lay something at the feet of

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

lay something at the feet of (third-person singular simple present lays something at the feet of, present participle laying something at the feet of, simple past and past participle laid something at the feet of)

1. (transitive, idiomatic) To assign responsibility for (something) to (someone).
   • 2009 Mar/Apr, Clara Jeffery, “Michael Pollan fixes dinner”, in Mother Jones, volume 34, number 2, page 32:

     How much of our current agricultural policy can we lay at the feet of the Iowa caucuses?

   • 2018, 'Disappointed': Too late for off-site pill testing at Spilt Milk, The Canberra Times:

     He did not lay the blame at the feet of the territory government, but rather conservative politicians that might have had a hand in convincing the federal government, and through it, the authority, to put a stop to the mooted trial.

• lay something at the door of