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Definition of high and dry
1 : being out of reach of the current or tide or out of the water
2 : being in a helpless or abandoned position
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Examples of high and dry in a Sentence
the inadequate supplies of vaccine left many people high and dry when the flu season arrived
Recent Examples on the Web When the lockdown happened the labour force was left high and dry.
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S Gopikrishna Warrier, Quartz India, "Decentralisation and equitable growth: Two lessons for India from the Covid-19 pandemic," 3 May 2020 The story of one Kansas City man shows why many policymakers say this is a particularly bad time for people to be left high and dry.
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John Eligon, New York Times, "A Virus’s Effects: Coughs, Chills and Sometimes a Forgiving Spirit," 27 Mar. 2020 The parking lot at the DeFelice Marine Center, the heart of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium of some two dozen institutions, was once high and dry.
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John Schwartz, New York Times, "Marine Labs on the Water’s Edge Are Threatened by Climate Change," 7 Jan. 2020 The American Physical Society was expecting 11,000 people in Denver, but canceled with one day’s notice, leaving many who had already arrived high and dry.
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Chris Impey, The Conversation, "Coronavirus: Social distancing is delaying vital scientific research," 18 Mar. 2020 Petnet is far from the first device or service to leave customers high and dry with complaints.
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Kate Cox, Ars Technica, "Petnet goes offline for a week, can’t answer customers at all," 24 Feb. 2020 Overly aggressive cooking left another course high and dry, a bite of snapper with a nice pipián mole too far off to the side.
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Mike Sutter, ExpressNews.com, "Review: High-end San Antonio restaurant Evo Contemporary Mexican Cuisine has noble approach, humble results in Olmos Park," 23 Jan. 2020 This introduced a strong plot line for a third season, but now we're being left high and dry.
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Kathryn Lindsay, refinery29.com, "Wait, Did Netflix Just End Mindhunter?," 16 Jan. 2020 But marijuana enthusiasts in metro Detroit have been left high and dry without a place close to home to purchase their stash.
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Kathleen Gray, Detroit Free Press, "Metro Detroit marijuana customers still waiting for nearby dispensaries," 3 Jan. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'high and dry.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for high and dry
The first known use of high and dry was in 1727
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