English Reference

Idiom

lay down the law

Meaning

To authoritatively or dogmatically assert what is permitted or not permitted.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Examples

“My boss laid down the law about office hours.”

“The teacher had to lay down the law when the students started talking during the exam.”

“After weeks of chaos in the department, the new manager finally laid down the law regarding professional conduct and attendance.”

Examples

simple

“My boss laid down the law about office hours.”

contextual

“The teacher had to lay down the law when the students started talking during the exam.”

complex

“After weeks of chaos in the department, the new manager finally laid down the law regarding professional conduct and attendance.”

Key words

Related idioms

This entry

Updated
English Reference