lay down the law

1. 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.

Related Words

• appoint 
• charge 
• demand 
• enforce 
• establish 
• foist 
• force 
• inflict 
• institute 
• introduce 
• lay down 
• levy 
• order 
• place 
• promulgate 
• put 
• require