to rest on one's laurels
7
7.7
- idiom
- Informal
:
no descansar en los laureles
- Once AACSB accreditation is attained, however, there is little time for the administration and faculty to rest on their laurels.
Examples
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It's impossible to take any security tactic or technology and then rest on one's laurels.
Blog text (29) -
But it is not a time to rest on your laurels.
Blog text (2) -
But you will not rest on your laurels this year.
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Such language may include, "Now is not the time to rest on your laurels and hope that something happens by itself."
Academic text (2007) -
This is no time to be resting on your laurels.
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A good candidate might have beaten us, though, so we should not rest on our laurels.
Blog text (14) -
Carlton was the next chairman, and he said, "No company can rest on its laurels."
Academic text (1995) -
It's a success worth celebrating, but we can't rest on our laurels.
Blog text (23) -
But that in no way means occupational health can afford to rest on its laurels; far from it, in fact, if a new report from workplace health provider BUPA is anything to go by.
Academic text (2010) -
Despite her previous success, she knows that she cannot rest on her laurels if she wants to achieve her goals.
Antonyms
How Complacent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines 'rest' (to rely on/stop striving) with 'laurels' (awards or honours), so its meaning—relying on past achievements and not making further effort—is directly inferable from the constituents. Given the provided definitions (especially 'laurels' = awards) and the common cross-linguistic concept of relying on past success, a B1 learner who knows the component words should be able to understand this expression.
Etymology
Rest on one's laurels comes from old times when winners wore crowns of laurels and could literally rest with their prize, showing they had already won. So today it means 'to be satisfied with what you have already achieved and stop trying to do more'.