left out in the cold

L

left out in the cold

Meaning

• being neglected.
• ignore someone.
• leave someone in a bad position.
• prevent someone from getting an opportunity.
• not given rights given to others.
• prevent someone from becoming part of an activity or group.

Example Sentences

1. Orphans are left out in the cold when parents’ meetings are held.
2. Patients who lack medical insurance are left out in the cold.
3. She was left out in the cold when the football match was going on due to her disability.
4. Doctors were left out in the cold when others received their salaries.
5. Areas affected by drought are mostly left out in the cold during food supply.
6. Unauthorized companies were left out in the cold when certificates were issued.
7. The street children were left out in the cold when well-wishers visited the country.
8. During the elections, unregistered voters were left out in the cold and did not cast their votes.
9. The tea factory was left out in the cold when other products were exported.

Origin

The term “left out in the cold” evokes the image of an individual who is not let into a home and must remain outdoors in cold weather. Presumably, the idiom began in the late 19th century when it meant just that. People soon transferred it to mean exclusion from a shelter, information, a social group, and other things. It had been a cliché for many years by the time John Le Carre wrote an espionage novel in 1963 titled The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. In the novel, the main character returns from Communist East Germany to the West. Figuratively, the main character was out in the cold.

Cold, Weather