lay about

See also: layabout

English

Verb

lay about (third-person singular simple present lays about, present participle laying about, simple past and past participle laid about)

1. To strike blows in all directions.
   • 1663, Samuel Butler, Hudibras, part 1, canto 2:

     [...] At beating quarters up, or forage, / Behaved herself with matchless courage; / And laid about in fight more busily / Than th' Amazonian Dame Penthesile.

2. To set about, with infinitive or gerund.
3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see lay,‎ about.

Translations

to strike blows in all directions

• Finnish: huitoa (fi)
• Russian: наноси́ть уда́ры напра́во и нале́во (nanosítʹ udáry naprávo i nalévo)