high and dry

Idioms  

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.

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Example Sentences

Only that department is set to get left high and dry once Saturday starts, but that’s still significant given its arms include the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 13, 2026

Students using an e-learning website have been left "high and dry" after the company running it went into administration.

From BBC • Oct. 13, 2025

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 • May 1, 2025

The land is high and dry, the ground rocky and inhospitable — not like the rainy coastal Northwest, where trees grow thick and fast.

From New York Times • Apr. 4, 2024

Instead, my mistakes, self-doubt, insecurity, and wandering mind left me high and dry.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos