lay-by
(ˈleɪbaɪ)
Also lay-bye.
[f. lay v.1 + by adv.]
A. n.
1. a. A ‘slack’ part of a river in which barges are laid by out of use.
| 1826 J. Kay Let. 7 July in N. & Q. (1960) Apr. 148/1, I have given permission for a Laybye to be formed in the bank of the Canal near Thornhill Bridge. 1879 E. J. Castle Law of Rating 61 Pumping station, wharf, lay-by for barges. 1891 Field 7 Mar. 344/2 A lay⁓by near Windsor Bridge. 1892 Ibid. 17 Sept. 454/3 Screened lay-byes and deep pools. 1899 Daily News 9 May 3/1 There is a river frontage to the Thames of 160 ft. with private dock and lay-by for three barges. |
b. A railway siding.
| 1906 Westm. Gaz. 28 Sept. 7/1 A heavy goods train had left the up-line..and run into a short lay-by. 1955 L. T. C. Rolt Red for Danger x. 206 He therefore signalled the L.M.S. goods out of the lay-by, but the driver stopped in Charfield station for water. |
c. An area adjoining a road where vehicles may park without interfering with the traffic.
| 1939 [see draw-in (draw n. 12 a)]. 1950 Engineering 17 Nov. 387/2 Stopping places off the carriageway in the form of lay-bys. 1959 Manch. Guardian 1 July 5/4 The emergence of a new type of picnic—the lay-by high tea... On any arterial road you can see the family saloons..heave into the lay-by. 1971 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 8 Aug. 4/3 We enjoyed a Sunday picnic in a forest layby and then returned to Holland. 1972 Daily Tel. 13 Mar. 3/2 Caravanners who park in lay-bys causing litter and hygiene problems will face prosecution. 1973 Times 30 Apr. 14/1 My correspondent at the front owns a weekend cottage in Norfolk and was in the habit of collecting his empty wine bottles and baked bean cans and dumping them in the lay-by bins on the way home on Sundays. 1973 People's Jrnl. (Inverness & Northern Counties ed.) 4 Aug. 8/2 The holidaymakers had stopped in a lay-by at Oban and Miss Coldrick thinks she left the camera on the car boot. |
2. a. Something laid by or saved; savings.
| 1894 Baring-Gould Kitty Alone III. 65, I had gone with all my little lay-by to get you out of your difficulties. |
b. A system of payment whereby a purchaser puts down a deposit on an article, which is then kept on one side for him until he has paid the full price. Also transf., and as v. Chiefly Austral. and N.Z.
| 1930 Sydney Morning Herald 16 Oct. 4 (Advt.), Avail yourself of our lay-by service. 1943 Amer. Speech XVIII. 95 [New Zealand] A few trade names have caught the public fancy, and become generalized..A system of hire-purchase called the ‘Lay-by’ has resulted in the verb ‘layby’, pronounced and written as one word. 1944 W. E. Harney Taboo (ed. 3) 154 He did not complain, for it was to him a tribal law and custom—a lay-by system to protect him when he was old. 1957 Rhodesia Herald 16 Mar. (Advt.), Lay-Byes Accepted Now. 1960 Times 25 June 9/4 When in Australia..I was bewildered to find this expression ‘Lay by’ used widely in large shops, until I discovered that it meant that the management would put aside articles for customers. 1969 Sydney Morning Herald 24 May 26/8 (Advt.), Goldfish, tropical. Full range plants, access... Lay-by or terms. Get your discount card now. |
B. attrib. or adj. Intended to be ‘laid by’.
| 1804 W. Taylor in Robberds Mem. I. 492 You might..have executed..a correct and expurgated copy for a lay-by edition. |