OK ~ I think the time has come to blog about “lie” and “lay”. I remember a line from Up the Down Staircase when the young teacher was told, Never teach a lesson on “lie” and “lay”. That may be good advice and I think too many teachers have followed it over the years. Rather than risk the ribald laughter of teenagers, they have just kept quiet. More’s the pity. 

It really is simple: humans lie down, chickens lay eggs. 

So if I am told someone is going to lay down, I keep seeing whomever it is laying an egg. *sigh* Maybe it is just me and I do wish “lay” could be used correctly even if teachers have to go through some hard times to get the point across.