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Reader question: Please explain “pull the plug”, as in this headline: Utah Pulls The Plug On The Four-Day Workweek (AOL.com, September 15, 2011). My comments: A four-day workweek? What a good idea. Upon checking the story, I found that the American state of Utah had a plan “for state workers to clock in 10 hours a day, Monday through Thursday, to improve efficiency, reduce overhead costs and conserve energy.” Apparently this is one of the measures to have been taken to help combat state-wide recession. However, upon close examination, lawmakers failed to “note any savings” in the program. Therefore, they have voted to end the program. In other words, to “pull the plug” on it. A four-day week is not such a good idea after all. Anyways, “pull the plug” should be all of our concern here. Plug, you see, is the thing used for connecting a piece of electrical equipment to the main supply of electricity, a two-pin plug, for instance. Or a three-pin plug for the refrigerator or the computer. Hence, to connect, you plug in. To disconnect, you plug out, or unplug or you simply “pull the plug”. Hence, figuratively speaking, to pull the plug on something is to deactivate it, to end it, to close it, to discontinue the activity. Especially useful in business, to pull the plug on a plan or business is to prevent it from being able to continue, especially by deciding not to give it any more money. | 
