In fact the phrase originates from the French board game of lourche or lurch which was similar to backgammon and was last played in the 17th century the rules having now been lost.

Example of leave someone in the lurch. To abandon leave a person. Learn More About leave someone in the lurch Share leave someone in the lurch. You really left me in the lurch back there.

Il demeura lourche. The card game of cribbage or crib also has a lurch position which players may be left in if they dont. Another word for leave someone in the lurch.

Leave someone in the lurch. See more words with the same meaning. He said he would help with the rent but he left me in the lurch.

For example Jane was angry enough to quit without giving notice leaving her boss in the lurch. COMMON If someone leaves you in the lurch they put you in a difficult situation by suddenly going away or stopping helping you. Want to learn more.

This expression alludes to a 16th-century French dice game lourche where to incur a lurch meant to be far behind the other players. For example Jane was angry enough to quit without giving notice leaving her boss in the lurch. Verb - transitive to leave someone in a bad situation.

More example sentences he left you in the lurch when you needed him most. The word lurch was also used in various games to denote a certain concluding state of the score in which one player is enormously ahead of the other. Leave-someone-in-the-lurch meaning idiomatic To abandon somebody.