lay down the law
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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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Words nearby lay down the law
lay clerk, lay day, lay days, laydeez, laydown, lay down the law, layer, layer board, layer cake, layering, layette
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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