hang out to dry

Idioms  

1. Abandon someone to danger, as in The squadron withdrew and just let us hang out to dry. This expression alludes to hanging wet laundry on a clothesline. [Slang; 1960s]

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Example Sentences

“I was really stuck back, because you don’t want to leave your elbow to hang out to dry, basically.”

From Los Angeles Times

“We let him hang out to dry again. We can sit here and talk about it, but we’ve been talking about it for a while now.”

From Los Angeles Times

“He thought it was selfish,” said Josh Holmes, Mr. McConnell’s top political adviser, recalling the lawmaker’s reaction to Mr. Ryan’s announcement: “If he wanted to leave, he could leave after the election. He let all his guys hang out to dry.”

From New York Times

“They’ve all expressed that basically DJ is getting made to hang out to dry and that some of these so-called athletes are looking for participation trophies. Life is not about participation. It’s about learning life skills. DJ has been a great teacher of those.”

From Washington Post

“Every man has to be accountable for his actions. He made the perfect call right there, and I let disguise jeopardize my responsibility. It was important to me because as a leader on this team, I want to make sure every player, and especially the DBs, know I’ve got their back and I’ll never let me hang out to dry.”

From Washington Times