See lay of the land in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for lay of the land meaning in English (4.9kB)
{
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "?"
},
"expansion": "lay of the land",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "47 53",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1857, Henry David Thoreau, chapter 1, in Canoeing In The Wilderness",
"text": "I did not know the exact route, but steered by the lay of the land, as I do in Boston.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1910, Joseph A. Altsheler, chapter 9, in The Riflemen of the Ohio",
"text": "He noted well the locality, the trees, and the lay of the land.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The physical characteristics of the terrain or surrounding natural environment."
],
"id": "en-lay_of_the_land-en-noun-14s3ywjQ",
"links": [
[
"terrain",
"terrain"
],
[
"surrounding",
"surrounding"
],
[
"natural",
"natural"
],
[
"environment",
"environment"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) The physical characteristics of the terrain or surrounding natural environment."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "physical characteristics of the terrain or surrounding natural environment",
"word": "maasto"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "physical characteristics of the terrain or surrounding natural environment",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"plural"
],
"word": "örtliche Gegebenheiten"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "physical characteristics of the terrain or surrounding natural environment",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "configurazione del terreno"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "47 53",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1901, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter 17, in The Marrow of Tradition",
"text": "I'll feel the pulse of my friends and yours, and when we get the lay of the land, the affair can be accomplished much more easily.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1907, Gene Stratton-Porter, chapter 11, in At the Foot of the Rainbow",
"text": "\"Now look here, Mary,\" he said, \"I've been expecting you. I warn you before you begin that I cannot sanction your marriage to a Protestant.\"\n\"Oh, but I'm going to convart him!\" cried Mary so quickly that the priest laughed harder than ever.\n\"So that's the lay of the land!\" he chuckled. \"Well, if you'll guarantee that, I'll give in.\"",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1908, John Fox Jr., chapter 4, in The Trail of the Lonesome Pine",
"text": "She saw the boy's glance, she shifted her knees impatiently and her little face grew sullen. Hale smiled inwardly, for he thought he could already see the lay of the land, and he wondered that, at such an age, such fierceness could be.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1983 July 22, Janet Maslin, “‘Liquid Sky,’ High Fashion and a U.F.O.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN",
"text": "Slava Tsukerman is a Soviet émigré who has lived in New York City since 1976, apparently long enough for him to get the lay of the land.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2002 March 29, Douglas Waller, “McCain: After Finance Reform, What?”, in Time",
"text": "McCain: I want to see what the lay of the land is after the November elections.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The trends, feelings, intentions, and other factors influencing a strategic, political, or social situation."
],
"id": "en-lay_of_the_land-en-noun-FxDJHDMw",
"links": [
[
"trend",
"trend"
],
[
"feeling",
"feeling"
],
[
"intention",
"intention"
],
[
"influencing",
"influence"
],
[
"strategic",
"strategic"
],
[
"political",
"political"
],
[
"social",
"social"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) The trends, feelings, intentions, and other factors influencing a strategic, political, or social situation."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "6 94",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "trends, feelings influencing a situation",
"word": "tunnelma"
},
{
"_dis1": "6 94",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "trends, feelings influencing a situation",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Lage der Dinge"
},
{
"_dis1": "6 94",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "trends, feelings influencing a situation",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Stimmungslage"
},
{
"_dis1": "6 94",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "trends, feelings influencing a situation",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Stand der Dinge"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-lay of the land.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/31/En-au-lay_of_the_land.ogg/En-au-lay_of_the_land.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/En-au-lay_of_the_land.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "lie of the land"
}
],
"word": "lay of the land"
}
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English nouns",
"English nouns with unknown or uncertain plurals",
"English terms with audio links"
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "?"
},
"expansion": "lay of the land",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English idioms",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1857, Henry David Thoreau, chapter 1, in Canoeing In The Wilderness",
"text": "I did not know the exact route, but steered by the lay of the land, as I do in Boston.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1910, Joseph A. Altsheler, chapter 9, in The Riflemen of the Ohio",
"text": "He noted well the locality, the trees, and the lay of the land.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The physical characteristics of the terrain or surrounding natural environment."
],
"links": [
[
"terrain",
"terrain"
],
[
"surrounding",
"surrounding"
],
[
"natural",
"natural"
],
[
"environment",
"environment"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) The physical characteristics of the terrain or surrounding natural environment."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English idioms",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1901, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter 17, in The Marrow of Tradition",
"text": "I'll feel the pulse of my friends and yours, and when we get the lay of the land, the affair can be accomplished much more easily.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1907, Gene Stratton-Porter, chapter 11, in At the Foot of the Rainbow",
"text": "\"Now look here, Mary,\" he said, \"I've been expecting you. I warn you before you begin that I cannot sanction your marriage to a Protestant.\"\n\"Oh, but I'm going to convart him!\" cried Mary so quickly that the priest laughed harder than ever.\n\"So that's the lay of the land!\" he chuckled. \"Well, if you'll guarantee that, I'll give in.\"",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1908, John Fox Jr., chapter 4, in The Trail of the Lonesome Pine",
"text": "She saw the boy's glance, she shifted her knees impatiently and her little face grew sullen. Hale smiled inwardly, for he thought he could already see the lay of the land, and he wondered that, at such an age, such fierceness could be.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1983 July 22, Janet Maslin, “‘Liquid Sky,’ High Fashion and a U.F.O.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN",
"text": "Slava Tsukerman is a Soviet émigré who has lived in New York City since 1976, apparently long enough for him to get the lay of the land.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2002 March 29, Douglas Waller, “McCain: After Finance Reform, What?”, in Time",
"text": "McCain: I want to see what the lay of the land is after the November elections.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The trends, feelings, intentions, and other factors influencing a strategic, political, or social situation."
],
"links": [
[
"trend",
"trend"
],
[
"feeling",
"feeling"
],
[
"intention",
"intention"
],
[
"influencing",
"influence"
],
[
"strategic",
"strategic"
],
[
"political",
"political"
],
[
"social",
"social"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) The trends, feelings, intentions, and other factors influencing a strategic, political, or social situation."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-lay of the land.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/31/En-au-lay_of_the_land.ogg/En-au-lay_of_the_land.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/En-au-lay_of_the_land.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "lie of the land"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "physical characteristics of the terrain or surrounding natural environment",
"word": "maasto"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "physical characteristics of the terrain or surrounding natural environment",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"plural"
],
"word": "örtliche Gegebenheiten"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "physical characteristics of the terrain or surrounding natural environment",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "configurazione del terreno"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "trends, feelings influencing a situation",
"word": "tunnelma"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "trends, feelings influencing a situation",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Lage der Dinge"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "trends, feelings influencing a situation",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Stimmungslage"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "trends, feelings influencing a situation",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Stand der Dinge"
}
],
"word": "lay of the land"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-30 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (210104c and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.