high and dry

1. Stranded, as in They walked out on the party, leaving me high and dry. This expression originally alluded to a ship that had run aground or was in dry dock. Its figurative use dates from the late 1800s.

Example Sentences

LEE VINING, Calif. — The picturesque tufa towers on the shores of Mono Lake, formed over centuries by underwater springs and left high and dry as Los Angeles diverted water from nearby creeks, have long been a symbol of the saline lake.

From Los Angeles Times

Others in the community have left out water to help coyotes, birds and “any poor wildlife” left high and dry by the Eaton fire, she said.

From Los Angeles Times

Playing an unnamed surfer stuck high and dry atop a parched parking lot, Cage stares down at the waves below with the thirst of a battered cartoon coyote.

From Los Angeles Times

“Those are just a few examples of the programs of the people that have been left high and dry because of the administration’s illegal and unconstitutional attempt to freeze funding,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Ms Rowe said that her family had been "left high and dry".

From BBC