has left the building

English

Etymology

Derived from Elvis has left the building.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Phrase

has left the building

1. (idiomatic, humorous) Something is gone and never coming back.
   • 2008, Jan Mouritsen, Organisational Capital: Modelling, Measuring and Contextualising, Routledge, →ISBN, page 24:

     Organisational capital is typically described as dead. It is what has been left behind after human capital has left the building.

   • 2012, Fred Eyre, Kicked into Touch: Plus Extra Time, Random House, →ISBN, page 9:

     The quality-control department has left the building and anyone with a halfdecent memory of a half-remembered match is out there publishing his memoirs. The scraps, the scrapes, the sessions — oh, what fun we had. Except we didn't have much fun, did we? Most of them are poor.

   • 2012, Bethany Palmer, The 5 Money Personalities: Speaking the Same Love and Money ..., Thomas Nelson, →ISBN, page 29:

     When a Risk Taker gets a hold of an idea, reason has left the building. And with it go concern for other people's feelings, attention to details, and longrange planning.

   • 2012, Joelle Burnette, Cancer Time Bomb: How the Brca Gene Stole My Tits and Eggs, Joelle Burnette, →ISBN, page 40:

     Just as I can run through a long succession of too many negative "what if" scenarios, my mom is equally efficient at producing a long list of what could go right. Of course, she generally takes it a step beyond into the absolute impossibility of positivity after the logic train has left the building; I find her rosy interpretations rather annoying and frustrating.

   • 2013, Josiane Feigon, Smart Sales Manager: The Ultimate Playbook for Building and ..., AMACOM, →ISBN, page 47:

     Sales 1.0 —and its outdated and ineffective sales tactics— has left the building. Today's Sales 2.0 is fueled by tools.

Usage notes

"has left the building" is frequently used in titles, for example "Google blogger has left the building" and "Florence Nightingale Has Left the Building".