pull the rug out from under

verb

To suddenly remove support from.

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Meanings

verbpull the rug out from under (third-person singular simple present pulls the rug out from under, present participle pulling the rug out from under, simple past and past participle pulled the rug out from under)

present singular third person pulls the rug out from under · participle present pulling the rug out from under · participle past pulled the rug out from under · past pulled the rug out from under

  1. idiomaticTo suddenly remove support from.

    But his organisation has been knocked off course by unexpected events: an economic downturn and 'austerity'... the Croydon tram crash... Brexit... and now a global pandemic that has pulled the rug from beneath Transport for London's feet.

    2020 July 15, Mike Brown talks to Paul Clifton, “Leading London's "hidden heroes"”, in Rail, page 42

Translations

Spanish quitarle la alfombra bajo los pies
  • quitarle la alfombra bajo los piesTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

pull the rug out from under. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20the%20rug%20out%20from%20under

MLA

“pull the rug out from under.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20the%20rug%20out%20from%20under. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pull the rug out from under,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20the%20rug%20out%20from%20under.

Source: pull the rug out from under on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.