do (someone) out of (something)
To swindle, cheat, rob, or con someone out of something. That no-good rotten lawyer did me out of thousands of dollars from my grandfather's will! Mom, anyone who asks for your Social Security number over the phone is trying to do you out of your hard-earned money. Don't trust them! That charity always seemed shady to me. I figured it existed primarily to do unsuspecting donors of money.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
do someone out of something
to swindle something away from someone; to defraud someone of a right or of property. Are you trying to do me out of what's mine? Max tried to do her out of everything she had. I did myself out of a week's vacation by quitting when I did.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
do out of
Cheat or deprive someone of something. For example, Jane tried to do me out of my inheritance but the lawyer wouldn't let her. [Early 1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.