legal beagle
A lawyer, especially one who is very thorough and meticulous
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legal duty
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
legal tender
Money which, by the law of the particular country, a creditor is bound to accept in discharge of a debt. In England the tender of gold, Treasury notes, and Bank of England notes (except for £10 and upwards) is legal up ,to any amount, with the one exception that a creditor of the Bank of England cannot be compelled to receive his money in Bank of England notes.
Legend has it that St
Fiacre was the son of an Irish king, born in 600, who settled in France and built a monastery at Breuil. His day is August 30th.
legend in one's own lifetime
Someone who is famous and admired during their lifetime
legend in one's own lunchtime
Someone who is famous or respected only among a small group of people.
leggers
Sham leggers; cheats who pretend to sell smuggled goods, but in reality only deal in old shop-keepers or damaged goods.
Legioa of Honour
An order of distinction and reward instituted by Napoleon in 1802, for either military or civil merit.
Legion d'Honneur
The cross is attached to a grand (broad) ribbon.
Leicester Square
So called from the family mansion of the Sydneys, Earls of Leicester, which stood on the north-east side in the 17th century.
leicester's company
His plays and poems were written between 1591 (Love's Labour's Lost) and 1611 (The Tempest). In the latter year he retired to Stratford, but visited London frequently, keeping up his relations with actors and poets until his death.
Leipzig Fairs
These were sample fairs to which commercial agents used to flock from all parts of the world. The Spring Fair opened the first week in March, the Autumn Fair the last week in August, and each lasted three weeks. All sorts of wares including pottery, textiles, glass, machinery, books, etc., were on sale.
lemnian earth
A kind of bole, or clayey earth, of a reddish or yellowish grey colour, found in the island of Lemnos, said to cure the bites of serpents and other wounds. It was made into cakes, and was called terra sigillata, because these were sealed by a priest before being vended.
lemon law
Law protecting consumers from defective products
lemon sole
The name of the flat-fish has nothing to do with the fruit but is from limande, a dab or flat-fish. This may be connected with O.Fr. lima nde, a fiat board, but may also be from Lat. limns, mud, the fish being essentially a bottom fish.
lend a hand
To help or assist someone
lend itself to
be suitable or appropriate for something
Lend Lease
On March llth, 1942, President Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease Act whereby U.S.A. was committed to lend or lease military equipment, stores, food, etc., to the govern- ments of the powers fighting Fascism in the name of democracy. Fifteen powers in addition to the twenty Latin- American Republics bene- fited by Lend-Lease, and over £1,000,000,000 was expended by U.S.A. It was ended by President Truman on the conclusion of hostilities in 1945.
lend me your ears
Pay attention to what I am about to say. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
length
Forty-two lines of a dramatic composition.—Theatrical.
length and breadth
Throughout the entire area or extent
Lennon and McCartney
a highly successful and influential songwriting partnership
leonine contract
A one-sided agreement; so called in allusion to the fable of The Lion and his Fellow-Hunters. Cp. GLAUCUS SWOP, under GLAUCUS.
leonine verses
Latin hexameters, or alternate hexameters and pentameters, rhyming at the middle and end of each respective line. These fancies were common in the 12th century, and are said to have been popularized by and so called from Leoninus, a canon of the church of St. Victor, in Paris; but there are many such lines in the classic poets, particu- larly Ovid. In English verse, any metre which rhymes middle and end may be called Leonine verse.
Lerner and Loewe
American musical duo
Les Fourbenes de Scapin
Scapin wants to bamboozle Geronte out of his money, and tells him that his master (Geronte's son) is detained prisoner on a Turkish galley, where he went out of curiosity. Geronte replies "What business had he to go on board the galley?" The phrase is applied to a person who finds himself in difficulties through being where he ought not to be, or in some unexpected pre- dicament.
les jeux sont faits
The outcome is certain and cannot be changed
less is more
Simplicity is often better than complexity or excess
less'n
Unless.
lesser of two evils
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
lessons learned
Knowledge or insights gained from experience, especially mistakes
let a sleeping dog lie
Avoid talking about or bringing up a past issue that could cause trouble
let alone
not to mention, even less likely
let bygones be bygones
Don't rake up old and dead grievances. Let me entreat you to let the dead bury the dead, to cast behind you every recollection of bygone evils, and to cherish, to love, to sustain one another through all the vicissitudes of human affairs in the times that are to come — GLADSTONE: Home Rule Bill (February 13th, 1893).
let crazy stick its dick in you
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
let down
Fail to meet someone's expectations or needs
let drive
to allow someone to take control
Let every vat stand upon its own bottom. (William Bullein)
Everyone should be self-sufficient and responsible for themselves
let fluffy off the chain
To fart.
let fly
to express or release strong emotions or opinions
let go and let God
To surrender one's worries and trust in a higher power
let her rip
Let it (an engine, etc.) go as fast as it can.
let in
To cheat or victimize. "He let me in heavily."
let it alone
Leave something untouched or uninterfered with
let it be
accept something and do nothing to change it
let loose
to release or express a strong emotion
let me know
Tell me or inform me about something
let me tell you
used to introduce a statement or opinion
let nature take its course
Allow events to unfold naturally without interference
let not the sun go down on your wrath
Resolve conflicts before the end of the day
let off
allow someone to escape punishment
let on
to hint or reveal a secret
let on
To give an intimation of having some knowledge of a subject. Ramsay employs the phrase in the Gentle Shepherd. Common in Scotland.
let one go
release or forgive someone
let one's fingers do the walking
to use a phonebook or directory to find information
let oneself go
to relax and stop worrying about appearance or behavior
let out
To release.
let rip
To fart.
Let sleeping Aussies lie
Traditional English proverbial phrase; full definition pending editorial review.
let sleeping dogs lie
Avoid reviving a past conflict or issue
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