- Home
- Idioms
- leave hanging
leave hanging
leave someone or something hanging (in midair)
and keep someone or something hanging (in midair) 1. Lit. to keep someone or something suspended in midair when support for the person or thing is removed. The ladder collapsed and left me hanging in midair. Fortunately, I grabbed onto the windowsill.
2. Fig. 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. Tell me the rest of the story. Don't leave me hanging in midair.
leave somebody hanging
to keep someone waiting for a decision or answer (leave somebody to) twist in the wind I was left hanging for three weeks before I got a call offering me the job.
leave something hanging
to delay making a decision about something We don't know if we can buy the house yet because the bank left our loan application hanging.
Related vocabulary: up in the airleave 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 .