Every time someone tells me that they need to “lay down,” a cluster of molecules in my eardrums implode. I can no longer tolerate the indecencies being committed to the word “lie.”
Thanks to America’s wonderfully inadequate education system, “lie” is only associated with dishonesty. It’s time to give “lie” its due recognition.
Lie means to make oneself horizontal. I lie down. He lies down. They lie down.
Lay means to make an object horizontal. Let me reiterate, lay needs a direct object. I lay down a book. He lays down a book. They lay down the whips and chains that will soon be used in their masochistic ritual of erotica.
If you were to ever use “lay” to imply horizontal positioning, it must be in the past tense. Yesterday, I lay down after witnessing a friend massacre the English language.
