get caught left holding the bag
Meaning: To make someone the scapegoat; to be blamed for something that was not one's fault or was only partly one's fault.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Leave someone in the lurch is usually applied more generally to any number of situations involving responsibility whereas leave someone holding the bag is usually applied to a situation involving theft in which one person is literally left holding (or caught with) the stolen goods.
More idioms — Daily Life
- get down to brass tacks — To get serious or practical about something.
- get off scot-free — To escape the proper or expected punishment; to be acquitted of a crime.
- get one's act together — To get control of oneself mentally or physically; to get organized.
- get someone's dander up — To irritate or anger moderately.
- get the go-ahead — To receive or grant permission to proceed.
- get the message — To understand something that is only hinted at, perhaps because it is unpleasant.
More English idioms
- get this show on the road — To get started.
- get to the bottom of something — To understand something completely by sorting through all the facts or information.
- get to the point — To speak or write concisely and directly.
- get-up-and-go — Physical energy.
- get up on the wrong side of the bed — To be in a bad mood from the beginning of the day.
- get someone or something short shrift — To make quick work of something or to give little time to someone.
Loading the full interactive collection…