From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwaylayway‧lay /weɪˈleɪ/ verb (past tense and past participle waylaid) [transitive] 1 STOP something THAT IS HAPPENINGINJUREif someone waylays you, they stop you when you are going somewhere, for example to attack you or talk to you They used to waylay him as he came out of the factory.2 if you are waylaid, you are delayed when you are doing something – often used humorously to say why you are late Sorry, we got waylaid at the bar.Grammar Waylay is usually passive in this meaning.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
waylay• Amiss hovered in the gallery, hoping to waylay an informant.• Her father waylaid Barre-to her chagrin-and boasted about his daughter's talent.• Thousands of passengers were waylaid by the airline strike.• She had lost count of the number of times she had slapped his hands from her body whenever he waylaid her outside.• She might just waylay him and hit him with something heavy!• They came to his home uninvited once or twice and they would waylay him as he emerged from work at the factory.• Yes, I could be in some danger - and there was an attempt to waylay me today.• He waylaid Stella in the paint-frame where she had been sent to boil rabbit glue on the Bunsen burner.Origin waylay (1500-1600) way + lay “to set a trap for” ((13-19 centuries)) 