take the law into one's hands
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Also, take the law into one's own hands. Replace the established authority with one's own, as in While the captain was on shore the sailors took the law into their own hands and sneaked the prisoner off the ship. Generally indicating disapproval of doing something forbidden, this idiom was first recorded in 1606.
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Words nearby take the law into one's hands
take the field, take the Fifth, take the floor, take the heat, take the initiative, take the law into one's hands, take the liberty of, take the load off, take the plunge, take the pulse of, take the rap
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.