leave someone in the lurch

present singular third person leaves someone in the lurch · participle present leaving someone in the lurch · participle past left someone in the lurch · past left someone in the lurch

1. idiomaticTo abandon somebody; especially, to abandon somebody and leave them in a difficult situation.

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

   4 more examples

   And though th'art of a diff'rent Church, / I will not leave thee in the lurch.

   1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “Canto III”, in Hudibras. The First Part. […], London: […] J. G. for Richard Marriot, […], →OCLC, page 103

   “So I really loved working here.” “Obvi.” “But the time has ome for me to move on. But don't worry, I am not gonna leave you guys in the lurch. I've already found my replacement. I'm gonna train him really, really well so that no business is interrupted in any way.”

   2014 February 25, Nick Kroll, “Finger Magnets” (5:22 from the start), in Kroll Show, season 2, episode 7, spoken by Cassandra (Sarah Dampf)

   “Wayne, bro, I am so sorry. Wayne, I said I'm sorry.” “I heard you. I just was trying to figure out if you're apologizing for this or-or for a whole lifetime of leaving me in the lurch. But then again, I'm the dumbass for thinking you've grown up.” “Serious?” “Serious.”

   2021 May 2, Janine Brito & Jeremy Rowley, “The Drincan Temple” (15:51 from the start), in Bless the Harts, season 2, episode 19, spoken by Wayne Edwards (Ike Barinholtz)

   Frédérique Laurence, the owner of a grocery shop in La Morte, added: “We’ve been left completely in the lurch. We still have loans to pay as we’ve only been here four years. Who will pay them? Our lives have been ruined. That’s what is going to happen to us.”

   2024 October 7, Kim Willsher, “Large French Alpine ski resort to close in face of shrinking snow season”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   Synonyms: leave someone holding the bag, leave someone high and dry, bail out on, bail on