lie in
to stay in bed longer than usual
TRANSLATION
lie in = ausschlafen --- GOOGLE INDEX lie in: approximately 1,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
When asked how often they had a LIE-IN, 44 per cent of those polled said they never enjoyed one.
(The Daily Mail)
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It’s fairly cold this morning. I had a real problem getting up, so I LIED IN until 9.
(from an Internet travel forum)
(The Daily Mail)
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It’s fairly cold this morning. I had a real problem getting up, so I LIED IN until 9.
(from an Internet travel forum)
Did you
know?
lie in (US English = sleep in)
phrasal verb
- to stay in bed later than usual in the morning
lie-in
noun
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Bob Dylan once famously wrote in one of his songs:
Lay lady lay, lay across my big brass bed.
Because it’s obvious what he means with this line, not to mention that "lay" is a nice alliteration when combined with "lady," we can excuse Dylan for his grammatical faux pas. Sticking to the rules however, he should have written "Lie lady lie, lie across my big brass bed." Sounds awful though.
Even the most stringent followers of English grammar easily fall into the lay/lie/lie trap. The following is a quick overview to help keep this straight:
- lay = a transitive verb (meaning that it is followed by a direct object) that means to put someone or something down. For instance: We’re laying (present continuous tense) the groundwork for a new strategy. She laid (simple past tense) her head on his shoulders. I think I’ll lay (present tense) down for a while. He had lain (past perfect) in the hospital for several weeks after the accident
lie = an intransitive verb (requires no object), meaning to be in a horizontal position on a surface. For instance: The paperwork is lying (present continuous) on my desk. Last night I lay (simple past) on my bed and read until I went to sleep. The harbour lies (present) just a few hundred metres from downtown.
lie = an intransitive verb that means to deliberately say something that is not true. For instance: Don’t believe him because he lies (present) to everyone. He lied (simple past) about his age to get into the disco. It’s easy to tell that you are lying (present continuous).
Leave it to the Swedish pop group ABBA to get it right with their song "Lay All Your Love On Me."
(source: Oxford English Dictionaries)
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"I love to lie in on Saturdays."
---
Thanks to Volker for suggesting today's word!
phrasal verb
- to stay in bed later than usual in the morning
lie-in
noun
---
Bob Dylan once famously wrote in one of his songs:
Lay lady lay, lay across my big brass bed.
Because it’s obvious what he means with this line, not to mention that "lay" is a nice alliteration when combined with "lady," we can excuse Dylan for his grammatical faux pas. Sticking to the rules however, he should have written "Lie lady lie, lie across my big brass bed." Sounds awful though.
Even the most stringent followers of English grammar easily fall into the lay/lie/lie trap. The following is a quick overview to help keep this straight:
- lay = a transitive verb (meaning that it is followed by a direct object) that means to put someone or something down. For instance: We’re laying (present continuous tense) the groundwork for a new strategy. She laid (simple past tense) her head on his shoulders. I think I’ll lay (present tense) down for a while. He had lain (past perfect) in the hospital for several weeks after the accident
lie = an intransitive verb (requires no object), meaning to be in a horizontal position on a surface. For instance: The paperwork is lying (present continuous) on my desk. Last night I lay (simple past) on my bed and read until I went to sleep. The harbour lies (present) just a few hundred metres from downtown.
lie = an intransitive verb that means to deliberately say something that is not true. For instance: Don’t believe him because he lies (present) to everyone. He lied (simple past) about his age to get into the disco. It’s easy to tell that you are lying (present continuous).
Leave it to the Swedish pop group ABBA to get it right with their song "Lay All Your Love On Me."
(source: Oxford English Dictionaries)
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"I love to lie in on Saturdays."
---
Thanks to Volker for suggesting today's word!
