twist in the wind

English

WOTD – 9 December 2011

Etymology

An allusion to being hanged by the neck and then left for dead in a suspended state.

Pronunciation

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Verb

twist in the wind (third-person singular simple present twists in the wind, present participle twisting in the wind, simple past and past participle twisted in the wind)

1. (idiomatic) To be unassisted and without comfort in a situation likely to result in distress or failure.
   • 1987 July 12, William E. Schmidt, “Iran-Contra Hearings”, in New York Times, retrieved 23 Aug. 2008:

     There seemed to be a shared perception of Colonel North as a good and honorable serviceman who had been left to twist in the wind, the scapegoat of an operation gone awry.

2. (idiomatic) To wait for an uncomfortably long period of time.
   • 2008 August 21, Josh Wingrove, “Toronto facing $2-million cleanup bill”, in Globe and Mail, Canada:

     McGuinty just says, "Don't worry, the investigation will be over soon enough, we'll do something in due course," and people are expected to twist in the wind in the meantime.

Translations

To be unassisted and without comfort in a situation likely to result in distress or failure

To wait for an uncomfortably long period of time

See also

• hang out to dry
• leave someone high and dry
• leave someone holding the bag
• leave someone in the lurch

References

• “twist in the wind”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “twisting in the wind”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.