1
general::
Phrase(s): put the skids under someone or something
Sl. to cause someone or something to fail. • Her lateness put the skids under our presentation to the board of directors. • He thought he could get promoted if he put the skids under the vice president.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Bring about the failure or defeat of, as in It was lack of funds that put the skids under the new senior center. The skids here are runners or rollers on which a heavy object may be moved. [Colloquial; early 1900s]
American Heritage Idioms