help oneself

Idioms  

1. Make an effort on one's own behalf. Shakespeare used this expression in 2 Henry IV (3:2): “She is old, and cannot help herself,” and it also appears in the old proverb, God (or heaven ) helps those who help themselves . [First half of 1500s] Also see can't help .

2. Serve oneself, as in The food's in the kitchen; just help yourself . When it takes an object this phrase is put as help oneself to , as in I helped myself to more meat . It also is used as a euphemism for stealing, as in She simply helped herself to the hotel towels and left . The first usage dates from the late 1600s; the second, a colloquialism, from the mid-1800s.

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Example Sentences

The food, Mr. Bruce said, couldn’t be overly fancy or ornate, or it would be too difficult to help oneself.

From New York Times

A few minutes later, he was replaced by a group of men having an intense discussion about the Congolese mineral trade — “self-help,” perhaps meaning helping oneself to that country’s riches.

From Washington Post

"It's a nonsensical idea," he told an audience at the London Film Festival, likening the notion to helping oneself to "free shirts" in a clothing store.

From BBC

The duty of helping oneself in the highest sense always involves the duty of helping others.

From Project Gutenberg

An "anti-culture of helping oneself" had led to widespread allegations of pocketed donations, illicit payments and fiddled expenses, she said.

From The Guardian