lazy man's load
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
One too heavy to be carried; so called because lazy people, to save themselves the trouble of coming a second time, are apt to overload themselves.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “lazy man's load” mean?
One too heavy to be carried; so called because lazy people, to save themselves the trouble of coming a second time, are apt to overload themselves.
Is “lazy man's load” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.