lay /leɪ/► SEE ALLlay sth at sb’s doorlay sth barelay claim to sthlay down your armslay down the lawlay down your life (for sb/sth)lay an egglay a finger on sblay it on thick/with a trowellay it on the linelay sb lowlay siege to sthlay sb to restlay sth to restlay sth wastelay waste to sthput/lay your head/neck on the blockput/lay your cards on the tableclap/lay/set eyes on sb/sthget/lay your hands on sbget/lay your hands on sththe lie of the land ●lay sth at sb’s door (formal) blame sb for sth把…归咎于某人◆The failure of the talks cannot be laid at the government’s door. 会谈失败不能归咎于政府。●lay sth ˈbarereveal sth which has never been seen before暴露，揭露（不为人知的事情）◆She laid bare her feelings for him. 她坦承自己对他有感情。◆The report lays bare the shocking housing conditions in this city. 报告披露了这座城巿恶劣的住房条件。●lay ˈclaim to sthstate that you have a right to sth声称…属于自己◆‘The Lamb and Flag’ lays claim to being the oldest pub in London. “羔羊与旗”声称自己是伦敦最古老的酒馆。●lay down your ˈarmsstop fighting in a war etc.停止作战；放下武器◆Tell your men to lay down their arms — the war’s over. 让你的士兵放下武器，战争结束了。●lay down the ˈlaw (informal, disapproving) give sb orders and express your opinions in an unpleasant, aggressive way, often when you have no right to do so发号施令；指手画脚◆He came in here this morning and started laying down the law about all kinds of things. Who does he think he is? 他一大早过来就开始对所有的事情指手画脚，他以为自己是谁？●lay down your ˈlife (for sb/sth) (literary) die for your country, a cause etc.（为祖国、事业等）献身，牺牲◆Thousands of young men laid down their lives in the war so that we could live in freedom. 成千上万的年轻人在战争中牺牲，因此我们才能过上自由的生活。●lay an ˈegg (informal, especially NAmE) fail or make a mistake失败；犯错◆He laid an egg with these proposals with the very people he wanted most to convince. 在向他最想说服的人提出这些建议的时候，他犯了一个错误。◆Columnists sometimes lay an egg, but Martin has laid an ostrich omelette. 专栏作家有时也犯错，但马丁这次可是大错特错。●lay a ˈfinger on sb (informal) (often in negative sentences常用于否定句) touch sb with the intention of hurting them physically伤害某人；触犯某人◆If you lay a finger on her, I’ll call the police. 要是你敢碰她一个指头，我就报警。●lay it on ˈthick/with a ˈtrowel ( pile it on ˈthick, pile it ˈon) say that sth is much better or much worse than it really is because you want to impress or annoy sb（为给某人留下深刻印象而）过分吹捧，过分贬低，言过其实◆He said that she was his favourite author and that she deserved the Nobel Prize for literature. He really laid it on with a trowel. 他对她说，她是自己最喜欢的作家，还说她应该获得诺贝尔文学奖。他对她真是不吝溢美之词。◆My father really piled it on, shouting at me for ages about my exam results. 我父亲真是小题大做，因为我考试没考好冲我大喊大叫了老半天。●lay it on the ˈline (informal) tell sb sth in an honest, direct and forceful way开诚布公；实话实说◆She laid it on the line, telling us that we would fail the exam unless we worked harder. 她毫不隐讳地告诉我们，除非我们再用功一些，否则就无法通过考试。●lay sb ˈlow (informal) (of an illness疾病) cause sb to go to bed or be unable to work normally使卧床；使无法正常工作◆That flu laid her low for a couple of weeks. 那场流感使她病倒了几个星期。●lay ˈsiege to sthsurround a building, especially in order to speak to or question the person or people living or working there包围（某座建筑）◆The press and paparazzi laid siege to the star’s London flat in the hope of getting a photograph of her. 新闻记者和狗仔队团团包围了那个明星位于伦敦的公寓，希望能拍到她的照片。NOTE A siege is a military operation in which an army tries to capture a town by surrounding it and stopping the supply of food, etc. to the people inside. * siege 是一种军事行动，指军队包围一个城镇，并且停止对城中居民供应食品等，以达到占领的目的。●lay sb to ˈrest (formal) bury sb埋葬◆He was laid to rest beside his parents. 他被安葬在父母墓旁。●lay sth to ˈreststop sth by showing that it is not true平息（谣言等）；消除◆The media speculation about their relationship has finally been laid to rest. 媒体对他们关系的猜测最终平息了。●lay sth ˈwaste●lay ˈwaste to sth (formal) destroy everything, especially in a war（尤指战争中）摧毁一切◆As the army retreated, it laid waste to thousands of acres of farmland. 军队后撤时毁坏了几千英亩农田。●put/lay your head/neck on the blockrisk defeat, failure, etc.; put yourself in a situation where you might be blamed, criticized, etc.冒失败的危险；将自己置于有可能受到指责（或批评等）的境地◆The government laid its head on the block and said that if it loses this vote in Parliament tonight it will call an election.政府冒风险称，如果在议会今晚的投票中失利的话将要求举行选举。◆I’m prepared to put my neck on the block and promise that the new building will be ready by the end of the year.我愿意拿自己的人头担保新楼将在年底竣工。ORIGINIn the past when people were executed(= killed as a punishment), they had to lay their head on a block so that it could be chopped off.旧时被处死刑的人将头置于 block （木墩）上引颈断头。●put/lay your ˈcards on the table (informal) talk honestly and openly about your thoughts and intentions, especially when these have been secret until now摊牌；（把想法或打算等）和盘托出◆It’s time I put my cards on the table; I can’t afford the price you’re asking.我想现在该亮底了，我真的付不起你开的价。●clap/lay/set ˈeyes on sb/sth (informal) see sb/sth看见某人／某事物◆I’ve no idea who she is. I’ve never clapped eyes on her before.我根本不知道她是谁，我以前从来没见过她。◆The moment I set eyes on the house, I knew I would live there.从看见那所房子的第一眼起，我就知道我会在那里住下来。●get/lay your ˈhands on sb (used mostly in threats主要用于威胁) catch sb who has done sth wrong抓住（做坏事的人）◆Just wait until I get my hands on the person who stole my bike!等我抓到那个偷我自行车的人再说！●get/lay your ˈhands on sthobtain sth that you want or need very much把…弄到手；得到（非常想要的东西）◆Do you know where I can get my hands on a Russian dictionary? I need to check a translation.你知道在哪儿能找到俄语词典吗？我想核对一篇翻译。◆I’d buy a new car if only I could lay my hands on the money.要是能弄到钱，我就买一辆新车。●the ˌlie of the ˈland (BrE) (NAmEthe ˌlay of the ˈland) 1.the way the land in an area is formed and what physical characteristics it has地形；地势；地貌2.the way a situation is now and how it is likely to develop目前的形势及发展趋势◆Check out the lie of the land before you make a decision.要摸清情况后再作决定。