take someone’s legs off
v. phr.— «At home the former professional golfer wants to build a multi-million pound indoor golf facility in the region—a project he tried to develop five years ago only to have his planning application rejected in favour of a new training ground for Newcastle United. “Newcastle United came in late and, to use a footballing term, they took our legs off.”» —“Golf supremo has come a fair way” by Andrew Mernin nebusiness.co.uk (United Kingdom) Oct. 22, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Susan from Virginia Beach, Virginia, shares the phrase her mother used when the kids refused to eat: It’ll grow hair on your back teeth. This supposed motivator likely blends two older traditions: a German idiom, Haare auf den Zähnen haben...
Why do speakers of the same language have different accents? A lively new book called Why We Talk Funny offers a linguist’s look at how and why accents develop. And: If you’ve “stood up” at a wedding, were you supporting the marriage or objecting to...