From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe lay of the landthe lay of the landa) HAPPENthe situation that exists at a particular time Get the lay of the land before you make any decisions. b) APPEARANCEthe appearance of an area of land, for example the way it slopes → lay
Examples from the Corpus
the lay of the land• He's got to get the lay of the land before he makes any decisions.• A lot of people, especially those new to the city, have no concept of the lay of the land. 