From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishleave somebody in the lurchleave somebody in the lurchto leave someone at a time when you should stay and help them → lurch
Examples from the Corpus
leave somebody in the lurch• But I won't leave you in the lurch even if that time comes.• I wouldn't leave her in the lurch.• UPS workers went on strike today, leaving thousands of customers in the lurch.• The pager company shut down Tuesday, leaving 2000 customers in the lurch.• How can we leave them in the lurch, in their teens, like that?• She had never got over that chap who left her in the lurch all those years ago. 