spike guns

spike somebody's guns

to spoil someone's plans

Usage notes: In the past, soldiers put spikes (= thin, pointed pieces of metal) into their enemies' guns in order to stop them working.

The African runner spiked her guns, overtaking her in the final minute.

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Praxis	-	Greek Mythology
Adrien	ad-ree-AWN	French
Martita	mahr-TEE-tah	Spanish
Ale (2)	-	Frisian
Teodoro	te-o-DO-ro (Italian), te-o-DHO-ro (Spanish)	Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pamelia	-	English