Friday, January 08, 2010

Let Sleeping Tigers Lie



Not lay. You would never say, "Let sleeping tigers lay". Well, you might say that, but you would be grammatically incorrect. "Lay" is a verb meaning "to put". You can lay a blanket on a bed. You can lay a section of pipe. You can even lay your hands on someone. But you cannot lay down. "Lay" doesn't work that way, irregardless* of what you were taught.

In the spirit of completeness, I should mention that "lay" is also the past tense of the verb "to lie", so it is correct to say, "He lay down yesterday", but that just makes things more complicated. Who designed this language anyway?

*I meant to do that.

Camera: Nikon D70s
Location: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic