cast away

cast away idiom
  1. Also, cast aside. Discard, reject, as in He picked a book, then cast it aside, or She cast away all thoughts of returning home. [Early 1400s]
  2. Squander, waste, as in She cast away a fortune on jewelry. Shakespeare used this idiom in King John (2:1): “France, hast thou yet more blood to cast away?” [Early 1500s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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