pull the rug

Related to pull the rug: To Say the Least

pull the rug (out) from under (someone's) feet

To suddenly or unexpectedly remove or rescind support, help, or assistance from someone; to abruptly leave someone in a problematic or difficult situation. I felt like someone had pulled the rug out from under my feet when my health insurance said it was going to stop paying for my medical bills. I'd love to up and quit my job, but I just can't pull the rug from under their feet like that.
See also: feet, pull, rug
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

pull the rug (from under someone)

abruptly withdraw support from someone.
See also: pull, rug
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • brief (someone) about (someone or something)
  • brief about
  • accompany (one) on a/(one's) journey
  • accompany on a journey
  • a stranger to (someone or something)
  • be out of (one's) league
  • be out of somebody's league
  • be in bad with (someone)
  • (one's) heart goes out to (someone)
  • (one) puts (one's) pants on one leg at a time
References in periodicals archive
Trying its hardest to pull the rug from under Hitachi Data Systems Ltd, IBM Corp is offering Hitachi's 140 European bi-polar Skyline customers maintenance contracts, with the aim of converting them to IBM 9121 G5 CMOS processors.
IBM Aims to Convert Skylines to CMOS
President Clinton--who will, in due course, pull the rug from under Mr.
Who Needs NATO?
Lisska attempts to pull the rug out from under this criticism - and the positions of people like Finnis and Grisez who grant it - by arguing that for Aquinas an "essence" is a set of "synthetic a priori properties" (together constituting, in the parlance of philosophers Kripke and Putnam, a "natural kind") that is dispositional rather than static in character.
Aquinas's Theory of Natural Law
Blair still hopes Clinton will survive, and will not do anything to pull the rug from under him.
BLAIR HOPES PAL WILL SURVIVE
Heavenly's idea of play, though, is to pull the rug out from under you.
Real life rock
LEADERS of England's biggest cities uniting to fight Tory rogue landlord David Cameron's order to pull the rug from under the feet of council tenants will test the Conservative commitment to devolution.
Power of good; VOICE OF THE
Cignal rallied from two sets down to pull the rug from under RC ColaAir Force, 2325, 2225, 2521, 2516, 1614.
Petron grabs S. Liga Final 4 berth
As secretary of the local Chamber of Trade I know how hard it is for the retailers, who put back into society with rates and taxes, to make a proper living and they resent schemes which pull the rug from under their hard work.
A backward step; LETTERS
This will, in effect, "pull the rug" from underneath the application by Asda for a new store on the existing site and make their intended pounds 16m investment contrary to planning guidance.
Pulling the rug
IT'S typical of Everton to build up your hopes one week, only to then pull the rug from under you the next.
The JURY: Alan Stubbs' experience may be more valuable than Yobo's pace in the derby - Spowart
Confidence is an entertaining and slickly-directed suspense thriller, which fails to pull the rug from under us.
To rent"