leave someone holding the bag

English

Etymology

Originated in 18th-century Britain, referring to a person left holding stolen goods while the rest of a criminal gang escapes.

Verb

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

1. (figuratively) To abandon somebody, leaving him or her holding the responsibility or blame.

   After the accident, he just vanished and left me holding the bag.

2. (figuratively) To remove the value from an article or arrangement and leave somebody holding the empty (or valueless) container.

Synonyms

• leave someone in the lurch
• leave someone holding the baby
• leave someone high and dry

Related terms

• bagholder

Translations

leave somebody holding the responsibility or blame

• Finnish: jättää ottamaan syyt niskoilleen
• French: faire porter le chapeau (lit., "wearing the hat")
• Galician: botar a culpa (lit., "blame the fault"), botar as culpas (lit., "blame the faults")
• Italian: lasciare col cerino in mano
• Polish: wziąć dupę w troki (pl) pf
• Portuguese: pagar as favas (lit., "pay for the beans")
• Russian: пове́сить всех собак (povésitʹ vsex sobak) (lit:hang all the dogs (on somebody)), свалить вину (svalitʹ vinu) (lit: to drop the blame (on someone))
• Spanish: echar el muerto