yank off

Related to yank off: so much for, at the expense of

yank off

To pull, tug, or jerk someone or something off (of someone or something else) very suddenly or forcefully. A noun or pronoun can be used between "yank" and "off." The magician yanked off the sheet, revealing that his assistant had disappeared. My dog yanked me off my feet when he started running after a squirrel. The police officer yanked the assailant off of the victim and put him in handcuffs.
See also: off, yank
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

yank someone or something off (of) something

 and yank someone or something off
to jerk someone or something off something. (Of is usually retained before pronouns.) She yanked the coffeepot off the counter and ran upstairs. She yanked off the box lid.
See also: off, yank

yank something off

to pull or jerk off something, such as a piece of clothing. She yanked her jacket off. She yanked off her jacket and threw it on the chair.
See also: off, yank
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • check off
  • bite off
  • base off (of) (something else)
  • blow off
  • blow someone/something off
  • blow off the map
  • cheese off
  • cheese someone off
References in periodicals archive
Later researchers dismissed the idea, questioning whether the young cowbirds could even grasp and yank off the parasites.
"Then I grabbed him and pulled at his precious hair with one hand, while trying to yank off his jewellery with the other.
HATE-FILLED Michelle Eager is today behind bars for trying to yank off a woman's religious headgear.
This is in part because they remain divided over who should be the nominee despite Romney's plodding inevitability: witness the Adelson-Gingrich phenomenon; witness the Emergency Committee for Israel's ad, set for South Carolina, targeting Ron Paul for not being a Reagan Republican, which the group had to yank off the air after the star of the ad, ECI co-founder Gary Bauer, endorsed Rick Santorum.
"Me and another guy managed to yank off the grill and pull out the wire to stop it.
However, the handicapper has given him a hard task with Perrys Yank off the front, so beware.
You tear open the sellophane, yank off the lid, throw open the board and discover -to your horror -that you are the Old Kent Road, the cheapest, most undesirable property on the board.
Lucas confirmed that a sore wrist had kept Iceman Yank off the track following his win in the Ladbroke Marathon at Walthamstow in August, but is not using that as an excuse for his TV Trophy defeat.
And unlike the cereal boxes you yank off grocery shelves, zoo foods (e.g., insects) don't come with nutrition labels attached.
A witness said agents tried to yank off his "false beard" but pulled out clumps of hair, leaving him shouting in agony.
Lydia Pearce, one of the best amateurs around for many years, had an unfortunate experience on Mustang in Swing Along's race, the gelding losing many lengths at the start when the blind, which had been put on to facilitate stalls entry, got caught in the horse's blinkers and took some time to yank off.
Some enzymes called kinases put phosphates on proteins, while other enzymes, namely calcineurin and other phosphatases, yank off phosphates.