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[late] See: BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, OF LATE.

[lately] See: JOHNNY-COME-LATELY.

[later] See: SOONER OR LATER.

[later on]{adv.} Later; not now. •/Finish your lessons. Later on, we may have a surprise./ •/Bill couldn’t stand on his head when school started, but later on he learned how./

[lather] See: IN A LATHER.

[laugh] See: HE LAUGHS BEST WHO LAUGHS LAST, HAVE THE LAST LAUGH.

[laugh all the way to the bank]{v. phr.} To have made a substantial amount of money either by lucky investment or by some fraudulent deal and rejoice over one’s gains. •/If you had done what I suggested, you, too, could be laughing all the way to the bank./

[laughing matter]{n.} A funny happening; a silly situation. — Usually used with "no". •/John’s failing the test is no laughing matter!/ •/We were amused when our neighbor’s cat had five kittens, but when our own cat had six kittens it was no laughing matter./

[laugh in one’s beard] See: LAUGH UP ONE’S SLEEVE.

[laugh in one’s sleeve] See: LAUGH UP ONE’S SLEEVE.

[laugh off]{v.} To dismiss with a laugh as not important or not serious; not take seriously. •/He had a bad fall while ice skating but he laughed it off./ •/You can’t laugh off a ticket for speeding./ Compare: MAKE LIGHT OF.

[laugh one out of]{v. phr.} To cause another to forget his/her worries and sorrows by joking. •/Jack was worried about getting airsick, but his son and daughter laughed him out of it./

[laugh one’s head off]{v. phr.}, {informal} To laugh very hard; be unable to stop laughing. •/Paul’s stories are so wildly funny that I laugh my head off whenever he starts telling one of them./

[laugh on the wrong side of one’s mouth] or [laugh on the other side of one’s mouth] or [laugh out of the other side of one’s mouth]{v. phr.}, {informal} To be made sorry; to feel annoyance or disappointment; cry. •/Paul boasted that he was a good skater, but after he fell, he laughed out of the other side of his mouth./

[laugh up one’s sleeve] or [laugh in one’s sleeve] or [laugh in one’s beard] To be amused but not show it; hide your laughter. •/He was laughing up his sleeve when Joe answered the phone because he knew the call would he a joke./

[launch window]{n.}, {Space English}, {informal} 1. A period of time when the line-up of planets, Sun, and Moon are such as to make favorable conditions for a specific space launch. •/The mission was canceled until the next launch window which will be exactly six weeks from today./ 2. A favorable time for starting some kind of ambitious adventure. •/My next launch window for a European trip isn’t until school is over in June./

[laurel] See: LOOK TO ONE’S LAURELS, REST ON ONE’S LAURELS.

[lavender] See: LAY OUT(7).

[law] See: LAY DOWN THE LAW, PARLIAMENTARY LAW, TAKE THE LAW INTO ONE’S OWN HANDS.

[law-abiding]{adj.} Obeying or following the law. •/Michael had been a law-abiding citizen all his life./

[lawful age] See: LEGAL AGE.

[law of averages]{n. phr.} The idea that you can’t win all the time or lose all the time. •/The Celtics have won 10 games in a row but the law of averages will catch up with them soon./

[law unto oneself]{n. phr.}, {literary} A person who does only what he wishes; a person who ignores or breaks the law when he doesn’t like it. •/Everybody in Germany feared Hitler because he was a law unto himself./ •/Mr. Brown told Johnny that he must stop trying to be a law unto himself./ Compare: TAKE THE LAW INTO ONE’S OWN HANDS.

[lay] See: KILL THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG.

[lay about one]{v. phr.} To hit out in all directions. — Used with a reflexive object: "her", "him", or "them". •/The bandits surrounded the sheriff, but he laid about him so hard, with his gun used as a club, that they stepped back and let him escape./ •/Mrs. Franklin didn’t kill the mouse, but she laid about her so hard with the broom that she scared it away./

[lay a finger on]{v. phr.} To touch or bother, even a little. — Used in negative, interrogative, and conditional sentences. •/Don’t you dare lay a finger on the vase!/ •/Suppose Billy fakes his brother with him; wilt the mean, tough boy down the street dare lay a finger on him?/ •/If you so much as lay a finger on my boy, I’ll call the police./ Compare: LAY HANDS ON, PUT ONE’S FINGER ON.

[lay an egg]{v. phr.}, {slang} To fail to win the interest or favor of an audience. •/His joke laid an egg./ •/Sometimes he is a successful speaker, but sometimes he lays an egg./

[lay aside]{v. phr.} 1. To put off until another time; interrupt an activity. •/The president laid aside politics to turn to foreign affairs./ 2. To save. •/They tried to lay aside a little money each week for their vacation./

[lay at one’s door]{v. phr.}, {literary} To blame (something) on a person. •/The failure of the plan was laid at his door./ Compare: LAY TO(1).

[lay away]{v.} 1. To save. •/She laid a little of her pay away each week./ 2. To bury (a person). — Used to avoid the word "bury", which some people think is unpleasant. •/He was laid away in his favorite spot on the hill./

[lay-away plan]{n.} A plan for buying something that you can’t pay cash for; a plan in which you pay some money down and pay a little more when you can, and the store holds the article until you have paid the full price. •/She could not afford to pay for the coat all at once, so she used the lay-away plan./

[lay bare]{v. phr.} To expose; reveal; divulge. •/During his testimony the witness laid bare the whole story of his involvement with the accused./