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

See Examples For:

high and dry

And he does not want to leave his clients high and dry should he die unexpectedly.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 25, 2026

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

They knocked them off in four, with Curran left high and dry on 15 deliveries.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2024

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

I didn’t want to leave Sean and the rest of JV team high and dry.

From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan

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