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leave someone to his or her resources

leave someone to his or her resources idiom

Let one rely on oneself to do what he or she likes or to get out of trouble. For example, Left to his own resources, my four-year-old might well turn the hose on the dog, or Refusing to pay for Lydia's traffic ticket, Dad insisted on leaving her to her resources.

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.