lays a glove on

Verb

lay a glove on (third-person singular simple present lays a glove on, present participle laying a glove on, simple past and past participle laid a glove on)

1. To hit with a boxing glove.
   • “You were so good he couldn't lay a glove on you. You were terrific. He tired to hit you with his knockout punch but you skillfully avoided it - do you remember how his glove whistled harmlessly past your head?2004, Morris Katz, The Journey, →ISBN, page 78
2. To physically touch, especially in a way that causes hurt.
   • The blinking headlights in his rearview mirror indicated the driver's anger at almost being sideswiped. “Oh, get a grip on yourself,” Dave groused as he continued accelerating. “I didn't even lay a glove on ya,” he giggled.2003, Bob Weir, Short Stories of Life and Death: Complexities of the Human Experience, →ISBN
3. (broadly) To harm (someone's) reputation, to make an accusation stick.
   • It was more than an anticlimax: it was a triumph for the President. “They didn't lay a glove on him,” Robert Bennett, his lawyer, told me. “On a scale of one to ten, it was a fifteen.”2003, Sidney Blumenthal, The Clinton Wars, →ISBN
4. To match, to provide with meaningful competition or be able to handle.
   • And I was dubious because I thought the problem was so huge that no small amount of money that we would put in this bill would lay a glove on the problem.1994, United States Congress House Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs, Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related