lay down the law

Idioms and Phrases

Assert something positively and often arrogantly, state something dogmatically. For example, Dad laid down the law about locking up the house . This colloquial expression, first recorded in 1762, uses lay down in the sense of def. 2.

Related Words

• appoint
• charge
• demand
• enforce
• establish
• foist
• force
• inflict
• institute
• introduce
• lay down
• levy
• order
• place
• promulgate
• put
• require