take the law into (one's) own hands
(redirected from take the law into one's own hands)take the law into (one's) own hands
To act outside the scope of the law to achieve one's own sense of justice, typically by killing, punishing, or passing judgment on wrongdoers. Shopkeepers in the area have begun taking the law into their own hands, catching would-be thieves and tying them up until police arrive. I know you're frustrated by how long it's taken the police to respond, but you can't just take the law into your own hands.
take the law into one's own hands
Fig. to attempt to administer the law; to pass judgment on someone who has done something wrong. Citizens don't have the right to take the law into their own hands. The shopkeeper took the law into his own hands when he tried to arrest the thief.
take the law into one's hands
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.
take the law into your own hands
COMMON If you take the law into your own hands, you punish someone who you believe has done something wrong yourself instead of waiting for someone in authority to do it. Ordinary people have decided to take the law into their own hands, faced with what they see as the inability of the police to control a crime wave in the region. He took the law into his own hands when his mother was mugged. He went out and attacked the man with a baseball bat.
take the law into your own hands
punish someone for an offence according to your own ideas of justice, especially in an illegal or violent way.take the law into your own ˈhands
take action personally against somebody who has broken the law or done something wrong, instead of calling the police: I knew who had stolen my car, so I took the law into my own hands. I went to his house and beat him up. The police arrested both of us!take the law into (one's) own hands
To mete out justice as one sees fit without due recourse to law enforcement agencies or the courts.