Fig: to prevent someone from doing something

He was climbing up the career ladder on the fast-track, but the discovery of his illegal acts cut him off at the knees and now he's a paper pusher for his former secretary

Stava facendo una velocissima carriera, ma la scoperta di sue gravi illegalità gli ha tagliato le gambe ed ora fa il passacarte per quella che era la sua segretaria

These new taxes will cut the tourism industry off at the knees and won't be of any good to anyone

Queste nuove tasse taglieranno le gambe al settore del turismo e non serviranno a nessuno