take this lying down

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on December 09, 2005

In Reply to: Take this lying down posted by Melissa on December 09, 2005

: "I never said I'd take this lying down"
: What does it mean!?

It means to accept something meekly without protest. According to my Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, the metaphor is of a cowed dog; when dogs (and other pack animals) are threatened by the alpha male of the pack, they show their surrender by lying down in a submissive position.

• take this lying down Smokey Stover 09/December/05
  • take this lying down Shae 09/December/05