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[lay one's cards on the table] or [lay down one's cards] or [put one's cards on the table] <v. phr.>, <informal> To let someone know your position and interest openly; deal honestly; act without trickery or secrets. * /In talking about buying the property, Peterson laid his cards on the table about his plans for it./ * /Some of the graduates of the school were unfriendly toward the new superintendent, but he put his cards on the table and won their support./

[lay oneself open to] <v. phr.> To make oneself vulnerable to; expose oneself. * /If you don't perform your job properly, you will lay yourself open to criticism./

[lay oneself out] <v. phr.>, <informal> To make an extra hard effort; try very hard. * /Larry wanted to win a medal for his school, so he really laid himself out in the race./

[lay one's finger on] See: PUT ONE'S FINGER ON.

[lay one's hands on] or [get one's hands on] <v. phr.> 1. To seize in order to punish or treat roughly. * /If I ever lay my hands on that boy he'll be sorry./ Compare: LAY A FINGER ON. 2. To get possession of. * /He was unable to lay his hands on a Model T Ford for the school play./ Compare: LAY HANDS ON(1). 3. or [lay one's hand on] or [put one's hand on] To find; locate. * /He keeps a file of letters so he can lay his hands on one whenever he needs it./

[lay on the line] or [put on the line] <v. phr.>, <informal> 1. To pay or offer to pay. * /The sponsors had to lay nearly a million dollars on the line to keep the show on TV./ * /The bank is putting $5,000 on the line as a reward to anyone who catches the robber./ Compare: PUT UP. 2. To say plainly so that there can be no doubt; tell truthfully, * /I'm going to lay it on the line for you, Paul. You must work harder if you want to pass./ 3. To take a chance of losing; risk. * /The champion is laying his title on the line in the fight tonight./ * /Frank decided to lay his job on the line and tell the boss that he thought he was wrong./

[lay out] <v. phr.> 1. To prepare (a dead body) for burial. * /The corpse was laid out by the undertaker./ 2. <slang> To knock down flat; to hit unconscious. * /A stiff right to the jaw laid the boxer out in the second round./ 3. To plan. * /Come here, Fred, I have a job laid out for you./ 4. To mark or show where work is to be done. * /The foreman laid out the job for the new machinist./ 5. To plan the building or arrangement of; design. * /The architect laid out the interior of the building./ * /The early colonists laid out towns in the wilderness./ Compare: LAY OFF(1). 6. <slang> To spend; pay. * /How much did you have to lay out for your new car?/ 7. or [lay out in lavender] <slang> To scold; lecture. * /He was laid out in lavender for arriving an hour late for the dance./ Compare: JUMP ON, LAY INTO(2), LET HAVE IT(1c).

[layout] <n.> General situation; arrangement; plan. * /The layout of their apartment overlooking Lake Michigan was strikingly unusual./ Compare: LAID OUT.

[layover] <n.> A stopover, usually at an airport or in a hotel due to interrupted air travel. * /There were several layovers at O'Hare last month due to bad weather./

[lay over] <v.> 1. To put off until later; delay; postpone. * /We voted to lay the question over to our next meeting for decision./ 2. To arrive in one place and wait some time before continuing the journey. * /We had to lay over in St. Louis for two hours waiting for a plane to Seattle./

[lay rubber] or [lay a patch] <v. phr.>, <slang> To take off in a car or a motorcycle so fast that the tires (made of rubber) leave a mark on the pavement. * /Look at those crazy drag racers; they laid rubber in front of my house./

[lay the blame at one's door] <v. phr.> To say that another person or group is responsible for one's own failure. * /The angry coach laid the blame at the door of the players when our college lost the basketball game./

[lay the fault at one's door] See: LAY THE BLAME AT ONE'S DOOR.

[lay their heads together] See: PUT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER.

[lay to] <v.> 1. To give the blame or credit to; to name as cause. * /He was unpopular and when he made money, it was laid to his dishonesty, but when he lost money, it was laid to his stupidity./ Compare: LAY AT ONE'S DOOR. 2. To hold a ship or boat still against the wind. * /The pirates decided to lay to that night and go ashore in the morning./ Compare: LIE TO. 3. To exert oneself; to work hard. * /He picked up a shovel and laid to with the rest of the gang./

[lay to heart] See: TAKE TO HEART.

[lay to rest] <v. phr.>, <informal> 1. To put a dead person into a grave or tomb; bury. * /President Kennedy was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery./ 2. To get rid of; put away permanently; stop. * /The Scoutmaster's fears that Tom had drowned were laid to rest when Tom came back and said he had gone for a boat ride./ * /The rumor that the principal had accepted another job was laid to rest when he said it wasn't true./

[lay up] <v.> 1. To collect a supply of; save for future, use; store. * /Bees lay up honey for the winter./ 2. To keep in the house or in bed because of sickness or injury; disable. * /Jack was laid up with a twisted knee and couldn't play in the final game./ 3. To take out of active service; put in a boat dock or a garage. * /Bill had to lay up his boat when school started./ * /If you lay up a car for the winter, you should take out the battery./

[lay waste] <v. phr.>, <literary> To cause wide and great damage to; destroy and leave in ruins; wreck. * /Enemy soldiers laid waste the land./

[lead] See: ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME, BLIND LEADING THE BLIND.

[lead] See: GET THE LEAD OUT OF ONE'S PANTS.

[lead a dog's life] <v. phr.>, <informal> To live a hard life, work hard, and be treated unkindly. * /A new college student of long ago led a dog's life./

[lead a merry chase] <v. phr.> To delay or escape capture by (someone) skillfully; make (a pursuer) work hard. * /The deer led the hunter a merry chase./ * /Valerie is leading her boyfriend a merry chase./

[lead by the nose] <v. phr.>, <informal> To have full control of; make or persuade (someone) to do anything whatever. * /Many people are easily influenced and a smart politician can lead them by the nose./ * /Don't let anyone lead you by the nose; use your own judgment and do the right thing./

[leader] See: MAJORITY LEADER, MINORITY LEADER.

[lead-footed] See: HEAVY-FOOTED.

[leading light] <n. phr.> A prominent person in a community, company, or group. * /Alan is the leading light of our discussion group on music./

[lead off] <v.> To begin; start; open. * /Richardson led off the inning with a double./ * /We always let Henry lead off./ * /Mr. Jones led off with the jack of diamonds./ * /When the teacher asked if the film helped them to understand, Phil led off by saying that he learned a lot from it./

[lead on] <v. phr.> To encourage you to believe something untrue or mistaken. * /Tom led us on to believe that he was a world traveler, but we found out that he had never been outside our state./ * /We were led on to think that Jeanne and Jim were engaged to be married./

[lead one a merry dance] <v. phr.> To cause someone unusual discomfort or expense; tire someone by causing one to overdo. * /With her personal extravagances and constant social activities that cost a fortune, Carol led her husband a merry dance./

[lead the way] <v. phr.> To go before and show how to go somewhere; guide. * /The boys need someone to lead the way on their hike./ * /The men hired an Indian to lead the way to the Pueblo ruins./ * /That school led the way in finding methods to teach reading./

[lead to] <v. phr.> To result in. * /Such a heavy arms race can only lead to war./

[leaf] See: TURN OVER A NEW LEAF.

[leaf through] <v. phr.> To scan or glance through a book or other reading matter. * /I only had time to leaf through the program before the concert started./

[league] See: IN LEAGUE WITH, IVY LEAGUE.

[leaguer] See: TEXAS LEAGUER.

[leak out] <v. phr.> To become known; escape. * /The famous beauty queen tried to keep her marriage a secret, but news of it soon leaked out./

[leak to] <v. phr.> To purposely let a secret be known, as if conveying it in the strictest confidence. * /The movie star's secret divorce was leaked to the tabloids by her housekeeper./

[lean on] <v. phr.>, <slang>, <informal> To pressure (someone) by blackmailing, threats, physical violence, or the withholding of some favor in order to make the person comply with a wish or request. * /I would gladly do what you ask if you only stopped leaning on me so hard!/

[lean over backward] See: BEND OVER BACKWARD.

[lean-to] <n.> 1. A shed for tools, such as spades, hoes, etc., attached to the wall of a house, * /Joe looked for the garden hose in the lean-to./ 2. A small cabin in the country. * /They spend their weekends in their modest lean-to in Wisconsin./

[leap] See: BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS.

[leap year] <n.> Every fourth year during which the month of February contains 29 rather than 28 days. * /During a leap year one must wait a day longer for one's February pay check./

[learn] See: LIVE AND LEARN.

[learn by heart] See: BY HEART.

[learn by rote] <v. phr.> To blindly memorize what was taught without thinking about it. * /If you learn a subject by rote, it will be difficult to say anything original about it./

[learn one's way around] See: KNOW ONE'S WAY AROUND.

[learn the hard way] See: HARD WAY.

[learn the ropes] See: THE ROPES.

[least] See: AT LEAST, IN THE LEAST, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, LINE OF LEAST RESISTANCE.

[leatherneck] <n.>, <slang>, <informal> A member of the United States Marine Corps. * /I didn't know your son Joe became a leatherneck./

[leave] See: SHORE LEAVE, TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, TAKE LEAVE OF, TAKE ONE'S LEAVE.

[leave a bad taste in one's mouth] <v. phr.> To feel a bad impression; make you feel disgusted. * /Seeing a man beat his horse leaves a bad taste in your mouth./ * /His rudeness to the teacher left a bad taste in my mouth./

[leave alone] See: LET ALONE.

[leave at the altar] <v. phr.> 1. To decide not to marry someone in the last minute; jilt. * /Ed left poor Susan at the altar./ 2. To overlook and skip for promotion; not fulfill deserved expectation. * /Once again I didn't get my promotion and was left at the altar./

[leave behind] <v. phr.> 1. Abandon. * /Refugees on the run must sometimes leave old and sick people behind./ 2. To forget; go away without. * /We had reached our car when we noticed that we had left our keys behind./

[leave flat] <v. phr.>, <informal> To quit or leave suddenly without warning when wanted or needed; desert; forsake; abandon. * /Sam found that being a member of the trail-clearing group was a lot of hard work, so he left them flat./ * /My car ran out of gas and left me flat, ten miles from town./ Compare: LEAVE IN THE LURCH, WALK OUT(2).

[leave hanging] or [leave hanging in the air] <v. phr.> To leave undecided or unsettled. * /Because the committee could not decide on a time and place, the matter of the spring dance was left hanging./ * /Ted's mother didn't know what to do about the broken window, so his punishment was left hanging in the air until his father came home./ Compare: UP IN THE AIR.

[leave high and dry] See: HIGH AND DRY.

[leave holding the bag] or [leave holding the sack] <v. phr.>, <informal> 1. To cause (someone) not to have something needed; leave without anything, * /In the rush for seats, Joe was left holding the bag./ 2. To force (someone) to take the whole responsibility or blame for something that others should share. * /When the ball hit the glass, the team scattered and left George holding the bag./ * /After the party, the other girls on the clean-up committee went away with their dates, and left Mary holding the bag./

[leave in the lurch] <v. phr.> To desert or leave alone in trouble; refuse to help or support. * /The town bully caught Eddie, and Tom left him in the lurch./ * /Bill quit his job, leaving his boss in the lurch./ Compare: LEAVE FLAT, HIGH AND DRY(2), WALK OUT(2).

[leave it at that] <v. phr.> To avoid further and more acrimonious disagreement; not argue or discuss any further. * /Our opinion on health care is obviously different, so let's just leave it at that./

[leave no stone unturned] <v. phr.> To try in every way; miss no chance; do everything possible. - Usually used in the negative. * /The police will leave no stone unturned in their search for the bank robbers./ Compare: ALL OUT, BEND HEAVEN AND EARTH, FINE-TOOTH COMB.

[leave off] <v.> To come or put to an end; stop. * /There is a high fence where the school yard leaves off and the woods begin./ * /Don told the boys to leave off teasing his little brother./ * /Marion put a marker in her book so that she would know where she left off./ Contrast: TAKE UP.

[leave one's mark] <v. phr.> To leave an impression upon; influence someone. * /Tolstoy never won the Nobel Prize, but he left his mark on world literature./ See: MAKE ONE'S MARK.

[leave open] <v. phr.> To remain temporarily unsettled; subject to further discussion. * /Brad said that the question of health insurance would be left open until some future date./

[leave out] <v. phr.> To skip; omit. * /The printer accidentally left out two paragraphs from Alan's novel./

[leave out in the cold] See: OUT IN THE COLD.

[leave out of account] <v. phr.> To fail to consider; forget about. * /The picnic planners left out of account that it might rain./ Contrast: TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.

[leave-taking] See: TAKE ONE'S LEAVE.

[leave the matter open] See: LEAVE OPEN.

[leave well enough alone] See: LET WELL ENOUGH ALONE.

[leave without a leg to stand on] See: LEG TO STAND ON.

[leave word with] <v. phr.> To leave a message. * /Hank left word with his secretary where he could be reached by phone while he was away from his office./

[left] See: OUT IN LEFT FIELD, RIGHT AND LEFT.

[left field] <n.> 1. The part of a baseball out-field to the batter's left. * /Right-handed batters usually hit to left field./ Compare: CENTER FIELD, RIGHT FIELD. 2. See: OUT IN LEFT FIELD. - [left fielder] <n.> The player in baseball who plays in left field. * /The scoreboard in the ball park is on the fence behind the left fielder./

[left-handed] <adj.>, <informal> 1. Using the left hand habitually. 2. Crooked; phoney; homosexual. * /Morris is such a left-handed guy./ 3. Clumsy; untoward; awkward. * /Grab that hammer and stop acting so left-handed./

[left-handed compliment] An ambiguous compliment which is interpretable as an offense. * /I didn't know you could look so pretty! Is that a wig you're wearing?/

[left-wing] <adj.> That which is or belongs to a group of people in politics that favors radical change in the direction of socialism or communism. * /The left-wing faction called for an immediate strike./