hang out to dry

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hang out to dry (third-person singular simple present hangs out to dry, present participle hanging out to dry, simple past and past participle hung out to dry)

1. Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning: see hang,‎ out,‎ dry.
2. (transitive, idiomatic) To abandon someone who is in need or in danger, especially a colleague or one dependent.

   Synonym: leave someone hanging

   • 2008, Joe Fiorito, "Our home-care system hangs families out to dry," Toronto Star, 7 Mar. (retrieved 23 Aug. 2008),

     Without supplemental health insurance, we would have been hung out to dry.

• Often carries an element of betrayal of someone who might have expected protection or assistance.

• twist in the wind
• hang out