to land in someone's lap
- idiom
- Informal
:
caer en el regazo de alguien
- Winning the contest felt like good fortune had landed in my lap without any effort.
Examples
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After months of hard work, a promotion unexpectedly landed in my lap when my boss resigned.
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You had something like this landed in your lap before?
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She was surprised when an incredible job offer landed in her lap out of nowhere.
Synonyms
105
3.9
To receive money or property unexpectedly, often after someone dies
4
6.4
To get something good without trying or expecting it
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The image of something 'landing in someone's lap' is a fairly direct metaphor from a physical event (an object coming to rest in someone's lap) so learners who know 'land' and 'lap' can infer the sense of receiving something unexpectedly. However, the idiomatic nuance that it often implies an unearned opportunity or responsibility is metaphorical and not fully predictable, so some learners may not get the exact pragmatic meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Land in someone's lap may come from the simple picture of something gently landing on a person's lap, like a bird or a small gift that arrives without any effort. So it means 'to receive something valuable, opportunity, or responsibility unexpectedly and without effort'.