Lay

Source : Wright, Joseph English Dialect Dictionary web : https://eddonline4-proj.uibk.ac.at/edd/main.html

LAY, v. and sb.1 Var. dial. uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and Amer. Also written lae Sh.I.; laigh e.Dev.; and in forms laay Brks.1; lah Suf.1; lahy s.Wor.; lea Der. Nhp.2 Bdf.; lee s.Chs.1 Lei.1; ley Lan. Chs.1 Chs.3 nw.Der.1; lie n.Yks.; ly Nhb.1 n.Dev. 1. v. In comb. with prep., adv., &c.: (1) to lay about, to put about, turn; (2) lay at, (a) to box, strike, beat severely; (b) to attack, lay hold of; (c) to work vigorously; to persevere in work; (3) lay away, (a) of a hen: to lay eggs in out-of-the-way places; (b) of a school: to break up morning and evening; (c) to convert arable land into pasture; (4) lay by, (a) to stop, let alone; (b) to put aside on account of illness; (c) of women: to be confined; (d) to bury; (5) lay down, (a) to knock or trample down; (b) see (3, c); (c) see (4, d); (d) of gloves to place them when completed between press-boards; (e) to lend money; (f) to seduce; (g) to explain, make clear; (6) lay for, of land: to prepare it for sowing or reaping; (7) lay forward, to hasten work; to prepare; (8) lay in, (a) to plant; (b) to prepare a meadow for hay by removing stock from it; (c) of a coal-pit: to leave off working it; (d) see (4, c); (e) see (2, c); (f) to invest; (g) to die; (9) lay into, (a) to beat severely; to fight with; (b) see (3, c); (c) to eat much or greedily; (10) lay off, (a) to relate; to talk glibly; (b) to injure, disable, hurt; (11) lay on, (a) see (9, a); (b) to work hard; to exert all one's strength with a sudden effort; (c) to put dogs on to the scent; also used fig.; (d) of rain, &c.: to come down heavily; (e) to eat much; to ‘fall to'; to put on fat; (12) lay on to, see (9, a); (13) lay out, (a) to turn cattle out at night; (b) see (3, a); (c) to explain at length; (d) to predict; (e) to expose, blame; (14) lay out for, (a) to prepare for, make ready; (b) to vituperate, abuse, blame; (15) lay past, to put by; (16) lay till or lay to, (a) to close, shut; (b) see (2, a); (c) to put on, apply; (d) to set to work; to do a thing vigorously; (e) to lay to the charge of; (f) to eat greedily; (17) lay up, (a) see (8, b); (b) to serve a meal; (c) to cast on stitches in knitting; (d) to bring the cows into the cow-house at night; (e) to mark a hare's resting-place without disturbing the hare, with a view to coursing; (18) lay upon, see (2, a); (19) lay with, to place with. (1) Sh.I. Whin we wir gotten it a' we laid aboot fur hame, Burgess Sketches (2nd ed.) 109. (2, a) Sc. He laid at him till he could har'ly stan' (Jam.). (b) Sur.1 The rabbits have laid at that wheat unaccountably. The neuralgy has laid at her uncommonly this turn. (c) Sh.I. Shü laid at da kirnin' fil [till] da kirn flittid po' da flüer, Sh. News (May 13, 1899). Nrf. If I don't lay at my taking work I sha'n't earn day's pay at it, Nrf. Arch. (1879) VIII. 170. (3, a) Sc. (A.W.), w.Yks. (S.K.C.), w.Yks.2 (b) w.Yks.2 w.Yks.4 (c) Dur.1 (4, a) Per. Lay by yer flitin'... Lay by! Joseph Smiley, Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 49, ed. 1887. (b) Sc. Let not this discourage you, or lay you by, that the work is great, and the time short, Thomson Cloud of Witnesses (1714) 18, ed. 1871. Sh.I. He had laid himself by, with sweeties and currant-loaf, Burgess Sketches (2nd ed.) 57. Oxf.1 MS. add. Hnt. (T.P.F.) (c) War.3 (d) w.Yks. He's laid by in Horton churchyard (J.W.). (5, a) Sh.I. Twa o' your young quaiks is laid doon da hill daeks, an' dey're truckit an' laid doon da' best rig o' Scots aits, Sh. News (Sept. 4, 1897). Lakel.2 In wrestling ‘lay down’ and ‘laid down’ signify to allow a wrestler to have the honour of ‘throwing’ his opponent without effort. (b) Sc. It is a prodigious error to over-crop ground, before laying it down with grass seeds, Maxwell Trans. Agric. (1743) 52 (Jam.). Cai.1, Lakel.2 n.Yks.1 (s.v. Lay). w.Yks.1; w.Yks.2 (s.v. Ley). Chs.1, s.Chs.1 Nhp.1; Nhp.2 (s.v. Lay-lands). War.3 A considerable portion of the country has been laid down in grass, Mordaunt & Verney War. Hunt (1896) I. 1. Oxf.1 Brks.1 Stock be a-paayin' zo well as I me-ans to laay down zome moor land in grace next year. e.Suf. (F.H.), ne.Ken. (H.M.) (c) ne.Sc. There's some o' your frien's that I wud lay doon cheap, Grant Chron. Keith, 30. Abd. At Nelson's funeral he had been! Saw Willie Pitt laid down! Cock Strains (1810) II. 125. Kcd. It's lang sin' the Bodie fae Birse was laid doon, Grant Lays (1884) 26. Frf. I saw her laid doon i' the lanely kirkyaird, Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 37. (d) Oxf.1 (e) Chs.1 (f) Lnk. Poor silly lad, he wad ne'er look to a lass, be's to lay her down, Graham Writings (1883) II. 18. (g) s.Wor. I was told as 'e preached on the first Psalm, and laid it down pretty perfect (H.K.). (6) Not.1 Lei.1 We can't go by the field, the grass is laid. The uvver clus were leed fur tummuts. Yo' may lee it for wheat a 'underd year together. War.3 (7) Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 34. e.Suf. (F.H.), Ess., Sur. (S.P.H.) (8, a) Mid. I can lay a tree in straight enough, Blackmore Kit (1890) III. xiv. (b) n.Lin.1 I do not remember ever seeing them in our best feeding-marshes, which being laid-in during the winter, as a rule are full of grass, Cordeaux Birds, 91. War.3 Ken. You can't go in there, it's laid-in for hay (D.W.L.); Ken.1, Sur.1 (c) Nhb. Several collieries having been laid in this day, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) V. 78; Nhb.1 Works of any kind when permanently stopped are also said to be laid-in. e.Dur.1 (d) Sc. (A.W.) n.Wm. She laid in o' twins (B.K.). Yks. (J.W.) (e) Cld. Turn to your wark noo, and lay in (Jam.). (f) w.Yks.5 Hah mich hes he lāad in't? 50. (g) Nhb.1 (9, a) Cai.1 Bnff.1 The twa loons laid intil ane anither, till they wir bleedin' like a stickit ouse. Cld. They will lay intil't; sae, thickest skin stan' langest out (Jam.). Rnf. Did I no lay into yon priest? Fraser Chimes (1853) 45. Yks. (J.W.) Chs.1 Lay into him. s.Chs.1, Not.1, Lei.1, War.3 Brks.1 If thee doosn't do what I tells 'e I'll laay into thee. Ken.1 It's no use making friends with such beasts as them [bulls], the best way is to take a stick and lay into them. (b) Ayr. Though I hinna muckle to offer ye, I'm willing to lay in till the wark, Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 152. Chs.1 s.Chs.1 Kùm, lee· in·tŭ)th wuurk [Come, lee into th' work]. Not.1, Lei.1, War.3 [Amer. He laid into his work like a nigger, Mark Twain Tramp Abroad (1880) iii.] (c) Sc. (Jam.), Cai.1, Bnff.1 (10, a) Sh.I. He... raabid an' laid aff aboot what he wis an' what he wis come o', Sh. News (May 21, 1898). Cai.1 Per. He 'ill lay aff stories aboot battles and fairies, Ian Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) 162. (b) Sh.I. A'm laid aff me tae in a stane, an' he's laek ta draw awa' me hert, Sh. News (Sept. 16, 1899); Wait mam. Doo'll be layin' aff dy back agen, Sh. News (June 30, 1900). (11, a) Sc. He laid on me (Jam.). Cai.1, Bnff.1 Slk. The tinkler laid on like the very deil, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 341. N.Cy.1, Stf.1 e.An.1 I'll lay on to you! e.Suf. (F.H.) (b) Sc. (Jam.), n.Yks.4, Stf. (H.K.) n.Lin. He laay'd on and sent th' ball ower th' coo-hoose rig (M.P.). War., Wor. It be hot work if I lay on (H.K.). (c) Nhb.1 Aa laid him on for a good thing. w.Som.1 The master gives the order to lay on, i.e. bring all the pack to a point where the stag has passed, and where they will find the line of scent. (d) Sh.I. Eftir da rain laid on, Sh. News (Aug. 26, 1899). e.Sc. It's layin' on o' snaw (Jam.). (e) Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.1 Kcd. ‘That's yer denner, Sirs... A' lay on an' dinna spare.’ A' laid on richt weel contentit, Grant Lays (1884) 72. n.Yks.4 Cattle ‘lay on fat’ when specially fed. Suf.1 (12) Nhb. Aa laid-on tin him till he couldn't stand (R.O.H.). e.An.1 (13, a) Chs.1 ‘Han you layed out yet?’ would be perfectly well understood without using the word ‘cows.’ (b) Oxf. (G.O.) (c) Sc. (A.W.) n.Lin. He laaid it all oot as plaain as a sarmon (M.P.). (d) Nhp.2 I lay't it 'l be a fine day. (e) n.Yks. He laid them out despatly (I.W.). (14, a) Sh.I. Kirsty wis spoken wi' Aanie's sister Margit, an' shü was layin' oot fir da sooth service, Sh. News (Apr. 22, 1899). (b) Bekis da hoe düs what he tinks right an' ye tink wrang, ye lay oot for him, an' canna believe 'at he's for ony üse, Sh. News (July 17, 1897). (15) Sc. (A.W.) Ir. Jack would feel a little consarn for not being able to lay past anything for the sore foot, Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) I. 25. n.Yks.1 (16, a) Sc. Lay tae the door ahint ye (Jam. Suppl.). Sh.I. Shü cam' frae layin' til' da door, Sh. News (Oct. 28, 1899). (b) Bnff.1 (c) Sc. Ye may lay tae the water now, i.e. let on or apply the water, as in starting a mill. Begin now, and lay tae your hale strength (Jam. Suppl.). (d) Cld. I could wait na langer, and jist lay to (Jam.). e.Lan. I rather like the way it lays to its work, Almond Watercresses, 8. (e) Ayr. There's ae wee faut they whiles lay to me, Burns Ep. to J. Lapraik (Apr. 1, 1785) st. 17. Nrf. He found a wing in the rushes, and ‘laid that to an old rat,’ Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 360. (f) Lnk. John goes to the amry and lays to the haggus, till his ain haggus cou'd had nae mair, Graham Writings (1883) II. 210. (17, a) Wil.1 Dor. They have the first feed of the meadows, before these are laid up for hay, Hardy Madding Crowd (1874) xviii. (b) Sh.I. A'm gaein ta lay up da supper, Sh. News (July 1, 1899); Da time 'at da wives laid up da denner, Sh. News (June 2, 1900). (c) Shü cam' an' took her waers, an' begood ta lae up loops, Sh. News (Nov. 25, 1899). (d) Chs.1 Have you layed up? (e) Suf.1 (18) Sh.I. What ails dee wi' da dug? Doo's niver düne wi' layin' apon him, Sh. News (May 5, 1900). (19) Lan. This child lived:.. it wur farmed out:.. it wur leyed at Hole-i'-th'-Wood, wi a woman our Betty knew, Brierley Cast upon World (1886) xxiii. 2. Comb. (1) Lay-bed, a grave; (2) Lay-by, the slack water by a weir; (3) Lays-down, the process of laying down cloth on the floor in folds previous to dyeing, &c.; (4) Lay-line, a line with float and bait for catching pike; see below; (5) Lay-on, a good meal, a surfeit; (6) Lay-out, of a ferret: in heat; (7) Lay-over, (a) an apple turnover; (b) a wooden bar, or a rope, used to fasten tackle together; (8) Lay-pock or Lay-poke, the ovarium of a fowl; (9) Lay-stall or Lay-stole, (a) a heap of rubbish; a dung-hill; (b) see (1); (10) Lay-stead, see (9, a); (11) Lay-stones, stones laid in drains, &c. before tiles were used; (12) Lay-stowe, see (9, a); (13) Lay-to, a contest of any kind. (1) n.Yks.2 (2) s.Not. In June and July pike make for the laybyes formed by the fall of waters over the weirs, Not. Dy. Guardian (Aug. 17, 1895). (3) n.Yks. (H.H.) (4) Sus., Hmp. A line used in this way, and generally left in the water all night, one end being fastened to a tree on the bank, is called a lay-line, Holloway (s.v. Ligger). (5) Bnff.1, Cld. (Jam.) (6) e.An.1 (7, a) Suf.1 (b) Wil. Two or three horses go abreast, each drawing a harrow diagonally, all the harrows being fastened together with a lay-over or rider, Davis Gen. View Agric. (1811) v; Wil.1 (8) Sc. (Jam.), Cai.1, Nhb.1 (9, a) Chs. (W.W.S.) Hrt. Houses of office or leystalls, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) IV. ii. 73. Ken.1 Ken.2 (b) Chs. (W.W.S.) (10) n.Yks.2 (11) Dev. Not only had numerous channels to be cut, but those had to be filled with ‘lay stones,’ and then with decomposed lime rock, so as at once to drain and to sweeten the soil, Baring-Gould Furze Bloom (1899) 83. (12) N.Cy.2 (13) w.Sc. The twa cast-out, and had a grand lay-tae (Jam. Suppl.). 3. Phr. (1) to lay a child, to attempt to cure it of the rickets; see below; (2) lay a hand to, to begin, take part in; (3) lay a lame on, to lame, injure severely; (4) lay a leg on, to seduce; (5) lay a pit idle, to leave off working it; (6) lay down a mouth, to feed; (7) lay down one's bone or lay down one's lugs, to work hard, put forth one's energy; (8) lay down the pawns, to give in the names for the publishing of the marriage banns; (9) lay gowd, to embroider; (10) lay heart to, to set one's mind to; (11) lay home, to strike hard, to thrash; (12) lay in the briars, to hold fast; (13) lay it on, to lay on fat; (14) lay it out, to lie late in bed; (15) lay on all one's pith, to exert all one's strength; (16) lay one cold, (17) lay one from life, to kill one; (18) lay one in, (a) to cost one; (b) to cheat; (19) lay one's account with, to expect; (20) lay one's clogs about, to kick; (21) lay oneself after, to lay oneself out for; (22) lay one's hairs in the water, to take steps; (23) lay one's life with, to marry; (24) lay one's lugs, to wager; (25) lay one's lugs among or in, to eat or drink heartily of, or out of; (26) lay one's name to, to quote one's name as the author of; (27) lay out one's accounts, to endeavour; to make it one's business; (28) lay still, to provide no work for; (29) lay the law upon, to put the law in force against; (30) lay till again, to set to work with renewed energy; (31) lay till one, to ordain, allot; (32) lay tongue to, to say; to report; (33) lay to the hide or lay to the skin, to drench through; (34) lay up guddiks, to propound riddles; (35) lay up one's lugs, to listen, give ear; (36) lay up skip laags, to make promises to oneself which are never likely to be realized. (1) Bnff.1 The child is taken before sunrise to a smithy in which three men, bearing the same name, work. One of the smiths takes the child, first lays it in the water-trough of the smithy, and then on the anvil. While lying on the anvil all the tools are, one by one, passed over the child, and the use of each is asked of the child. The nurse then receives the child, and she again washes it in the water-trough. If the smith takes a fee for his work, the lay has no effect. (2) Sc. I canna lay my han' to that wark, nor will I provide siller for't (Jam. Suppl.). (3) Wm. Jack laid a leeam on him fer life (B.K.). (4) Lnk. Whar was a' his noble equals whan he bute to lay a leg on my poor lassie? Graham Writings (1883) II. 33. (5) e.Dur.1 (s.v. Lay in.) (6) Sh.I. Der been nae gale wi' dis doonlae, an' dat wye der no a bare knowe 'at a annamil can lay doon a mooth apon, Sh. News (Feb. 17, 1900). (7) Sc. They themselves lay down their lugs to the work in dead earnest, Sc. Haggis, 157. N.I.1 (8) ne.Sc. Along with the bride's father or brother, or it might be with a friend, the young man went to the Session Clerk to give in the names for proclamation of banns, or, as it was called, to lay doon the pawns, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 89. (9) Sc. And I sall learn your turtle dow To lay gowd wi' her hand, Aytoun Ballads (1858) II. 123, ed. 1861. (10) Sc. (Jam.) (11) Cor.3 (12) Wm. That canny feace and filed tongue hez quite laid ma 'ith brears, Lonsdale Mag. (1821) II. 407. (13) w.Yks.1 (14) Oxf.1 Well, I should think thee 'st laid it out this mornin'; yer yarly risin' wunt 'urt ee if yer long fastin' dwunt, MS. add. (15) Ayr. I fell till him wi' the strap, and laid on him a' my pith till I was sweatin', Hunter Studies (1870) 280. (16) Sh.I. If he could 'a gotten me he widna cared ta laid me cauld within da spot, Stewart Tales (1892) 256. (17) STEWART Tales Dis lashes o' shooers is aneugh ta lay a body frae da life, Sh. News (Dec. 30, 1899). (18, a) Nhp.1 I don't think I shall get anything by my potatoes this turn, they lay me in so much. War.2 This horse will lay me in twenty pounds; War.3 se.Wor.1 My trip to Lunnun lay mŭ in a sovereign. Shr.1 That melch cow lay me in £20, but 'er's a rar' good un. (b) Nhp.1 The things did not turn out so well as I expected, he quite laid me in. (19) Sc. You may lay your account with opposition, Mitchell Scotticisms (1799) 51. (20) Lan. Tha mun lay thi clogs abeawt him next round, mon, un see if that will shift him, Wood Hum. Sketches, 22. (21) Sh.I. Fader be tankid Gibbie niver laid him efter da dreel, Sh. News (Nov. 25, 1899). (22) Ayr. ‘See them on the subject, and if ye find them willing, lay your hairs in the water to bring the business to a bearing.’ From the practice of boys in guddling, by putting a slip-knot on horse-hair and so catching minnows or trout, Galt Provost (1822) xlvi. (23) Sh.I. Dey'll shürely nae lass be füle enough ta lay her life wi' him,.. aless he laeves his ill-trickid wyes, Sh. News (Oct. 1, 1898). (24) Sc. I'll lay my lug, that master now an' her Hae parted baith, Shepherd's Wedding (1789) 14. Dmb. I'll lay my lugs that's the true reason, Cross Disruption (1844) xxxv. Lnk. He'd bled his nose I'd lay my lugs, Watt Poems (1827) 65. (25) Sc. They therefore laid their lugs amang the eatables in a style which struck terror to the heart of their extra-frugal hostess, Ford Thistledown (1891) 84. Ayr. Lay your lugs deep in a quaich, man, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 248. Edb. An' lay your lugs In wild wee Davie's parritch coggie, Maclagan Poems (1851) 316. (26) Sh.I. I tell you this out of respeck, sir, and hopes you woon't lay my name to it, sir, Burgess Tang (1898) 90. (27) Ant. A'll lay oot my accounts tae see him, Ballymena Obs. (1892). (28) Oxf.1 Uuy u bin led stil sens u wik ugoa· kuum neks Thuz·di [I 'a bin led still sence a wik ago come next Thuzday]. (29) Sc. ‘That you are not,’ quoth the sergeant, ‘unless you give me the tother twa shillings for laying the law upon you,’ Sc. Haggis, 62. (30) Sc. (Jam.), Sh.&Ork.1 (31) Sc. Laid till her, Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) (32) Sh.I. He said, bit we wirna bidden ta lae wir tongues til hit fil we saw, Sh. News (Jan. 28, 1899). n.Lin.1 He call'd me iv'ry mander o' thing he could laay his tung to, fra a cat to a dog. s.Wor. Vig. Mon. in Berrow's Jrn. (1896) XVII. w.Som.1 Her call'd-n all that ever her could lay her tongue to. (33) Sh.I. We is saved from the disconvennience of being laid to the hide with rain, Burgess Tang (1898) 135. (34) BURGESS Tang The common pastime for such occasions was ‘layin up guddiks,’ Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 181. (35) Nhb. Now lay up your lugs, aw ye freemen that's poor, An' aw'll rhyme without pension or hire, Oliver Local Sngs. (1824) 11. (36) Sh.&Ork.1 4. Of crops: to flatten; to beat down to the ground by wind or rain. Sc. (A.W.) Ant. The rain might lay the corn, O'Neill Glens (1900) 16. n.Yks. T'cooarn's laid (I.W.). Der.1, Not.1 s.Not. That last storm has laid all my barley (J.P.K.). Rut.1 Lei. The corn's laid very bad (C.E.); Lei.1, War.3 Wor. Some wheat is badly laid, Evesham Jrn. (Aug. 6, 1898). Nrf. The crop of grass is heavy,.. but much ‘laid’ by the winds and rains, Haggard Farmer's Year in Longman's Mag. (May 1899) 37. Ess. When tha's wet The corn git läid, Downes Ballads (1895) III. 11. Ken. The corn's badly laid in several places (D.W.L.). e.Sus. Holloway. 5. To put down land for grass, either by sowing it with grass seeds, or by removing cattle from it. n.Yks.1 Stf. By Gommy! if Cow Close ain't being laid afore Hogs' Meadow! Cornh. Mag. (Jan. 1894) 36. s.Not. I always lay my meadow on the first of May. What a fool y' are, walkin' across a laid clus like that (J.P.K.). Nhp.1 There will be a poor crop of hay this turn, it was so late before the meadow was laid. Hence Laid, sb. a field of grass put down for hay. Midl. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). 6. To make or mend a hedge by half cutting the thorn shoots through and causing them to make new roots; to fasten down any shoot in order to make it root. n.Yks. This is called laying or plashing the hedge, and is chiefly performed upon such as are young, Tuke Agric. (1800) 96. ne.Yks.1, w.Yks.2, s.Not. (J.P.K.), n.Lin.1, War.2 War.3 se.Wor.1 To cut away all the over-growth of an old hawthorn hedge, and to arrange or relay the young wood. Shr.1 This term, when applied to a thorn-hedge, means, to renew it by cutting it down on both sides, hewing out the old wood and stumps, leaving ─ or placing ─ standards at given distances, and then ─ having first carefully split them lengthwise ─ laying down the young shoots, intertwining them basket-fashion between the uprights. w.Mid. The long stems are shortened, and the younger ones are twined from one to the other, &c. (W.P.M.) Wil.1 w.Som.1 Best way to lay some o' they lauriels, I think. Hence Layer, sb. the piece of wood cut and laid in a hedge in mending it. Nhb.1 A long, clean thorn which in hedge-cutting is nicked at the root and bent down till it lies close to the ground. It is trained into position across a thin or gappy part of a hedge and held there by a forked branch till its shoots fill up the gap. n.Yks. (I.W.), Nhp.2, Shr.1, Glo.1 Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 137. e.Cy. (Hall.) e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787). w.Som.1 ‘Mind, and crook down some good layers in the gaps.’ Also a growing branch of a bush or shrub pegged down and covered with earth so as to cause it to root. 7. To perform the office of an accoucheur. n.Yks.2 w.Yks.1 He com to lay my daam. ne.Lan.1, nw.Der.1 8. To impose or levy a tax. n.Yks.1 n.Yks.4 9. To wager; to affirm more or less strongly; to estimate; to plan, intend. Sh.I. ‘Isna Jeemson shaet [cheated] wis wi' da price o' wir codlins, Magnus?’ ‘I niver laid what hit cam' til,’ Sh. News (Aug. 26, 1899). Abd. Her like for beauty, I cud lay, Ye scarce cud see in a lang simmer's day, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 118. Ayr. I'll lay a plack, White Jottings (1879) 141. Edb. I'll lay a gill, It was a new ban' box, Forbes Poems (1812) 31. Dmf. I'd lay my life, Quinn Heather (1863) 226. Wgt. I lay ye a gowden pownd, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 210. n.Cy. (J.W.) n.Yks.4 Ah lay 'at he will. w.Yks.5 Ah'll lay it will be soa! s.Not. Ah don't lay 'er to live very long (J.P.K.). n.Lin.1 You'll wesh that mucky faace, I laay, afoore thoo's oht to eät. s.Lin. (T.H.R.) Oxf.1 MS. add. Brks.1 I'll laay 'e a quart. w.Mid. I'll lay he don't come here agin in a hurry (W.P.M.). e.An.1 I lay to plough for turnips to-morrow. Nrf. I estimate ─ ‘lay’ is the local term ─ their weight when cleaned at about thirty-five stone, Haggard Farmer's Year in Longman's Mag. (June 1899) 131. e.Suf. I lay to begin to plough to-morrow (F.H.). Ken. I lay you never sed it (W.G.P.). Sur.1 We'll get rain before morning, I lay. Sus. Oh I lay he will, Egerton Flks. and Ways (1884) 40. Dor. I'll lay a shillin' ye took him rough like, Longman's Mag. (Nov. 1898) 51. Dev. If theer's more to see, I lay you'll see it, Pall Mall Mag. (Feb. 1900) 157. [Amer. I lay you'll catch it, Dial. Notes (1896) I. 230.] 10. To allay, pacify; to stop, retard. Edb. 'Tis a blout will soon be laid, Har'st Rig (1786) 27, ed. 1801. Nhb. Then snuffs and sneers Suin stop yor gob, and lay yor braggin, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 9; Nhb.1 Rut.1 The bit o' fish as you sent me laid my appetite. 11. To re-steel the worn edge of an implement. Cai.1 Abd. Ye'll tak the coulter to the smithie, And get her laid and sharped, Beattie Parings (1801) 36, ed. 1873. Nhb.1 When a plough kooter or sock becomes worn, it is necessary, in order to repair it, to wall a piece of iron on to it... The process is called ‘layin a sock’ or ‘layin a kooter.’ Implements which have undergone this repairing process are said to be ‘new layed.’ Dur. Raine Charters (1837) 356. ne.Lan.1 Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 137. Wil.1 12. Of cheese-tubs: to wet with cold water; see below. Glo. The cheese tubs are first laid, that is, placed on a tram or bench, and then wetted with cold water; this prevents the milk from adhering to the wood, Marshall Review (1818) II. 465. 13. To mix in the yeast in making bread or oatcake. Nhb.1 Lay the breed. w.Yks.2 To lay leaven. Wor. (H.K.) 14. To besmear sheep with ointment in order to keep them warm through the winter. Cai.1 Slg. It was, till of late, the almost universal practice to lay or smear the whole stock with an ointment composed of butter and tar, Agric. Surv. 295 (Jam.). Rxb. (Jam.) Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). n.Cy. (J.H.), Nhb.1 Hence (1) Laid-wool, sb. wool from a sheep which has been smeared; (2) Laying-time, sb. the season, about the beginning of November, when the sheep are smeared. (1) Sc. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). n.Cy. (J.H.) (2) Rxb. (Jam.) 15. To strike; to beat. Som. (Hall.) n.Dev. Chell ly en o'er tha years, Exm. Crtshp. (1746) l. 513. 16. intr. To lie, rest. Sc. He lays in bed, Mitchell Scotticisms (1799) 52. Sh.I. Come in by here, boy, da reek is layin' apo' yon side o' da fire, Sh. News (Mar. 3, 1900). e.Lth. I heard the twasome crackin thegither; their tongues never lay, Hunter J. Inwick (1895) 144. Edb. She a' night in his arms did lay, Thomson Poems (1819) 154. Gall. She... would lay in barns with them at night, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 437, ed. 1876. n.Cy. (J.W.) Yks. There he's laid ever since, Taylor Miss Miles (1890) xxiv. e.Yks.1 Lay doon, dog. w.Yks. Esp. in the past tense (J.W.). Lan. I like to lay awake, Longman's Mag. (Jan. 1900) 247; I... lay down beside my love, Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 2. Not. I shall lay 'eavier when I go downstairs again, Prior Renie (1895) 37. s.Not. (J.P.K.) n.Lin.1 I alus laay e' bed an' smooke a pipe o' bacca on a Sunda' mornin'. s.Lin. Lay yh down a bit, maäster (T.H.R.). War.3 Brks.1 I never lez a-bed o' marnins. I be a-gwaain to laay down, vor I be a-veelin' out o' zarts. Nrf. He shell lay all night atwin my brists, Gillett Sng. Sol. (1860) i. 13. Ken.2 Sus. He shall lay all night betwixt my brestès, Lower Sng. Sol. (1860) i. 13. Hmp. He went to lay down (H.C.M.B.). Dor. She's layin' on her bed upstairs, Rustic Argus in Longman's Mag. (Apr. 1900) 525. e.Dev. He shall laigh 'twix' my bristys, Pulman Sng. Sol. (1860) i. 13. [Amer. He's a layin' to kill him, Dial. Notes (1896) I. 372.] 17. Comb. (1) Lay-a-bed, one who lies late in bed; (2) Lay about, to go about in an idle, dissipated way; (3) Lay-beside, a female bedfellow; (4) Lay-by, (a) to rest from labour; (b) a mistress; (5) Lay down, see below; (6) Lay down to, to work energetically; to ‘buckle to'; (7) Lay out, to look like; (8) Lay up, (a) to lie close to the ring at marbles; (b) to lie in watch for; (c) of an animal: to remain inactive in a hole. (1) w.Mid. I don't like such lay-a-bed ways! Not getting up till ten o'clock in the morning! (W.P.M.) (2) Wil.1 (3) n.Yks.1 (4, a) Nhp.1 (b) Der.2, nw.Der.1 (5) e.Yks.1 Of the boy on whom the lot falls to find, or capture, the others, in games of hide and seek, it is said that he has to ‘lay doon,’ though there is no lying connected with it; he simply turns his back to those getting hid, and covers his face with his cap, MS. add. (T.H.) (6) Chs.1 He likes to be at a loose eend; he winnot lay down to work. s.Chs.1 Nόo·bdi nev·ŭr gy'ets nuwt ŭbaay·t ŭm iv dhi wùn)ŭ lee·daayn tŭ wuurk [Noob'dy never gets nowt abaït 'em if they wunna lee daïn to work]. (7) n.Yks.4 Ah caan't saay what it war, bud it laid out leyke rice an' soap-suds. (8, a) Suf.1 (b) Sur.1 I laid up ever so long by that wire, but no one never came along. Sus.1 (c) Brks.1 Said of a ferret when, having killed a rabbit and eaten part of it, it lies down and goes to sleep in the rabbit-hole. w.Mid. A ferret is said to lay up when it remains idle in the hole of the rabbit or rat that is being hunted. ‘Your old ferret is no good, it keeps all on laying up’ (W.P.M.). Nrf. During the day they [rabbits] either ‘lay up’ in their burrows or steal forth to feed, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 351. 18. Phr. (1) to lay in one's breeches, to be in one's power; (2) lay light, of hops; see below; (3) lay out of doors, to be in existence; (4) lay out of work, to have no work; (5) lay rough, to sleep out of doors, or in an outhouse; (6) lay still, see (4). (1) Nrf. ‘All right,’ he say, ‘I'll pay you out, if it leave ten year.’ ‘That don't lay in your breeches,’ I say, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 233. (2) Ken. Tempe... dipped her stained hands into the bin and ruffled its contents, as the wicked among the hoppers do when they want the hops, as the phrase is, to lay light, Keeling Return to Nature (1897) xx. (3) Sur. There's not a better shaw lays out o' doors, N. & Q. (1883) 6th S. vii. 214. (4) Oxf.1 Twunt do for we to lay out o' work, MS. add. (5) Oxf.1, Wil.1 n.Wil. He bin a laying about rough this month (E.H.G.). (6) Oxf.1 I be a layin' still this wik, MS. add. 19. sb. An assessment; a local rate, as distinguished from the Queen's taxes. w.Yks. Birstal, Apr. 12, 1756. Bring with you your church-lay (rate), which for the past year are 20 lays, so your share is £10, Cudworth Bradford (1876) 92; w.Yks.1 w.Yks.2 Lan. Ther's t'rent, an' t'lays, an' o' to pay, Mellor Poems (1865) 4. ne.Lan.1, e.Lan.1 Chs.1; Chs.3 Church leys, poor leys, highway leys. s.Chs.1 Wi pee·n lee·z ŭn taak·siz lahyk ùdh·ŭr foa·ks [We peen lees an' taxes like other folks]. Der. Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) nw.Der.1 Lin.1 The lay will be heavy this year. n.Lin.1 Spent when the lays was granted 1s. 6d., Lea Overseer's Acc. (1754). sw.Lin.1 They agreed to a twopenny lay. Hence Ley-collector, sb. a tax-gatherer. Lan. Popt in an out of a dur as sharp as a ley-collector, Brierley Out of Work, ii. 20. A wager, bet; a lot. w.Yks. If one battell be but £10 to £5, thear wil be £10 to one laye or the battell be ended, Brand Pop. Antiq. (ed. 1848) I. 79. ne.Lan.1 Mid. I think I shall go in for her. At any rate I'm off with the Fairthorn lay, Blackmore Kit (1890) xv. e.An.1 What sort of a lay did you make of him? Nrf. Up come young Bacon and ax us to draw for lays... And he drawed, and young Bacon say ─ ‘Third lay,’ Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 313. 21. The piece of iron welded to the worn edge of an implement. Nhb.1 22.? The parting of the wool into which the ointment is poured. Gall. Whiles for the wool is laid aside, and the tare poured into the lay by the herd's hand, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 425, ed. 1876. 23. The lie of the land; the direction in which anything moves or is laid. Sh.I. He drew his shair a bit naurer ta be oot o' da lay o' da reek, Sh. News (Nov. 25, 1899). Cai.1 Bnff.1 The ween wiz against the lay o' the corn, an' we made unco fool wark. Nrf. Jim Trett evidently knows well the ‘lay’ of the country, Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 106. Hence phr. (1) against the lay, with difficulty. Cai.1; (2) with the lay, with facility. Cai.1 24. Shelter for wild fowl. Nrf. Dearth of suitable food and shelter, or ‘lay,’ as the rustics term it, Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 14; I put two coveys of birds in here;.. it's a rare good ‘lay’ for them, Haggard Col. Quaritch (1888) II. vii. 25. Obs. A foundation. Lnk. The narrow lay upon which the first gatherers together set up, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) III. 64, ed. 1828; This man set up upon another lay, than the rest of the bishops, WODROW Ch. Hist. II. 175. 26. Of waves: a temporary lull; also fig. in phr. to wait for a lay, to wait for a chance or opportunity. Cai.1 In a storm at sea, heavy breakers come to the shore in sets of from three to seven, after which there is a lull, which is called a lay. Boats entering a harbour or haven in a storm wait for a lay.

LAY, sb.2 Sh.I. A wave, breaker. Nae mortal man can face dis awful sea, every lay comin' in laek da hill o' Hallilee, Stewart Tales (1892) 202. Hence Lay-break, sb. the breaking of surge upon the beach. ‘Ta sit stourin' at da laybraek wi' naethin ta dü,’ STEWART Tales 6.

LAY, v. Var. dial. uses in Sc. and Eng. In phr. (1) to lay across, meaning unknown; (2) lay a spirit, see below; (3) lay at, to attack; to work at a thing vigorously; (4) lay away, to convert arable into grass land; (5) lay from, of a horse: to kick violently; (6) lay in lead, meaning unknown; (7) lay money down for, to pay in advance for a thing; (8) lay off, to talk volubly. (1) War. Do you know Mr.----? there ain't one man in a dozen... who can tell when German's laid across 'em, B'ham Daily Mail (Feb. 3, 1896). (2) Oxf. Troublesome spirits were formerly ‘laid’ in a pond, &c. by a ceremony performed by twelve clergymen. The spirit never returned when ‘laid’ unless the pond went dry (A.P.). (3) Cum. (E.W.P.) (4) w.Dur.1 (5) Abd. The young mear starts to fling, and lays frae 'er like the verra deil in meenlicht, W. Watson Auld Lang Syne (1903) 75. (6) Sh.I. ‘Hit's owin' ta his letter 'at Sibbie is in sic a skaad cairdin'.’‘ I wis noticin' 'at shü wis laein' in leead. Is da hosiery up?’ Sh. News (Jan. 27, 1900). (7) se.Lin. (J.T.B.) (8) Abd. She would be ‘layin' aff’ about every one and everything connected with the district, W. Watson Auld Lang Syne (1903) 114.