pull the plug on

Discontinue, end, as in The government pulled the plug on that program . [First half of 1900s]
Remove all life-supporting equipment, as in The family debated whether it was time to pull the plug on him . [Second half of 1900s] Although this idiom undoubtedly alludes to cutting off electricity to an electrical device, it originally referred to the removal of a stopper that flushed an old-style toilet.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

But, you know, when you pull the plug on something like that, it’s hard for me.

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But as we know, Trump wants to pull the plug on the whole thing, abandon Ukraine and let Putin stick the broken pieces of the Soviet empire back together.

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Pull the plug on Ukraine, and the message to every dictator, every authoritarian, every would-be invader around the world is clear: America can’t be trusted.

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Times, I was struck and unnerved by the decision to pull the plug on the endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris and to do it in a pretty brutal way.

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Hay said he doesn’t anticipate Trump will pull the plug on the case, but the Justice Department could soften its proposed remedies.

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pull tab pull the rug out from under

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