From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlay something on phrasal verb1 lay something ↔ on especially British EnglishPROVIDE to provide something such as food, entertainment, or transport for a group of people They laid on a buffet for his farewell party. A bus has been laid on to take you home.2 lay something on somebodyGIVE to ask someone to do something, especially something that is difficult or something they will not want to do Sorry to lay this on you, but we need someone to give a talk at the conference next week.3 lay it on (thick) informal a) PRAISEto praise someone or something too much, especially in order to get what you want b) EXAGGERATEto talk about something in a way that makes it seem more important, serious etc than it really is SYN exaggerate → lay→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
lay it on (thick)• I laid it on soil; the shoulders managed a few slow twitches, pulled it an inch forward.• She took her coat off and laid it on the bed.• Tenderly she laid it on the bed.• I took a card out and laid it on the counter.• She laid it on the floor of the car.• I laid it on the line.• That way, unless I've really laid it on thick, I can get along at a cracking pace.• He laid it on top of one of the garbage cans lined up in front of his building. 