drop in someone's lap



drop in someone's lap

Give to someone suddenly or without warning. What is given may be desirable, as in I'm just going to drop the promotion in her lap this afternoon, or it may be burdensome, as in They simply dropped the employment problem in our laps. The former usage dates from the mid-1500s, the latter from the mid-1900s.
See also: drop, lap

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
DorothyDAWR-ə-thee, DAWR-theeEnglish
Serkan-Turkish
Cynebald-Anglo-Saxon
GuifrÉ-Catalan
Shahd-Arabic
Ntombi-Southern African, Zulu