left in the lurch

English

Etymology

From the Middle French board game of lourche (“lurch”). Players suffered a lurch if they were left in a hopeless position which rendered victory impossible.[1]

Adjective

left in the lurch (not comparable)

  1. Stranded in a difficult and helpless position.

References
  1. Gary Martin (1997–) “Left in the lurch”, in The Phrase Finder, retrieved 26 February 2017.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.