like rats deserting a sinking ship

like rats deserting a sinking ship

With great haste and having only personal wellbeing in mind. (Typically said of people who begin abandoning something or someone that is failing or about to fail.) I knew the business was doomed when employees started quitting en masse, like rats deserting a sinking ship. Like rats deserting a sinking ship, the disgraced athlete's corporate sponsors began pulling their sponsorships one after another.See also: desert, like, rat, ship, sink

like rats deserting a sinking ship

or

like rats leaving a sinking ship

If you describe people who are leaving an organization as being like rats deserting a sinking ship or like rats leaving a sinking ship, you mean they are leaving very quickly because the organization is failing. They abandoned their former colleagues and party like rats deserting a sinking ship. Nelson and Woodward are like rats leaving a sinking ship. Loyalty is not a word they understand. Note: This expression is often used in a disapproving way. See also: desert, like, rat, ship, sink