"lay about" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "lays about",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "laying about",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "laid about",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "laid about",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "lay<,,laid> about"
      },
      "expansion": "lay about (third-person singular simple present lays about, present participle laying about, simple past and past participle laid about)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "87 9 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 32 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs with particle (about)",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1663, Samuel Butler, Hudibras, part 1, canto 2",
          "text": "[...] At beating quarters up, or forage, / Behaved herself with matchless courage; / And laid about in fight more busily / Than th' Amazonian Dame Penthesile.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To strike blows in all directions."
      ],
      "id": "en-lay_about-en-verb--HPyayOY",
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "96 3 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to strike blows in all directions",
          "word": "huitoa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "96 3 1",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "nanosítʹ udáry naprávo i nalévo",
          "sense": "to strike blows in all directions",
          "word": "наноси́ть уда́ры напра́во и нале́во"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To set about, with infinitive or gerund."
      ],
      "id": "en-lay_about-en-verb-~uzzeUl8",
      "links": [
        [
          "set about",
          "set about"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see lay, about."
      ],
      "id": "en-lay_about-en-verb-xxAp~u-8",
      "links": [
        [
          "lay",
          "lay#English"
        ],
        [
          "about",
          "about#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "lay about"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English phrasal verbs",
    "English phrasal verbs with particle (about)",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "lays about",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "laying about",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "laid about",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "laid about",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "lay<,,laid> about"
      },
      "expansion": "lay about (third-person singular simple present lays about, present participle laying about, simple past and past participle laid about)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1663, Samuel Butler, Hudibras, part 1, canto 2",
          "text": "[...] At beating quarters up, or forage, / Behaved herself with matchless courage; / And laid about in fight more busily / Than th' Amazonian Dame Penthesile.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To strike blows in all directions."
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To set about, with infinitive or gerund."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "set about",
          "set about"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see lay, about."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "lay",
          "lay#English"
        ],
        [
          "about",
          "about#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to strike blows in all directions",
      "word": "huitoa"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "nanosítʹ udáry naprávo i nalévo",
      "sense": "to strike blows in all directions",
      "word": "наноси́ть уда́ры напра́во и нале́во"
    }
  ],
  "word": "lay about"
}