lay down the law

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Lay Down The Law
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law

1 [law]

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–noun

1.	the principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people, whether in the form of legislation or of custom and policies recognized and enforced by judicial decision.

2.	any written or positive rule or collection of rules prescribed under the authority of the state or nation, as by the people in its constitution. Compare bylaw, statute law.

3.	the controlling influence of such rules; the condition of society brought about by their observance: maintaining law and order.

4.	a system or collection of such rules.

5.	the department of knowledge concerned with these rules; jurisprudence: to study law.

6.	the body of such rules concerned with a particular subject or derived from a particular source: commercial law.

7.	an act of the supreme legislative body of a state or nation, as distinguished from the constitution.

8.	the principles applied in the courts of common law, as distinguished from equity.

9.	the profession that deals with law and legal procedure: to practice law.

10.	legal action; litigation: to go to law.

11.	a person, group, or agency acting officially to enforce the law: The law arrived at the scene soon after the alarm went off.

12.	any rule or injunction that must be obeyed: Having a nourishing breakfast was an absolute law in our household.

13.	a rule or principle of proper conduct sanctioned by conscience, concepts of natural justice, or the will of a deity: a moral law.

14.	a rule or manner of behavior that is instinctive or spontaneous: the law of self-preservation.

15.

(in philosophy, science, etc.)

a.	a statement of a relation or sequence of phenomena invariable under the same conditions.

b.	a mathematical rule.

16.	a principle based on the predictable consequences of an act, condition, etc.: the law of supply and demand.

17.	a rule, principle, or convention regarded as governing the structure or the relationship of an element in the structure of something, as of a language or work of art: the laws of playwriting; the laws of grammar.

18.	a commandment or a revelation from God.

19.	(sometimes initial capital letter) a divinely appointed order or system.

20.	the Law. Law of Moses.

21.	the preceptive part of the Bible, esp. of the New Testament, in contradistinction to its promises: the law of Christ.

22.	British Sports. an allowance of time or distance given a quarry or competitor in a race, as the head start given a fox before the hounds are set after it.

–verb (used with object)

23.	Chiefly Dialect. to sue or prosecute.

24.	British. (formerly) to expeditate (an animal).

—Idioms

25.	be a law to or unto oneself, to follow one's own inclinations, rules of behavior, etc.; act independently or unconventionally, esp. without regard for established mores.

26.

lay down the law,

a.	to state one's views authoritatively.

b.	to give a command in an imperious manner: The manager laid down the law to the workers.

27.	take the law into one's own hands, to administer justice as one sees fit without recourse to the usual law enforcement or legal processes: The townspeople took the law into their own hands before the sheriff took action.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME law(e), lagh(e), OE lagu < ON *lagu, early pl. of lag layer, stratum, a laying in order, fixed tune, (in collective sense) law; akin to lay ¹ , lie ²

Related forms:

lawlike, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Lay Down The Law
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lay¹ (lā)

v. laid (lād), lay·ing, lays

v. tr.

To cause to lie down: lay a child in its crib.
1. To place in or bring to a particular position: lay the cloth over the painting.
2. To bury.
3. To place together (strands) to be twisted into rope.
4. To make in this manner: lay up cable.
To cause to be in a particular condition: The remark laid him open to criticism.
To put or set down: lay new railroad track.
To produce and deposit: lay eggs.
To cause to subside; calm or allay: "chas'd the clouds ... and laid the winds" (John Milton).
To put up to or against: lay an ear to the door.
To put forward as a reproach or an accusation: They laid the blame on us.
To put or set in order or readiness for use: lay the table for lunch.
To devise; contrive: lay plans.
To spread over a surface: lay paint on a canvas.
To place or give (importance): lay stress on clarity of expression.
To impose as a burden or punishment: lay a penalty upon the offender.
To present for examination: lay a case before a committee.
To put forward as a demand or an assertion: laid claim to the estate.
Games To place (a bet); wager.
To aim (a gun or cannon).
1. To place together (strands) to be twisted into rope.
2. To make in this manner: lay up cable.
Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse with.

v. intr.

To produce and deposit eggs.
To bet; wager.
Nonstandard To lie.
To engage energetically in an action.
Nautical To put oneself into the position indicated.

1. The direction the strands of a rope or cable are twisted in: a left lay.
2. The amount of such twist.
3. Sexual intercourse.
4. A partner in sexual intercourse.
The state of one that lays eggs: a hen coming into lay.
Vulgar Slang
1. Sexual intercourse.
2. A partner in sexual intercourse.
To give up; abandon: lay aside all hope of rescue.
To save for the future.
To reserve for the future; save.
To put aside and hold for future delivery.
To save for future use.
Nautical To remain stationary while heading into the wind.
To give up and surrender: laid down their arms.
To specify: laid down the rules.
To store for the future.
Nonstandard To lie down.
To scold sharply.
To attack physically; beat up.
To terminate the employment of (a worker), especially temporarily.
To mark off: lay off an area for a garden.
Slang To stop doing something; quit.
Games To place all or a part of (an accepted bet) with another bookie in order to reduce the risk.
To apply (something) by or as if by spreading onto a flat surface: laid on a thick Southern accent.
To prepare, usually in an elaborate fashion; arrange: laid on cocktails for 50 at the last minute.
Slang To present or reveal to; confront with: "went around talking to people about anything until he could lay his standard question on them" (John Vinocur).
To make a detailed plan for.
To clothe and prepare (a corpse) for burial.
To rebuke harshly: She laid me out for breaking the vase.
To knock to the ground or unconscious.
To expend; spend: lay out a fortune on jewelry.
To display: lay out merchandise; lay the merchandise out.
To bring (a ship) to a stop in open water.
To remain stationary while heading into the wind.
To stock for future use: lay up supplies for a long journey.
Informal To confine with an illness or injury: was laid up for a month.
Nautical To put (a ship) in dock, as for repairs.
Sports To hit a golf shot less far than one is able so as to avoid a hazard.

Phrasal Verb(s):
lay aboutTo strike blows on all sides.
lay aside

To give up; abandon: lay aside all hope of rescue.
To save for the future.

lay away

To reserve for the future; save.
To put aside and hold for future delivery.

lay by

To save for future use.
Nautical To remain stationary while heading into the wind.

lay down

To give up and surrender: laid down their arms.
To specify: laid down the rules.
To store for the future.
Nonstandard To lie down.

lay for Informal To be waiting to attack: Muggers lay for the unsuspecting pedestrian in the dark alley.
lay inTo store for future use: lay in supplies for an Arctic winter.
lay into Slang

To scold sharply.
To attack physically; beat up.

lay off

To terminate the employment of (a worker), especially temporarily.
To mark off: lay off an area for a garden.
Slang To stop doing something; quit.
Games To place all or a part of (an accepted bet) with another bookie in order to reduce the risk.

lay on

To apply (something) by or as if by spreading onto a flat surface: laid on a thick Southern accent.
To prepare, usually in an elaborate fashion; arrange: laid on cocktails for 50 at the last minute.
Slang To present or reveal to; confront with: "went around talking to people about anything until he could lay his standard question on them" (John Vinocur).

lay out

To make a detailed plan for.
To clothe and prepare (a corpse) for burial.
To rebuke harshly: She laid me out for breaking the vase.
To knock to the ground or unconscious.
To expend; spend: lay out a fortune on jewelry.
To display: lay out merchandise; lay the merchandise out.

lay overTo make a stopover in the course of a journey.
lay to Nautical

To bring (a ship) to a stop in open water.
To remain stationary while heading into the wind.

lay up

To stock for future use: lay up supplies for a long journey.
Informal To confine with an illness or injury: was laid up for a month.
Nautical To put (a ship) in dock, as for repairs.
Sports To hit a golf shot less far than one is able so as to avoid a hazard.

Idiom(s):
lay down the lawTo assert positively and often arrogantly.

Idiom(s):
lay it on thick Informal

To exaggerate; overstate.
To flatter effusively.

Idiom(s):
lay of the landThe nature, arrangement, or disposition of something.

Idiom(s):
lay rubber Slang To accelerate a motor vehicle suddenly from a halt to a high speed, thereby spinning the wheels and depositing on the road a thin film of burned rubber from the rear tire or tires.

Idiom(s):
lay wasteTo ravage: Rebel troops laid waste the town.

[Middle English leien, from Old English lecgan; see legh- in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: Lay ("to put, place, or prepare") and lie ("to recline or be situated") have been confused for centuries; evidence exists that lay has been used to mean "lie" since the 1300s. Why? First, there are two lays. One is the base form of the verb lay, and the other is the past tense of lie. Second, lay was once used with a reflexive pronoun to mean "lie" and survives in the familiar line from the child's prayer Now I lay me down to sleep; lay me down is easily shortened to lay down. Third, lay down, as in She lay down on the sofa sounds the same as laid down, as in I laid down the law to the kids. · Lay and lie are most easily distinguished by usage. Lay is a transitive verb and takes a direct object. Lay and its principal parts (laid, laying) are correctly used in the following examples: He laid (not lay) the newspaper on the table. The table was laid for four. Lie is an intransitive verb and cannot take an object. Lie and its principal parts (lay, lain, lying) are correctly used in the following examples: She often lies (not lays) down after lunch. When I lay (not laid) down, I fell asleep. The rubbish had lain (not laid) there a week. I was lying (not laying) in bed when he called. · There are a few exceptions to these rules. The phrasal verb lay for and the nautical use of lay, as in lay at anchor, though intransitive, are standard.

Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: law
Pronunciation: 'lo
Function: noun
Etymology: Old English lagu, of Scandinavian origin
1 : a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority: as a : a command or provision enacted by a legislature —see also STATUTE 1 b : something (as a judicial decision) authoritatively accorded binding or controlling effect in the administration of justice law of this circuit>
2 a : a body of laws law of a state>; broadly : laws and justice considered as a general and established entity law looks with disfavor on restraints on alienation> b : COMMON LAW —compare EQUITY 2
3 a : the control or authority of the law law and order> b : one or more agents or agencies involved in enforcing laws c : the application of a law or laws as distinct from considerations of fact law> —see also issue of law at ISSUE matter of law at MATTER question of law at QUESTION 2
4 : the whole body of laws and doctrines relating to one subject law> law of attractive nuisance>
5 a : the legal profession law> b : the nature, use, and effects of laws and legal systems as an area of knowledge or society law> —compare JURISPRUDENCE—at law : under or within the provisions of the law esp. as opposed to equity at law>

Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: law
Pronunciation: 'lo
Function: noun
: a statement of order or relation holding for certain phenomena that so far as is known is invariableunder the given conditions

Medical Dictionary

law (lô)
n.

A rule of conduct or procedure established by custom, agreement, or authority.
A set of rules or principles for a specific area of a legal system.
A piece of enacted legislation.
A formulation describing a relationship observed to be invariable between or among phenomena for all cases in which the specified conditions are met.
A generalization based on consistent experience or results.

Science Dictionary

law (lô) Pronunciation Key
A statement that describes invariable relationships among phenomena under a specified set of conditions. Boyle's law, for instance, describes what will happen to the volume of an ideal gas if its pressure changes and its temperature remains the same. The conditions under which some physical laws hold are idealized (for example, there are no ideal gases in the real world), thus some physical laws apply universally but only approximately. See Note at hypothesis.

Idioms & Phrases

lay down the law

Assert something positively and often arrogantly, state something dogmatically. For example, Dad laid down the law about locking up the house. This colloquial expression, first recorded in 1762, uses lay down in the sense of def. 2.

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