lay open

Idioms and Phrases

Expose; also, make vulnerable to. For example, The audit laid open some suspicious dealings , or She had not laid herself open to any charge of wrongdoing . The first usage dates from the mid-1500s, the second from the mid-1800s. Also see leave open .

Example Sentences

The cop lay open-eyed with a grievous head wound as Johnson again checked for a pulse.

From The Daily Beast

Large cardboard boxes of Kleenex, each with 36 tissue boxes, lay open for people to take.

From The Daily Beast

Edna seated herself at the piano, and softly picked out with one hand the bars of a piece of music which lay open before her.

From Project Gutenberg

Several persons were immediately employed to clear away the weeds and lay open the spot.

From Project Gutenberg

No corner of his being but lay open to the great Consolatrix.

From Project Gutenberg

She put the envelope into his hand as it lay open, palm upwards, on his knee.

From Project Gutenberg

A large hall came next, which lay open, without doors, to the square outside.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• advise
• announce
• confess
• declare
• disclose
• explain
• express
• inform
• instruct
• mention
• notify
• order
• report
• reveal
• say
• speak
• state
• summon