screw someone out of

screw someone out of idiom
Cheat, deceive, or defraud someone, as in They screwed me out of my overtime pay again. It is often rendered in the passive, be or get screwed, meaning “be cheated, deceived, or defrauded.” For example, We're getting screwed by this new income tax regulation. [Slang; c. 1900]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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