The difference between Give the elbow and Lay off
When used as verbs, give the elbow means to fire (an employee), whereas lay off means (of an employer) to dismiss (workers) from employment, e.g. at a time of low business volume, often with a severance package.
check bellow for the other definitions of Give the elbow and Lay off
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Give the elbow as a verb (transitive, slang, British):
To fire (an employee); to terminate the employment of.
Examples:
"They said I couldn't do the job so they gave me the elbow. So, now I'm looking for work again."
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Lay off as a verb (transitive, chiefly US, idiom):
(of an employer) To dismiss (workers) from employment, e.g. at a time of low business volume, often with a severance package.
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Lay off as a verb (transitive):
(of a bookmaker) To place all or part of a bet with another bookmaker in order to reduce risk.
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Lay off as a verb (transitive, idiomatic):
To cease, quit, stop (doing something).
Examples:
"Lay off the singing, will you! I'm trying to study."
"When are you gonna lay off smoking?"
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Lay off as a verb (transitive, and, intransitive, idiomatic):
To stop bothering, teasing, or pestering someone; to leave (someone) alone.
Examples:
"Just lay off, okay! I've had enough!"
"Things have been better since the boss has been laying off a little."
"I told him to lay off me but he wouldn't stop."
"Lay off it, already!"
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Lay off as a verb (transitive, and, intransitive, [[artisanal]] [[terminology]]):
In painting, to apply gentle strokes to smooth a wet coat of paint so as to remove visible roller- or brush-marks, commonly using a dry brush; a similar technique, but using a loaded laying-off brush, may produce a smooth coat of paint when using a roller or the usual brush techniques would leave marks.
Examples:
"At any [[pro]] paint shop ask for laying off brushes. These are [[natural]] [[bristle]], wide, thin brushes designed for [[tip off tipping off]], not for holding a paint load.'' (Sourced from a web forum exchange)"