yank away

yank away

1. To pull or tug on something vigorously and repeatedly. I watched the mechanic yanking away at the innards of the engine and an awful feeling crept into my stomach. You can yank away all you like, but you'll never be able to pull that sword from its stone.
2. To pull, tug, or jerk someone or something away (from someone or something else) with sudden or violent force. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "yank" and "away." I tried to see what he was writing, but he yanked away the journal when I got close. I had to yank my daughter away from the edge of the pool before she fell in.
3. To remove or separate someone (from someone or something) very suddenly or forcefully. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "yank" and "away." The authoritarian government has been yanking political activists away from their families and throwing them in prison. I'm sorry for yanking you away from the meeting like that, but there is an issue that demands your urgent attention.
See also: away, yank

yank away at (something)

To pull or tug on something vigorously and repeatedly. I watched the mechanic yanking away at the innards of the engine, and an awful feeling crept into my stomach. You can yank away at it all you like, but you'll never be able to pull that sword from its stone.
See also: away, yank
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

yank someone or something away (from someone or something)

to jerk someone or something away from someone or something. He yanked his hand away from the fire. Please yank away that rug from the fire before it gets burned.
See also: away, yank
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • yank away at (something)
  • yank at
  • yank at (someone or something)
  • yank on
  • yank on (someone or something)
  • pluck from
  • yank (someone or something) out of (something)
  • yank out of
  • gouge
  • gouge (something) out
References in periodicals archive
"The Trump plan is to raise tolls on commuters, increase the burdenon cities and states, sell our essential infrastructure to the whims of Wall Street, and yank away the protections that keep consumers safe and our air and water clean," Pelosi said in a Twitter message on Monday, RIA Novosti reported.
Increasing Burden: Democrats Slam Trump's Proposed Budget Plan
Years later, as Facebook emerged as the main channel through which readers access news (particularly on smartphones) newsrooms scrambled to fill its pipe in every possible way, all the while worrying about losing control of their audiences, and nervous that Facebook would yank away their traffic with a tweak of the algorithm. Facebook is only just now introducing monetization tools so that media can directly make money off of their own content. 
Tech Money Can Make (Or Break) New Media
To me, as to a number of economists perhaps most notably Lawrence Summers, the former Treasury secretary the answer seems painfully obvious: Don't yank away that punch bowl, don't pull that rate-hike trigger, until you see the whites of inflation's eyes.
Partying Like It's 1995
regional interests (Israel was probably due for a military upgrade for Iran-related reasons anyway), getting the freeze extended was probably the best possible option, even if on its face it seems like (to mix football metaphors) Charlie Brown lining up one more time to kick the ball that Lucy will inevitably yank away. (Not to be totally unfair: The United States has admitted that the year-long timeframe for peace it established a few months ago was probably over-optimistic.)
For Lack of a Better Option
You can hear the think-tank policy architects and the legislators cracking their knuckles just before they yank away the remaining safety net.
When You Fall Down - Get Up!
(A) sticky foods that yank away pieces of the tooth's enamel.
Science News
If the guy has his tongue in your mouth (and you're OK with that), you don't want to just yank away from him.
In the next 30 seconds, you're about to be kissed. Do you know what to do?
A sharp burst of laser light striking an atom can yank away an electron, ionizing the atom.
Lasers act on cue in electron billiards