Could someone tell me what "laid clothes" / "lay clothes" mean? The extract below is from the Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. I also heard that expression in Alf, which means that it is not old-fashioned (in the series where Alf meets Larry). At last he went to England on a visit, and had to pay enormous sums to the priests when he came back; for even so high-caste a Brahmin as Purun Dass lost caste by crossing the black sea. In London he met and talked with every one worth knowing—men whose names go all over the world—and saw a great deal more than he said. He was given honorary degrees by learned universities, and he made speeches and talked of Hindu social reform to English ladies in evening dress, till all London cried, “This is the most fascinating man we have ever met at dinner since cloths were first laid.” Thanks in advance for your answer!