maid of honor1. principal bridesmaid at a wedding: Lily asked Maria to be her maid of honor . She planned to be mar- ried in church. 2. = lady of honor 1: His Grace shows as much gallantry as ever to a certain maid of honor . laid on the shelf • left on the shelf laid on the shelf—(also: put on the shelf ) 1. discharged from service (for reason of age, etc.): He had been laid on the shelf for cowardice in one of the engagements between the Dutch and the English. 2. (of problems, etc.) postponed to be con- sidered later if at all: The theory of evolution was laid on the shelf until Charles Darwin and Wallace took it down again. left on the shelf—(of a woman) considered too old to get married: She refused several offers of marriage, and then, at the age of forty, found herself left on the shelf . Lake State, the • Salt Lake State, the Lake State, the —(U.S.) a nickname of the state of Michigan: Michigan is also known as the Lake State , or the Great Lakes State (which appears on the state license plates) for its prox- imity to Lake Michigan. Salt Lake State, the —(U.S.) a nickname of the State of Utah: The only “non–Mormon” nickname is the Salt Lake State , but even this is closely linked with the Mormons, who first settled in what is now known as Salt Lake. lame duck • ugly duckling lame duck—1. an officeholder who has been defeated for reelection or is not seeking reelection: Tony Blair made himself a lame duck by stating that he would not fight a fourth general election. 2. a person or thing considered as weak or unfortu- nate: I did find myself waiting for the end to come, which when it did was completely unfulfilling. This movie is just a lame duck with a loaded cast. ugly duckling —an unpromising person or thing that be- comes successful or admirable: In school I was an ugly duck - ling and a loner. Nobody believed I could ever be a great actress and singer except me. land of fruit and nuts, the • land of milk and honey, the land of fruit and nuts, the—(U.S.) a jocular nickname of the state of California (reference being made to both the agri- cultural abundance and the stereotypical image of Californi- ans as being other than normal, cf.: “fruit”—(sl.) a crazy person, and “nuts”—(sl.) crazy): Although Californians are known to come from the “land of fruit and nuts ” not all of us are like that. land of milk and honey, the—1. in the Old Testament, a poetic name for the Promised Land: The Jewish people were brought out of slavery in Egypt by Moses to the land of milk and honey promised to them by God. 2. any place of great abundance: Many Mexicans regard the United States as the land of milk and honey . land someone in something • land someone with something land someone in something—(coll.) get a person into difficul- ties or trouble: It is this decades-old addiction to spending that has landed us in this rotten economic crisis. land someone with something—(coll.) cause a person to obtain or receive smth. (especially smth. unpleasant): As usual with all sweep stakes I enter, lady luck has landed me with the worst horse in the entire field. landed immigrant • landed man landed immigrant—an immigrant to Canada, admitted for permanent residence: If he is to see his child, he will have to be accepted as a landed immigrant . landed man —a person possessed of land; smb. having an estate in land: He has rather a big noise here. Landed man really, but has a seat on our Board. landlord • landowner landlord—a man who rents out accommodation to tenants: We are going back to Manhattan to clean out our old house so we can turn it over to our landlord . landowner —an owner or proprietor of land: Sandino was the son of a poor native woman and a rich landowner , who didn’t recognize him as his son. Land’s End, the • land’s end Land’s End, the—(UK) most southerly point in England, at the tip of Cornwall: We were barely able to lay a course through the passage between those islands and the Land’s End . land’s end—(also: end of the land) the remotest region of the country: Here there is also a tradition of independence against the rest of New England. It’s land’s end , so they tend to be suspicious of the rest of the world. large as life • larger than life large as life —(also: big as life) said of smb. actually present, especially where a person is not supposed to be: He couldn’t have gone abroad—I saw him yesterday, coming out of his office as large as life . larger than life —said of smb. very much out of the ordinary and likely to attract attention: Many film stars seem to be larger than life to the mass of ordinary people. large fortune • small fortune large fortune —great wealth; a huge sum of money: After an exile of many years, Dudley North returned to England with a large fortune . small fortune—a rather large sum of money: It is said she made a small fortune selling what became known as Durham mustard. lash out at something • lash out on something lash out at something—make a sudden and violent verbal attack on smth.: The speaker lashed out at the government’s new tax laws. lash out on something—(coll.) spend freely on smth.; pay a lot of money for smth.: Can we afford to lash out on a new car? Last Day, the • last days, the Last Day, the—the Biblical Day of Judgment: They were eager … if their death anticipated the Last Day , to die in the Holy Land. last days, the—1. the concluding period of smth.: Though it appears paradoxical, in the last days of the Raj, the British were the only people who wished to keep India united. 2. the period including and immediately preceding the Day of Judg- ment: Alder gives a chronological order for the many signs that will occur in the last days . last out something • outlast something last out something —1. exist or continue for a period of time: Why join this mad adventure of the Bolsheviks, this govern- ment that would not last out a week? 2. be enough for a period of time: There was plenty of grass and water to last out the fall. It was fire the ranchers feared. outlast something —last or exist longer than smth. else: These bikes are extremely well made and will outlast our competitors models. laid on the shelf – 210 –