pull the plug on

1. Discontinue, end, as in The government pulled the plug on that program . [First half of 1900s]

2. 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.