What does the term apple cart mean?
: a plan, system, situation, or undertaking that may be disrupted or terminated upset the applecart.
Where does the saying upset the apple cart come from?
What’s the origin of the phrase ‘Don’t upset the apple-cart’? This allusory phrase is first recorded by Jeremy Belknap in The History of New Hampshire, 1788: “Adams had almost overset the apple-cart by intruding an amendment of his own fabrication on the morning of the day of ratification” [of the Constitution].
How do you use upset the apple cart in a sentence?
You always upset the apple-cart and never agreed with anybody in the class. Matt was so excited about his marriage function, he arranged everything in party so well but the bad weather and heavy rain upset the apple cart.
What does it mean to take with a pinch of salt?
To take something with a “grain of salt” or “pinch of salt” is an English idiom that suggests to view something, specifically claims that may be misleading or unverified, with skepticism or to not interpret something literally.
Do you not add insult to injury?
Definition of add insult to injury : to do or say something that makes a bad situation even worse for someone People were forced to work longer hours, and to add insult to injury, the company decided not to give pay raises.
What does it mean to make no bones?
Definition of make no bones about : to be very sure and definite about (something) Make no bones about the seriousness of the matter. He made no bones about his plans to cut expenses.
Who will bell the cat sentence?
1. Yes, but who’ll tell him she’s no good-who’ll bell the cat? Some of us know he’s got a bunch of fives . 2.
What is the meaning of Penelope’s web?
Something that is routinely undone and, therefore, never progresses. Refers to The Odyssey, in which Odysseus’s wife Penelope weaves and unweaves Laertes’s burial shroud each day, so as to avoid having to choose a suitor. It’s becoming like Penelope’s web. …
What does it mean to hit below the belt?
See synonyms for hit below the belt on Thesaurus.com. To say something that is often too personal, usually irrelevant, and always unfair: “To remind reformed alcoholics of their drinking problem is to hit below the belt.” The expression comes from boxing, in which it is illegal to hit an opponent below the belt.
What does it mean to dress to the nines?
to perfection
“To the nines” is an English idiom meaning “to perfection” or “to the highest degree”. In modern English usage, the phrase most commonly appears as “dressed to the nines” or “dressed up to the nines”.
What is the meaning of upset the Apple Cart?
Tom really upset the apple cart by telling Mary the truth about Jane. I always knew he’d tell secrets and upset the apple cart. 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.”
What does cart piled high with apples mean?
The use of a cart piled high with apples as a metaphor for a satisfactory but possibly precarious state of affairs is recorded in various expressions from the late 18th century onwards. 1996 Business Age The real test will be instability in China…Another Tiananmen Square could really upset the apple cart.
Where did the expression upset the Applecart come from?
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.
Where did the phrase ” you’ve upset the cart ” come from?
To ruin carefully laid plans. This metaphor, without the modifying “apple,” dates from Roman times. Both Plautus and Lucian used “You’ve upset the cart” to mean “You’ve spoiled everything.” Specifying “applecart” dates from the late eighteenth century, and the changed phrase is the one that survives.