Would you like to let someone know that it's time to put in some real effort, or tell someone that they have been too relaxed in their efforts and have been slacking off? The term 'resting on your laurels' is a saying that can be used to relate this to someone. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.
Meaning
The term 'resting on your laurels' is a type of figurative saying that can be used to mean that someone is relaxing on their efforts after they are sure their work has paid off, usually too soon.
If someone is 'resting on their laurels' then it means that they have become lazy or too relaxed in their efforts after some hard work.
Someone can use the term 'resting on your laurels' as a veiled insult that tells someone it's time to stop being lazy or get a move on with the activity in question.
The expression is either used as 'resting on your laurels' or said as 'to rest on your laurels'.
Sometimes the saying can also be used as 'to stop rest[ing] on your laurels' as the implication that the person should cease their “lazy behavior” and “get moving”.
The term can also be used to deny that someone is 'resting on their laurels' as part of a conversation or comment.
Example Usage
“Don't let Doc see you around here resting on your laurels while you're supposed to be working in the office. Remember that if anyone walks in here, you're fired and I didn't see anything.”
“If you rest on your laurels for too long, you're going to back to work one morning and find out that you were replaced by your boss.”
“The point is, if you rest on your laurels for too long after the big project has been finished, it's more likely that you're going to be in trouble for it later.”
“My mother didn't do much for the last twenty years of her life. She was successful once, but she used the last time to rest on her laurels and let everyone else around her do the work.”
Origin
The origin of the term 'rest on your laurels' or 'to rest on your laurels' can be tracked all the way back to Ancient Greece, where ther expression referred to people who have just completed their leg of a challenge (and would therefore get to 'rest' on their laurel wreath).
The term 'resting on your laurels' has been in common use since the beginnings of the English language, where it can be found in early manuscripts from the 1600s and prior to this.
The term experienced far more popular use with its inclusion in the Oxford English Dictionary and other texts, where it likely spread and again spiked in uses with the introduction of social media websites like TikTok post-2016.
The expression is also a common one in popular media, where the saying appears as a pop culture reference in movies and series.
Phrases Similar to Resting on Your Laurels
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Phrases Opposite to Resting on Your Laurels
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What is the Correct Saying?
- [To] rest on your laurels
- [Resting] on your laurels
Ways People May Say Resting on Your Laurels Incorrectly
There are several ways to use the terms 'resting on your laurels' or 'to rest on your laurels' in the wrong way, or to misunderstand the meaning behind the use of the expression.
If someone is 'resting on their laurels' the further implication of the term is to say that they are lazy or slacking off, often after the completing of something with success.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Resting on Your Laurels
The correct way to use the term 'resting on your laurels' is to use the saying to apply to someone who is lazy or slacking off, sometimes after they have just completed a project or job.
The term is used to imply laziness, and it's most often used as an insult.