[General] like a shag on a rock

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to give me your considered opinion concerning the interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence?

He shot through and left me sitting like a shag on a rock.

like a shag on a rock = quite alone

V.

 

[Tdol]

Have you got more context?

 

[vil]

Australien slang


Shoot through-to leave some place as in “Sorry, we’re late, gotta shoot through.

Like a shag on a rock-something or someone that is noticeable or really stands out

like shags on rocks – stuck out in the middle of nowhere.

poor bass player is left like a shag on a rock all the time, while its a virtual love fest between the two guitar players, he must have felt quite lonley at times up there.

Shag on a rock: - Well I went as quick as I could and your still not ready, ya got me stand around like a shag on a rock

Hedidn't want to upset me, so it was easier just to leave me like a shag on a rock at the squash court the next morning.

I jump in the east gate and they are sitting there like a shag on a rock, doing nothing...

 

[Barb_D]

While bits and pieces of slang from various dialects of English will make their way into other dialects, I've never heard this one before.

Perhaps Ray will stop by to tell you how common it is in conversational Australian, but I'm pretty sure most people in the U.S. would have no idea what it meant.

At least I learned that a shag is a type of bird.

 

[SoothingDave]

A shag on a rock sounds like something you do on your honeymoon in a tropical paradise. ;-)