to leave somebody holding the baby
01
to abandon someone with responsibility for a difficult situation, problem, or task that was originally shared or caused by others
Dialect
British
British
![to [leave] {sb} holding the baby definition and meaning](https://cdn.langeek.co/photo/44568/original/?type=jpeg "to [leave] {sb} holding the baby definition and meaning")
例
He promised to help, but he left me holding the baby when the deadline came.
The manager quit suddenly, leaving the team holding the baby on the unfinished project.
