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.

Example Sentences

The German was quick to lay down the law to Bellingham after Sunday's incident.

Read more on Barron's

“In his judgments, he would lay down the law brilliantly which could be used as a precedent for future cases. But whenever the state was heavily invested in any issue, he failed to hold power to account, so the state got away with what they had set out of achieve.”

Read more on BBC

“I reacted badly. That’s an understatement. My feelings were hurt, I see that. I tried to lay down the law—like she was a child—because I was afraid to lose her. And in doing that, I really did lose her.”

Read more on Literature

Will America welcome a multipolar world in which unchecked dictatorships once again lay down the law?

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Beckham admits his wife is “pretty strict” and he finds it hard to lay down the law.

Read more on Seattle Times

Related Words

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