lay about one
Idioms-
Strike blows on all sides, as in When the dogs cornered the old man, he laid about him with his cane . [Early 1400s]
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Act vigorously, make strenuous efforts, as in When there was an opportunity for profit, he laid about him . [c. 1600]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One bright morning the anchor was weighed, and the sloop stood away on her cruise to the island of Vincent, which lay about one hundred miles to the westward.
From The Story of Paul Boyton Voyages on All the Great Rivers of the World by Boyton, Paul
The gold on this field was found in “leads”—that lay about one hundred and sixty feet below the surface of the ground.
From Lost Lenore The Adventures of a Rolling Stone by Beach, Charles A.
They lay about one mile apart, and were of the form shown in Illustration 2, which will give a good idea of the flat-topped hills hereabouts.
From Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia, Volume 2 by Grey, George
It lay about one hundred yards from the water, and not more; but the first inconvenience was, it was up hill towards the creek.
From Robinson Crusoe by Defoe, Daniel
The pretty daughter of Farmer Perfrement, whose farm lay about one and a half miles out of East Dereham, was one of those who took occasion to earn a few shillings for pin-money.
From The Life of George Borrow by Jenkins, Herbert George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
