be left holding the bag



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be left holding the bag

To have responsibility or guilt for something foisted upon oneself; to take the blame for something. Primarily heard in US. My partner had been cooking the books for years, but I was left holding the bag when the business collapsed.
See also: bag, holding, left

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Zuzana-Czech, Slovak
RozRAHZEnglish
BlankaBLAHN-kah (Czech, Slovak, Polish, Croatian), BLAWN-kaw (Hungarian)Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, Croatian
Arch[a:tʃ]
Waite[weit]
SjorsSHAWRSDutch