1
general::
Phrase(s): gouge something out of someone
to cheat someone out of something. (Compare this with chisel something out of someone.) • They gouged the money out of the old man. • The crooks gouged the life savings out of the old lady., Phrase(s): gouge something out of something [and] gouge something out
to scoop or chisel something out of something. • Tom gouged a horrible furrow out of the wood of the piano bench. • He gouged out a horrible scratch.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs