lay into

British  

verb

1. to attack forcefully

2. to berate severely

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lay into Idioms  

1. Attack physically, The boys ganged up and laid into Bobby .

2. Scold vigorously, as in The teacher laid into her aide when she learned he had left the children alone in the schoolyard . [Early 1800s] Also see pitch into .

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Example Sentences

Watching the former supermodel lay into the young hopeful in front of millions of viewers still ranks as one of the show's most shocking moments, 20 years later.

From BBC • Feb. 15, 2026

In the third sketch, airing Dec. 10, 2011, the queen and Philip lay into Kate about not giving them a royal heir.

From Washington Post • Sep. 20, 2022

That said, I still did lay into a lot of toilet paper.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2020

Last week on Michele Wolf’s new Netflix show, “The Break,” she decided to lay into the news media -- yet again -- for its obsessive coverage of Donald Trump.

From Salon • Jun. 29, 2018

Before I got home, he wanted to lay into me.

From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King