I like
"Fiddle While Rome Burns"
but it usually doesn't refer to doing nothing while individual people are in serious trouble.
I want something along the lines of
"Fiddle While Jim Is Having A Heart Attack Right In Front Of You"
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I'm also aware of: "Look The Other Way", but that's not as specific as I'd like.– Damian SiniakowiczCommented Sep 14, 2020 at 11:00
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1Check the synonyms of 'Fiddle whilst Rome burns'– Rayan KhanCommented Sep 14, 2020 at 11:08
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3Does this answer your question? Is there an expression to describe a situation where someone could have helped you but they didn't? 'Pass by on the other side' (the non-Samaritans) is given, and the person in need of help could well have died without the Samaritan's help.– Edwin AshworthCommented Sep 14, 2020 at 11:19
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The first one that came to mind is "wilful negligence," but that's obviously not what you're going for.– TaliesinMerlinCommented Sep 14, 2020 at 14:13
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I would use "watching a baby crawl into traffic"—but it isn't an idiom.– Sven YargsCommented Sep 14, 2020 at 18:52
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3 Answers
The bystander effect
The landmark case of the killing of Kitty Genovese is a monumental example of the bystander effect when in 1964, more than 30 people may have witnessed her violent death and did nothing to help or even call the police until it was too late. This event ignited social psychological studies of the bystander effect or bystander apathy.
Or as Edmund Burke put it, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
The bystander effect refers to the inertia or inaction to respond in a serious situation that results from the belief that someone else will step in and do it.
A phrase you could use might involve playing the bystander or standing idly by, the latter more often applying to a situation involving a more people or a movement.
"It was clear Jim was having a heart attack, but Bob absolved himself, saying he was just a bystander, not a doctor."
"Bob acted like a bystander, doing nothing as he watched Jim suffer a heart attack."
answered Sep 14, 2020 at 22:39
"What about the phrase "Twiddle your thumbs"?
Jim was having a heart attack right in front of her, and she just stood there twiddling her thumbs.
other idioms that imply kind of a callous indifference, but probably only work in narrow context:
whistling Dixie
with a cold shoulder
with his head up his own butt
had a heart of stone
cried crocodile tears (pretending to care)
washed his hands of it
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"whistling Dixie" refers to unrealistic expectations and has nothing to do with callous indifference– KevinCommented Sep 14, 2020 at 18:54
"Deer in the headlights"
When deer are in the middle of the road and they see oncoming traffic at night, sometimes the bright lights for whatever reason causes them to freeze and not run away. They then get hit by traffic unless the driver can react in time.
Example: "Jim's wife stood there like a deer in the headlights while he was having a heart attack"
