throw to the wolves

throw someone to the wolves

Fig. to sacrifice someone to save the rest; to abandon someone to harm. (Fig. on the image of giving one person to the wolves to eat so the rest can get away.) Don't try to throw me to the wolves. I'll tell the truth about the whole affair! The investigation was going to be rigorous and unpleasant, and I could see they were going to throw someone to the wolves.

See also: throw

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throw somebody to the wolves  (British, American & Australian) also leave somebody to the wolves (Australian)

to cause someone to be in a situation where they are criticized strongly or treated badly and to not try to protect them No one warned me what sort of people I would be dealing with. I felt I'd been thrown to the wolves.

See also: throw

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throw somebody to the wolves

to put someone in a situation where there is nothing to protect them Are illegal foreign workers going to be thrown to the wolves, or will we try to regulate their employers?

See also: throw