Slang definitions & phrases for pull the rug out from under
pull the rug from under
verb phrase
To undermine or disable; put opponents at a great and often sudden disadvantage: They were intended to pull the rug out from under left-wing critics(1946+)
Idioms and Phrases with pull the rug out from under
pull the rug out from under
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 ]