Nettet10. sep. 2012 · To be left holding the bag (and presumably nothing else), "cheated, swindled" is attested by 1793. Many figurative senses, such as the verb meaning "to kill game" (1814) and its colloquial extension to "catch, seize, steal" (1818) are from the notion of the game bag (late 15c.) into which the product of the hunt was placed. Nettetbe left holding the bag idiom US (UK be left holding the baby) to suddenly have to deal with a difficult situation because others have decided that they do not want the responsibility: The other investors pulled out of the project and we were left holding the bag. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases Coping and not coping balancing act
The phrase ‘(to be left) to hold the baby’ originated in stock …
NettetMeaning "person's area of interest or expertise" is 1964, from Black English slang, from jazz sense of "category," probably via notion of putting something in a bag. To be left holding the bag (and presumably nothing else), "cheated, swindled" is attested by 1793. Nettet22. nov. 2024 · Of British-English origin, the phrase (to be left) to hold the baby, and its variants, mean (to be left) to deal with an unwelcome responsibility. chutzpah chantilly
BE LEFT HOLDING THE BAG - Cambridge English Dictionary
NettetThis expression is often put as be left holding the bag, as in When they quit the clean-up committee, Lucy was left holding the bag. This idiom grew out of the earlier give one the bag (to hold), which dates from about 1600 and alludes to being left with an empty bag while others have taken the valuable contents. Also see leave in the lurch. NettetThe moron was likely to bolt and leave him holding the bag .” Verb Past tense for to abandon somebody, especially in a difficult situation left in the lurch abandoned deserted left dumped ditched forsook forsaken jilted stranded cast aside walked out on ran out on run out on left stranded broke with broken with threw over thrown over Nettetc) a large bag that you use to carry your clothes etc when you are travelling Just throw your bags in the back of the car. a garment bag 2 amount the amount that a bag will hold bag of a bag of popcorn 3 → old/stupid bag 4 → bags of something 5 → pack your bags 6 → bags 7 → a bag of bones 8 → in the bag 9 → bags 10 → not somebody’s bag 11 … dfs sofas uk sale chairs