holding the baby

holding the baby
To be left holding the baby означает «быть оставленным с младенцем на руках», т. е. быть вынужденным выполнять неприятную и нежелательную обязанность. В прошлом мать нежеланного ребёнка иногда избавлялась от него, попросив какого-нибудь богатого и доброго на вид человека подержать младенца минутку, пока она якобы сходит по делам. Потом она исчезала в надежде, что жертва её обмана сжалится над ребёнком и даст ему дом и лучшую жизнь.

The boss wrote a provocative letter and then went on leave. I had to deal with all the complaints. I was left holding the baby. — Начальник написал провокационное письмо и ушёл в отпуск. Я должен был заниматься жалобами. На меня взвалили тяжёлую обязанность.


English-Russian dictionary of expressions. 2014.

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Смотреть что такое "holding the baby" в других словарях:

  • holding the baby —  Carrying the responsibility (usu. disagreeable). Left in charge. Usu. leave one holding the baby …   A concise dictionary of English slang

  • leave somebody holding the baby. —    If someone is left holding the baby, they are made responsible for a problem that others don t want to deal with.     When the angry customer started to complain, my colleague disappeared and left me holding the baby …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • leave somebody holding the baby — leave sb holding the ˈbaby idiom (informal) to suddenly make sb responsible for sth important that is really your responsibility • He changed to another job and we were left holding the baby. Main entry: ↑babyidiom …   Useful english dictionary

  • be left holding the baby — To be left in the lurch with an irksome responsibility • • • Main Entry: ↑baby …   Useful english dictionary

  • be left holding the baby — ► be left holding the baby informal be left with an unwelcome responsibility. Main Entry: ↑baby …   English terms dictionary

  • be left holding the baby — British, American to suddenly have to deal with a difficult problem or responsibility because someone else has decided they do not want to deal with it. He abandoned the project after a year because he felt that it was going to fail and I was… …   New idioms dictionary

  • be left holding the baby (or N. Amer. bag) — informal be left with an unwelcome responsibility. → hold …   English new terms dictionary

  • Holding the Fort — is also the name of an adventure story by Upton Sinclair. Holding the Fort was an ITV situation comedy starring Peter Davison, Patricia Hodge and Matthew Kelly. It was an early product of the writing team of Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran. Three …   Wikipedia

  • Leave smb. holding the baby — a) leave (the mother) with the sole responsibility of bring up a child; b) abandon (someone) with a problem or responsibility not rightly theirs …   Dictionary of Australian slang

  • leave smb. holding the baby — Australian Slang a) leave (the mother) with the sole responsibility of bring up a child; b) abandon (someone) with a problem or responsibility not rightly theirs …   English dialects glossary

  • be left holding the baby — verb To be left with the responsibility of resolving a problem …   Wiktionary


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