I hate to be picky, but this also shows the faults of the media: writers and editors. “Lying down” is what people do on the ground. We “lay” THINGS down on the ground. So she laid the swords on the ground before she laid down...yes, I checked, to make things more confusing, “laid” is the past participle of “lie” as well as “lay.
However “laying” in this context of this headline is all wrong. The error in grammar is driving me crazy.
People lie down, chickens lay eggs.
(Chickens have down.)
Reading that was like fingernails on a chalk board. I thought maybe there was an alternative meaning of “lay.”
I can excuse the occasional error in headlines, but to make such a silly mistake in the body of the article is only softened by it coming from a TV station. They aren’t the best of writers.
“Colorado Springs woman accused of laying on school property...”
And there’s another strong connotation you didn’t mention...like “knowing” someone in the biblical sense.
So, are you saying the pen is not mightier than the sword?
But the editor has the right to be different than others. Oh, I forgot the needed word to go with the use of the word, than. But the editor has the right to be more different than others. Don’t you love the new English?
;-)