Idiom
lay at someone's door
Meaning
To blame (a problem) on someone; to hold someone responsible for (something).
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The team lays the failure at the manager's door.”
“Although the project failed due to many factors, the board decided to lay the blame at the director's door.”
“Historians often lay the responsibility for the economic collapse at the door of the government, citing their poor decision-making during the crisis.”
Examples
simple
“The team lays the failure at the manager's door.”
contextual
“Although the project failed due to many factors, the board decided to lay the blame at the director's door.”
complex
“Historians often lay the responsibility for the economic collapse at the door of the government, citing their poor decision-making during the crisis.”
Origin
Alludes to someone laying incriminating evidence at the door of a guilty person, perhaps during the night. Compare lie at someone's door.
Key words
Related idioms
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