leave Idiom, Proverb
absent without leave
Idiom(s):
absent without leave AND AWOLTheme:
ABSENCE
absent from a military unit without permission; absent from anything without permission. (AWOL is an abbreviation. This is a serious offense in the military.)
• The soldier was taken away by the military police because he was absent without leave.
• John was AWOL from school and got into a lot of trouble with his parents.
absent without leave|AWOL|absent|leave
adj. Absent without permission; used mostly in the military. Jack left Fort Sheridan without asking his commanding officer, and was punished for going AWOL.
beaver leaver
the penis
French leave
To take French leave is to leave a gathering without saying goodbye or without permission.
French leave|French|leave
n. The act of slipping away from a place secretly and without saying good-bye to anyone. "It's getting late," Rob whispered to Janet. "Let's take French leave and get out of here."
Gardening leave
(UK) If someone is paid for a period when they are not working, either after they have given in their notice or when they are being investigated, they are on gardening leave.
in the dust, leave someone
in the dust, leave someone
Leave one far behind, as in a race or competition. For example, This marketing strategy will leave the others in the dust. This metaphoric colloquialism alludes to the dust raised by a fast-moving horse or vehicle.
leave
leave
In addition to the idioms beginning with leave, also see absent without leave; high and dry; out in the cold; take it or leave it; take leave of; take one's leave. Also see under let.
* * *
- leave a bad taste in one's mouth
- leave a lot to be desired
- leave alone
- leave flat
- leave hanging
- leave holding the bag
- leave in the lurch
- leave no stone unturned
- leave off
- leave one cold
- leave open
- leave out
- leave out in the cold
- leave out of account
- leave someone alone
- leave someone in peace
- leave someone in the lurch
- leave someone to his or her resources
- leave the door open
- leave to someone's own devices
- leave to someone's tender mercies
- leave well enough alone
- leave without a leg to stand on
- leave word
- left field
- left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, the
- left-handed compliment
- left wing
leave (let) well enough alone
be satisfied with something that is good enough You should let well enough alone and be happy with your work schedule the way it is.
leave (someone) holding the bag
leave someone else to take the blame He left me holding the bag when he ran away from the accident.
leave (up) to
give the choice or decision to 让…来决定、选择;把某事交给…处理
Since you don't want to decide,leave the matter up to your boss when he returns.既然你不想作决定,就让你老板回来后作决定吧。
I left the choice of colours for the house up to my wife.我让我妻子来选择房子的颜色。
Now you just leave it to me.这事你交给我好了。
leave a bad taste in one
leave a bad impression, make one feel disgusted The way that the company fired the workers left a bad taste in everyone
leave a bad taste in one's mouth
Idiom(s): leave a bad taste in one's mouth
Theme: MEMORY
[for someone or something] to leave a bad feeling or memory with someone. (Informal.)
• The whole business about the missing money left a bad taste in his mouth.
• It was a very nice party, but something about it left a bad taste in my mouth.
• I'm sorry that Bill was there. He always leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
leave a bad taste in one's mouth|bad taste|leave|m
v. phr. To feel a bad impression; make you feel disgusted. Seeing a man beat his horse leaves a bad taste in your mouth. His rudeness to the teacher left a bad taste in my mouth.
leave a lot to be desired
Idiom(s): leave a lot to be desired
Theme: LACKING
to be lacking something important; to be inadequate. (A polite way of saying that something is bad.)
• This report leaves a lot to be desired.
• I'm sorry to have to fire you, Mary, but your work leaves a lot to be desired.
leave a sinking ship
Idiom(s): desert a sinking ship AND leave a sinking ship
Theme: ABANDONMENT
to leave a place, a person, or a situation when things become difficult or unpleasant. (Rats are said to be the first to leave a ship that is sinking.)
• I hate to be the one to desert a sinking ship, but I can't stand it around here anymore.
• There goes Tom. Wouldn't you know he'd leave a sinking ship rather than stay around and try to help?
leave alone
don
leave at the altar|altar|at the altar|leave
v. phr. 1. To decide not to marry someone in the last minute; jilt. Ed left poor Susan at the altar. 2. To overlook and skip for promotion; not fulfill deserved expectation. Once again I didn't get my promotion and was left at the altar.
leave behind
leave something somewhere I left my coat behind in the restaurant.
leave behind|behind|leave
v. phr. 1. Abandon. Refugees on the run must sometimes leave old and sick people behind. 2. To forget; go away without. We had reached our car when we noticed that we had left our keys behind.
leave flat
leave flat
Forsake or abandon completely, especially without warning. For example, He didn't tell her he wasn't picking her up; he just left her flat. [Colloquial; c. 1900] Also see high and dry; leave in the lurch.
leave flat|flat|leave
v. phr., informal To quit or leave suddenly without warning when wanted or needed; desert; forsake; abandon. Sam found that being a member of the trail-clearing group was a lot of hard work, so he left them flat. My car ran out of gas and left me flat, ten miles from town.
Compare: LEAVE IN THE LURCH, WALK OUT2.
leave for
go to;start for 离此而去…;往…出发…
We are leaving for Canada next week.下星期我们要去加拿大。
leave for dead
Idiom(s): leave sb for dead
Theme: ABANDONMENT
to abandon someone as being dead. (The abandoned person may actually be alive.)
• He looked so bad that they almost left him for dead.
• As the soldiers turned—leaving the enemy captain for dead—the captain fired at them.
leave hanging
leave hanging
Also, leave hanging in the air or in midair. Keep undecided, uncertain, or in suspense. For example, Since we hadn't found a big enough hall, we left the final date hanging, or She couldn't figure out a good ending for the book, so her audience was left hanging in midair.
leave hanging (in the air)
leave undecided or unsettled Whether or not they will be leaving next year was left hanging in the air at the end of the meeting.
leave hanging in midair
Idiom(s): leave someone or something hanging in midair AND keep someone or something hanging in midair
Theme: WAITING
to suspend dealing with someone or something; to leave someone or something waiting to be finished or continued.
• She left her sentence hanging in midair.
• She left us hanging in midair when she paused.
• Tell me the rest of the story. Don't leave me hanging in midair.
• Don't leave the story hanging in midair.
leave hanging|air|hang|hanging|hanging in the air|
v. phr. To leave undecided or unsettled. Because the committee could not decide on a time and place, the matter of the spring dance was left hanging. Ted's mother didn't know what to do about the broken window, so his punishment was left hanging in the air until his father came home.
Compare: UP IN THE AIR.
leave high and dry
Idiom(s): leave sb high and dry
Theme: ABANDONMENT
to leave someone unsupported and unable to maneuver; to leave someone helpless.(Informal.)
• All my workers quit and left me high and dry.
• All the children ran away and left Billy high and dry to take the blame for the broken window.
leave holding the bag
leave holding the bag
Abandon someone, force someone to bear the responsibility or blame. For example, Her friends said they were too busy to help with cleaning up, and left Lucy holding the bag. This expression is often put as be left holding the bag, as in When they quit the clean-up committee, Lucy was left holding the bag. This idiom grew out of the earlier give one the bag (to hold), which dates from about 1600 and alludes to being left with an empty bag while others have taken the valuable contents. Also see leave in the lurch.
leave holding the bag|bag|holding the bag|holding
v. phr., informal 1. To cause (someone) not to have something needed; leave without anything, In the rush for seats, Joe was left holding the bag. 2. To force (someone) to take the whole responsibility or blame for something that others should share. When the ball hit the glass, the team scattered and left George holding the bag. After the party, the other girls on the clean-up committee went away with their dates, and left Mary holding the bag.
leave in the lurch
desert or leave alone and in trouble, refuse to help or support someone He left me in the lurch when he didn
leave in the lurch|in the lurch|leave|lurch
v. phr. To desert or leave alone in trouble; refuse to help or support. The town bully caught Eddie, and Tom left him in the lurch. Bill quit his job, leaving his boss in the lurch.
Compare: LEAVE FLAT, HIGH AND DRY2, WALK OUT2.
leave it at that|leave|leave it
v. phr. To avoid further and more acrimonious disagreement; not argue or discuss any further. Our opinion on health care is obviously different, so let's just leave it at that.
leave me hanging
leave me wondering what happened You begin a story, but you don't finish it. You leave me hanging.
leave no stone unturned
try in every way, do everything possible The police left no stone unturned when they were looking for the little girl who was lost.
leave no stone unturned|leave|stone|stone unturned
v. phr. To try in every way; miss no chance; do everything possible.
Usually used in the negative. The police will leave no stone unturned in their search for the bank robbers.
Compare: ALL OUT, BEND HEAVEN AND EARTH, FINE-TOOTH COMB.
leave off
1.stop 停止
Please leave off biting your nails.请不要咬指甲。
He told the boys to leave off teasing his little brother.他要那些孩子们停止戏弄他的小弟弟。
I think we should leave off now and have a cup of tea.我想我们该停下来喝杯茶了。
We leave off work at 12.我们12点钟下班。
2.no longer wear;stop wearing or using不再穿;不再使用
They left their woollen underwear when the weather got warm.天气转暖时,他们不穿羊毛衫了。
She left her coat off when she went out.她没穿外衣就出去了。
I have left off my overcoat.我已经不穿大衣了。
He has left off all ather medicines.他已停服其它所有的药。
leave off|leave
v. To come or put to an end; stop. There is a high fence where the school yard leaves off and the woods begin. Don told the boys to leave off teasing his little brother. Marion put a marker in her book so that she would know where she left off.
Antonym: TAKE UP.
leave on
1.continue wearing继续穿
I feel a bit cold so I'll leave my coat on.我觉得有点冷,所以外套就不脱了。
It's rude for a man to leave his hat on indoors.一个男子在室内仍戴着帽子是不礼貌的。
2.allow to stay in place or position 使…留在原处
Leave the cloth on.I want to lay the table for supper.台布不要取下,我要摆桌子开晚饭了。
3.not switch off 不关
The electric fire had been left on overnight.电炉整夜没有关。
Don't leave the light on when you go out?出去时,请关灯。
I want to leave the soup on all morning to thicken it.我想把这个汤煮一个上午,让汤煮稠点。
leave one cold
leave one cold
Disappoint one, fail to interest one. For example, This book leaves me cold. This expression, first recorded in 1853, employs cold in the sense of “unenthusiastic” or “indifferent,” a usage dating from the late 1100s.
leave one to one's fate
Idiom(s): leave one to one's fate
Theme: DISPOSAL
to abandon someone to whatever may happen—possibly death or some other unpleasant event.
• We couldn't rescue the miners and were forced to leave them to their fate.
• Please don't try to help. Just go away and leave me to my fate.
leave one's mark|leave|leave mark|mark
v. phr. To leave an impression upon; influence someone. Tolstoy never won the Nobel Prize, but he left his mark on world literature. See: MAKE ONE'S MARK.
leave oneself wide open for
Idiom(s): leave oneself wide open for something AND leave oneself wide open to something
Theme: PROTECTION - LACKING
to invite criticism or joking about oneself; to fail to protect oneself from criticism or ridicule.
• Yes, that was a harsh remark, Jane, but you left yourself wide open to it.
• I can't complain about your joke. I left myself wide open for it.
leave oneself wide open to
Idiom(s): leave oneself wide open for something AND leave oneself wide open to something
Theme: PROTECTION - LACKING
to invite criticism or joking about oneself; to fail to protect oneself from criticism or ridicule.
• Yes, that was a harsh remark, Jane, but you left yourself wide open to it.
• I can't complain about your joke. I left myself wide open for it.
leave open
leave open
1) Keep undecided or unscheduled, as in We don't know how much fabric will be needed; let's leave that open, or The doctor leaves Fridays open for consultation. This expression uses open in the sense of “undetermined,” a usage dating from the mid-1500s.
2) leave oneself open. Remain vulnerable to; also, remain willing to consider. For example, Her actions left her open to widespread criticism, or I left myself open to further suggestions about how to proceed. Also see under lay open.
leave open|leave|open
v. phr. To remain temporarily unsettled; subject to further discussion. Brad said that the question of health insurance would be left open until some future date.
leave out
not include, discard Leave out the cracked dishes. We'll throw them away.
leave out in the cold
not invite, exclude Kim didn't receive an invitation. She was left out in the cold.
leave out of account
leave out of account
see take into account.
Dictionary - Dictionary of similar words, Different wording, Synonyms, Idioms for Idiom, Proverb leave