, upshift, upshot
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.