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 • Sep. 6, 2024

Meanwhile, as the blue ribbon institutions battle over stars, they are letting legions of very good, if not superlative, students hang out to dry.

From Time Magazine Archive

Our socks and other damp articles which we hang out to dry at night became immediately covered with long feathery crystals exactly like plumes.

From South with Scott by Mountevans, Edward Ratcliffe Garth Russell Evans, baron