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
Volodimeru	-	Medieval Slavic
Dora	DAWR-ə (English), DO-rah (Croatian, Serbian)	English, Dutch, Spanish, Greek, Croatian, Serbian
Eustaquio	e-oo-STAH-kyo (Spanish)	Spanish, Portuguese
Stefan	SHTE-fahn (German), STAY-fahn (Dutch), STE-fahn (Polish)	German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Polish, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian
Sheelagh	SHEE-lə	English (Rare)
Pyong-Ho	byung-ho	Korean