lay open
verb1
Intellectual property, Law, Patent law Japan, South Korea To publish a patent for initial public review, prior to the formal application for registration.
2
To expose or reveal (something).
- to lay oneself open to criticism
- The power of turning into an animal has this serious disadvantage that it lays you open to the chance of being wounded or even slain in your animal skin before you have the chance to put it off and scramble back into your human integument.1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 11, page 207:
3
To open (something) through cutting or scissoring.