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general::
Phrase(s): siphon something off (from something)
1. Lit. to suck or draw a liquid off from something. • Harry siphoned the cream off the milk. • He siphoned off the cream. 2. Fig. to embezzle or steal something a little at a time. The teller had been siphoning money off for years. • She siphoned off a few dollars from the collection every week or so.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs