| Idiom | Upset the Applecart |
|---|---|
| Example | Don't let Barry know about our plans for the ski trip or he'll upset the applecart. |
| Meaning | to spoil or interfere with a plan; to obstruct progress; to mess everything up by surprise or accident |
| Origin | From ancient Roman times comes this famous saying, although the Romans just said "cart." "Apple" was added to "cart" in the late 1800s because it helped create a metaphor for ruining something that was carefully arranged. Imagine a farmer or a vendor pushing a large cart piled high with apples on the way to market. Along comes some clumsy oaf who knocks over the cart and spills all the apples. The farmer's plan to sell his apples is spoiled. |
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