upset the applecart

Idioms  

1. 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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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

But Hearts have upset the applecart this season and Edinburgh's surprise long-time leaders open their post-split schedule with their derby away to Hibernian on Sunday, 26 April.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

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

From The Guardian • Apr. 6, 2017

Bruce had been using comedy to upset the applecart since his days as a teenage sailor during the Second World War.

From Salon • Jul. 19, 2015

Macedonia at a later date upset the applecart.

From Experiences of a Dug-out, 1914-1918 by Callwell, C. E. (Charles Edward), Sir