Lay
Work out
Work out verb - To find an answer for through reasoning.
Mutual synonyms
Both terms in one sentence
- A possible example in one of the Get Smart novels, when Max is told by Funny Foreigner Hassan Pfeiffer, "May the great bird of paradise lay its eggs in your onion soup." Max spends the rest of the book on and off trying to work out if this is something he would want to have happen to him.
Source: Flowery Insults - It didn't work out too well for him when you ransack his base of operations, or for you when Mephist reveals who the real baddies are right before trying to lay the smackdown on your battle-weakened ass.
Source: Video Game / Last Bible
Cite this Source
Work out and Lay. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/lay/work_out
Lay & Work out. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/lay/work_out>.
Work out or Lay. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/lay/work_out.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "lay" and "work out" have occurred on timeline