to lay down the law
12
5.5
- idiom
- Informal
:
poner orden
- When the students started misbehaving, the teacher decided it was time to lay down the law.
If she lays down the law that selfishness is a virtue, we've got to stick to it no matter what.
- If she lays down the law that selfishness is a virtue, we've got to stick to it no matter what.
- And finally, finally, finally, finally, he laid down the law.
Examples
-
And I'm the manager of this band, and I'm laying down the law when it comes to this.
-
I'll meet with them and I'll lay down the law.
-
You just have to lay down the law.
-
It's time to lay down the law.
-
I had to lay down the law, you know?
-
I' m gonna lay down the law.
-
You gotta lay down the law.
Fiction book (1995) -
Mary Fisher had decided to lay down the law!
-
Picard finally has to lay down the law.
Fiction book (1994) -
You gotta lay down the law, otherwise they're gonna make a fool out of you.
Synonyms
525
3.7
To make an official decision, often in a court
181
5.0
To give orders that control what other people do
70
3.9
Officially set a rule or law that people must follow
5
6.8
To use firm authority to make people work harder and follow rules
1
8.2
To take firm action to punish someone
To give a strict official order that people must follow
Antonyms
How Authoritative
181
5.0
- Informal
12
5.5
902
1.3
188
2.8
414
2.2
∞
1.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The core meaning can be partially derived: 'lay down' (to place or establish) combined with 'law' (rules) yields the idea of setting rules, so a learner who knows the words can guess the general sense. However, the idiomatic nuance of asserting authority or doing so in a forceful, controlling way is conventionalized and not fully predictable from the parts, so full understanding at B1 level is uncertain.
Etymology
Lay down the law comes from the image of a judge or leader putting a written law down on the table to make it official and final, like a rule you must follow. That's why it now means 'to set rules' or 'to speak firmly and show authority'.