E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Lay to One’s Charge (To).
To attribute an offence to a person.
1
“And he [Stephen] kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord lay not this sin to their charge.”—Acts vii. 60. The phrase occurs again in the Bible, e.g. Deut. xxi. 8; Rom. viii. 33, etc.
