lazy Susan
2
4.2
- noun
- /ˈleɪzi ˈsuːzən/
- US
:
mesa giratoria
- The family gathered around the table to enjoy dinner, with the dishes placed on a lazy Susan for easy access.
- lazy Susan rotates
- lazy Susan spinning
- cabinet with a lazy Susan
Sometimes you just feel like you cannot get off the Lazy Susan at all.
- Sometimes you just feel like you cannot get off the Lazy Susan at all.
Examples
-
"You want to try the wheel," he said, and she looked at the little lazy Susan he had given her.
Fiction book (1990) -
"I adore your lazy Susan," said another.
Fiction book (2001) -
Opening the cabinets, he found a lazy Susan full of various spices.
Fiction book (1996) -
A waitress sets the platters down on a big Lazy Susan, her aim unsure, her face expressionless, halfway to sullen.
Fiction book (2001) -
True, in the great temples on tourist itineraries, splendid vegetarian repasts overflowing the lazy Susan are offered to visitors.
Fiction book (2002) -
At the restaurant, each table had a lazy Susan that made sharing appetizers much simpler.
-
She placed the condiments on the lazy Susan so everyone could reach them easily during the meal.
Synonyms
2
4.6
A round tray that turns in the middle of a table to share food
Surface Forms
Morphology
lazy + Susan
The compound is an eponymic, culture-specific name: 'Susan' is a proper name with no lexical contribution and 'lazy' only vaguely suggests ease but does not indicate a revolving tray. A B1 learner who knows the words would not reliably infer the object or its function; the meaning is lexicalized and often translated into descriptive terms in other languages, making it unpredictable from the parts.
Etymology
Lazy Susan may come from a simple image: people once used the name Susan for a household helper, and a small rotating tray that did the helper's work was thought to be lazy. That's why a lazy Susan today is a small rotating tray put in the middle of a table so people can reach and share food easily.