ENGLISH
REFERENCE

be left holding the baby

idiom
Meaning

To be left with the responsibility of resolving a problem.


Examples
SIMPLE

My partner quit, so I was left holding the baby.

CONTEXTUAL

When the manager resigned suddenly, the rest of the team was left holding the baby to finish the project on time.

COMPLEX

After the primary investors withdrew their support, the startup founders were left holding the baby, forced to manage the mounting debts alone.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    baby and bathwater

    Used in reference to an error in which something valuable is discarded in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted.

  2. 02

    baby elephant in the room

    An obvious but mostly inconsequential issue.

  3. 03

    baby step

    A small effort made towards the completion of a much larger task.

  4. 04

    baby up

    To treat as a baby.

  5. 05

    basin of gravy

    [Cockney slang]baby

  6. 06

    be left at the post

    To be beaten from the beginning of a competition or race.

  7. 07

    Elvis has left the building

    A phrase used to announce the end of a show, usually one performed by an Elvis impersonator.

  8. 08

    exit stage left

    An orderly and uneventful departure, timed so as not to detract or distract.

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