out in the cold

1. Excluded from benefits given to others, neglected, as in Her stand on abortion left her out in the cold with the party. This idiom alludes to being left outdoors without shelter. [Mid-1800s] Also see come in from the cold.

Example Sentences

Jettisoning the careful calibration both those MPs managed to balance to win half the party's Westminster seats from the Conservatives could leave them, and the 3,705 Green members who voted for them, out in the cold.

From BBC

“The question is where will the chips fall in the deal and will smaller authors be left out in the cold.”

From Los Angeles Times

I wasn’t left out in the cold for 10 years to suffer.”

From Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile, it slashes home heating assistance that will literally leave people out in the cold, features an almost 30% cut in food assistance, reduces the subsidies for Obamacare and implements the largest cuts to Medicaid in its history.

From Salon

A shorter winter has literally left Nitin Goel out in the cold.

From BBC