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lay odds. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
lay odds, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
lay odds in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Pronunciation
Verb
lay odds (third-person singular simple present lays odds, present participle laying odds, simple past and past participle laid odds)
- To offer a bet in which one stands more to lose than the opponent; or a bet in some other way favourable to the opponent.
c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :Prince John: "I will lay odds that, ere this year expire, / We bear our civil swords and native fire / As far as France. I heard a bird so sing, / Whose music, to my thinking, pleas'd the King."
1904, Jack London, chapter 24, in The Sea-Wolf (Macmillan’s Standard Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC:"We're dead safe," he assured them with a laugh. "No salt mines this time, Smoke. But I'll tell you what -- I'll lay odds of five to one it's the Macedonia."
- To feel certain about something.
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