“Couper l’herbe sous le pied de quelqu’un” is a fun figurative French idiom that translates directly to “to cut the grass under somebody’s feet”. Here’s the English meaning:
- to cut the ground from under somebody’s feet
- to pull the rug out from under somebody’s feet
Expressio.fr offers the following meaning in French: To frustrate somebody with an expected advantage by passing them, or to prevent somebody from succeeding in business by taking their place.
Here’s an example sentence:
Frenchlearner.com a coupé les pieds de tous ses concurrents en sortant plus de contenu utile et interessant. Frenchlearner.com pulled the rug out from under the feet of its competitors by coming out with more useful and interesting content.
Bonjour! My name is David Issokson. I'm based in Victor, Idaho and have helped hundreds of students to learn French via Skype or Zoom since 2014. 
