leave someone holding the bag

leave someone holding the bag

English

Etymology

Originated in 18th-century Britain, referring to a person left holding stolen goods while the rest of a criminal gang escapes.

Verb

leave (somebody) holding the bag

1. (figuratively) To abandon somebody, leaving them holding the responsibility or blame.

   After the accident, he just vanished and left me holding the bag.

2. (figuratively) To remove the value from an article or arrangement and leave somebody holding the empty (or valueless) container.

Synonyms

• leave someone in the lurch
• leave someone holding the baby
• leave someone high and dry

Translations

leave somebody holding the responsibility or blame

French: faire porter le chapeau (lit., "wearing the hat") Galician: botar a culpa (lit., "blame the fault"), botar as culpas (lit., "blame the faults") Italian: rimanere col cerino in mano

Portuguese: pagar as favas (lit., "pay for the beans") Russian: пове́сить всех собак (povésitʹ vsex sobak) (lit:hang all the dogs (on somebody)), свалить вину (svalitʹ vinu) (lit: to drop the blame (on someone)) Spanish: echar el muerto