Also lay low
Meaning of Idiom ‘Lie Low’
To lie low means to hide or avoid being seen so you will not be caught or found by someone; to keep quiet, avoid the spotlight or avoid publicity; to keep one’s plans hidden; to strategically wait until the appropriate time to act. 1Heacock, Paul. Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms]. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2010.,2Kirkpatrick, Elizabeth M. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Idioms. Ware: Wordsworth, 1995.,3Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.
Usage Notes
The idiom often has the sense of staying out of sight or out of the public eye until the occasion for doing so has passed; i.e. it is used to describe a temporary action.
The grammatically incorrect ‘lay low’ is sometimes used, perhaps because of this idiom being confused with ‘lay someone low,’ and can be considered an acceptable use (idioms often ignore grammar rules).
Examples Of Use
“We ran to the woods, hoping we could lie low for a while.”
“After stealing the money, he decided to lie low in an abandoned apartment until the police stopped looking for him.”
“Just lay low for a while until the media moves on to something else,” said the senator’s advisers.
“He is not going to lay low. We’ll probably be seeing even more of him. He doesn’t shy away from a fight.”
Origin
The literal meaning of this idiom alludes to a hunter laying low in the brush to wait for game or a soldier laying low in concealment, waiting for the enemy. 4Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013. It has been used this way since at least the 1200s.
The present figurative meaning has been used since at least the late 1800s, although Shakespeare used another version in Much Ado About Nothing, perhaps to mean humbled:
“If he could right himself with quarreling, Some of use would lie low.” 5Bengelsdorf, Peter. Idioms in the News – 1,000 Phrases, Real Examples. N.p.: Amz Digital Services, 2012.
