Word of the Day for Saturday August 6, 2005

waylay \WAY-lay\, transitive verb:
1. To lie in wait for and attack from ambush.
2. To approach or stop (someone) unexpectedly.

When his mother praised certain well-behaved and neatly
dressed boys in the village, Jung was filled with hate for
them, and would waylay and beat them up.
--Frank McLynn, [1]Carl Gustav Jung

He returned to her night after night, until his brother,
Frank, waylaid him one evening outside Harriet's cabin and
beat him bloody.
--Lynne Olson, [2]Freedom's Daughters

Furious and humiliated, the boy waylaid Martha after
school.
--Julian Barnes, [3]England, England

The women, who hold wicker baskets filled with flowers and
incense, are out to waylay tourists and to entice them into
buying the blooms and scents.
--Jacob Heilbrunn, "Mao More Than Ever," [4]New Republic,
April 21, 1997
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Waylay comes from way (from Old English weg) + lay (from Old
English lecgan).

Synonyms: ambush, assail, bushwhack, set upon. [5]Find more at
Thesaurus.com.