leave someone in the lurch

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

leave someone in the lurch (third-person singular simple present leaves someone in the lurch, present participle leaving someone in the lurch, simple past and past participle left someone in the lurch)

1. (idiomatic) To abandon somebody; especially, to abandon somebody and leave him or her in a difficult situation.

   He left me in the lurch and I had to finish the whole project by myself.

   • Hudibras

     But though thou'rt of a different church, / I will not leave thee in the lurch.

Synonyms

• leave someone holding the bag
• leave someone high and dry
• bilk

Translations

to abandon somebody and leave him or her in a difficult situation

• Czech: nechat ve štychu
• Finnish: jättää pulaan
• French: planter (fr), planter là
• German: im Stich lassen (de), sitzen lassen
• Hungarian: cserben hagy (hu), pácban hagy, benne hagy a pácban, magára hagy, sorsára hagy, benne hagy a csávában, benne hagy a slamasztikában
• Irish: fág san abar, fág Baile Átha Cliath ar an mbóthar ag duine
• Italian: lasciare in asso, piantare in asso
• Norwegian: la i stikken
• Russian: оста́вить на произво́л судьбы́ pf (ostávitʹ na proizvól sudʹbý)
• Spanish: dejar tirado, dejar en la estacada, dejar con los crespos hechos, dejar plantado
• Swedish: lämna i sticket (sv)
• Turkish: ortada bırakmak (tr), ortada komak