lie back and think of England: meaning & examples

Meanings:

• 2.

  BritishgeneralhumorousidiomaticMachine
  • To accept or endure an unpleasant, awkward, or painful circumstance with resignation or ironic detachment.

  Examples

  Beta

  • Faced with the long meeting full of bureaucratic nonsense, all we could do was lie back and think of England until it was over.

    Ante la larga reunión llena de tonterías burocráticas, solo pudimos resignarnos y pensar en Inglaterra hasta que terminó.

  • When the software crashed again, the team just had to lie back and think of England and wait for the fix.

    Cuando el software falló de nuevo, el equipo solo tuvo que resignarse y esperar la solución.

  • She decided to lie back and think of England rather than argue about the unfair decision at work.

    Decidió resignarse y pensar en Inglaterra en lugar de discutir sobre la decisión injusta en el trabajo.

• 1.

  BritishhumorousidiomaticdatedMachine
  • Originally, to endure sexual intercourse stoically by imagining one's homeland; used jocularly as advice to tolerate an unpleasant or distasteful situation by thinking of something comforting or patriotic.

  Examples

  Beta

  • When Linda found the renovation was delayed again, her husband joked that she just had to lie back and think of England to get through it.

    Cuando Linda descubrió que la renovación se retrasaba de nuevo, su esposo bromeó diciendo que solo tenía que relajarse y pensar en Inglaterra para sobrellevarlo.

  • He told me to lie back and think of England as the dentist began the painful procedure, trying to lighten the mood.

    Me dijo que me relajara y pensara en Inglaterra cuando el dentista comenzó el doloroso procedimiento, intentando aliviar el ambiente.

  • Sometimes at work, when things get tough, I just lie back and think of England to endure the stress.

    A veces en el trabajo, cuando las cosas se ponen difíciles, simplemente me relajo y pienso en Inglaterra para soportar el estrés.