26. "Lie" and "lay". These are separate verbs and unconnected except for the fact that the latter is the past tense of the former. "Lie" -- as in "to lie down", not "to lie to the police" -- has almost completely disappeared; perhaps because of some strange association with the aforementioned dishonesty. So when someone says "I'm going to lay down", they are lying. They do not intend to drop a great pile of duck feathers from their nether regions.

Sledge