leave something to be desired

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English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /liːv ˈsʌmθɪŋ tu biː dɪˈzaɪə(ɹ)d/

Verb

leave something to be desired (third-person singular simple present leaves something to be desired, present participle leaving something to be desired, simple past and past participle left something to be desired)

  1. (idiomatic) to be insufficient in some aspect.
    • 1835, An essay on the use of chlorurets of oxide of sodium and of lime, page 35:
      These instructions are too short not to leave something to be desired under certain circumstances; but the knowledge of veterinary surgeons will supply whatever may be incomplete
    • 1921, Foxes from Northern Argentina, page 386:
      the drawings of the bats, though very artistic, leave something to be desired as regards detail.
    • 1951 November, R. K. Kirkland, “The Wimbledon and West Croydon Line of the Southern Region”, in Railway Magazine, page 726:
      Nevertheless, the trains are well patronised, for road services in the district leave something to be desired.
    • 2013, Slow train to Guantanamo : a rail odyssey through Cuba in the last days of the Castros, page 125:
      To say Cuban train toilets leave something to be desired would not just be an understatement, it would suggest the person speaking inhabited an altogether alien reality.