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3. upset the applecart

upset the applecart

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upset the applecart

to cause trouble, especially by spoiling someone's plans I don't want to upset the applecart now by asking you to change the date for the meeting.

See also: applecart, upset

upset the applecart

Spoil carefully laid plans, as in Now don't upset the applecart by revealing where we're going. This expression started out as upset the cart, used since Roman times to mean "spoil everything." The precise idiom dates from the late 1700s.

See also: applecart, upset