leave in the lurch
noun
Idioms 2.
leave in the lurch, to leave in an uncomfortable or desperate situation; desert in time of trouble: Our best salesperson left us in the lurch at the peak of the busy season.
Origin:
1525–35; < Middle French lourche a game, noun use of lourche (adj.) discomfited < Germanic; compare Middle High German lurz left (hand), Old English belyrtan to deceive
1525–35; < Middle French lourche a game, noun use of lourche (adj.) discomfited < Germanic; compare Middle High German lurz left (hand), Old English belyrtan to deceive
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To leave in the lurch
Collins
World English Dictionary
lurch1 (lɜːtʃ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to lean or pitch suddenly to one side |
| 2. | to stagger or sway |
| —n | |
| 3. | the act or an instance of lurching |
| [C19: origin unknown] | |
| 'lurching1 | |
| —adj | |
00:10
Leave in the lurch
is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| lurch2 (lɜːtʃ) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | leave someone in the lurch to desert someone in trouble |
| 2. | cribbage the state of a losing player with less than 30 points at the end of a game (esp in the phrase in the lurch) |
| [C16: from French lourche a game similar to backgammon, apparently from lourche (adj) deceived, probably of Germanic origin] | |
| lurch3 (lɜːtʃ) | |
| —vb | |
| archaic, dialect or (intr) to prowl or steal about suspiciously | |
| [C15: perhaps a variant of | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
lurch
"sudden pitch to one side," 1819 (in Byron's "Don Juan"), from earlier lee-larch (1769), a nautical term for "sudden violent roll to leeward which a ship often takes in a high sea," perhaps from Fr. lacher "to let go," from L. laxus (see lax).
lurch
"predicament," 1584, from M.E. lurch (v.) "to beat in a game of skill (often by a great many points)," c.1350, probably lit. "to make a complete victory in lorche," a game akin to backgammon, from O.Fr. lourche. The game name is perhaps related to M.E. lurken, lorken "to lie hidden, lie in ambush," or
it may be adopted into Fr. from M.H.G. lurz "left," also "wrong."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
leave in the lurch
Abandon or desert someone in difficult straits. For example, Jane was angry enough to quit without giving notice, leaving her boss in the lurch. This expression alludes to a 16th-century French dice game, lourche, where to incur a lurch meant to be far behind the other players. It later was used in cribbage and other games, as well as being used in its present figurative sense by about 1600.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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