Word of the Day for Saturday August 6, 2005 waylay \WAY-lay\, transitive verb: 1. To lie in wait for and attack from ambush. 2. To approach or stop (someone) unexpectedly. When his mother praised certain well-behaved and neatly dressed boys in the village, Jung was filled with hate for them, and would waylay and beat them up. --Frank McLynn, [1]Carl Gustav Jung He returned to her night after night, until his brother, Frank, waylaid him one evening outside Harriet's cabin and beat him bloody. --Lynne Olson, [2]Freedom's Daughters Furious and humiliated, the boy waylaid Martha after school. --Julian Barnes, [3]England, England The women, who hold wicker baskets filled with flowers and incense, are out to waylay tourists and to entice them into buying the blooms and scents. --Jacob Heilbrunn, "Mao More Than Ever," [4]New Republic, April 21, 1997 _________________________________________________________ Waylay comes from way (from Old English weg) + lay (from Old English lecgan). Synonyms: ambush, assail, bushwhack, set upon. [5]Find more at Thesaurus.com. References 1. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0552995622/ref=nosim/lexico 2. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684850133/ref=nosim/lexico 3. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375705503/ref=nosim/lexico 4. http://www.tnr.com/ 5. http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?q=waylay Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=9&q=waylay