left high and dry
Meaning: Stranded or abandoned without help.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “When the contractor went bankrupt, the homeowners were left high and dry.”
Category: Nature
Origin: Originally nautical: a ship left "high and dry" was stranded on the shore when the tide went out. The figurative sense is found from the 19th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- Spanish: en la estacada — literally: in the stake
- French: En rade — literally: In the roadstead
More idioms — Nature
- gone with the wind — Gone forever, vanished without a trace.
- the light at the end of the tunnel — A sign that a long, difficult period is ending.
- be in clover — To live in comfort and luxury.
- go downhill — To get steadily worse.
- clear as day — Completely obvious.
- grow like wildfire — To spread very fast.
More English idioms
- an old wives' tale — A traditional belief, especially about health, that is not true.
- a pen-pusher — A clerk or bureaucrat doing dull paperwork.
- a word to the wise — A hint or warning that a sensible person will heed.
- blood will tell — Family background and inherited character eventually show.
- a shot across the bow — A warning of more serious action to come.
- at a snail's pace — Very slowly.