take a leaf out of book


take a leaf out of (one's) book

To do something in the way someone else would do it; to behave or act like someone else. I think I'm going to take a leaf out of your book and start going for a run first thing in the morning.See also: book, leaf, of, out, take

take a leaf out of someone's book

 and take a page from someone's bookFig. to behave or to do something in a way that someone else would. When you act like that, you're taking a leaf out of your sister's book, and I don't like it! You had better do it your way. Don't take a leaf out of my book. I don't do it well.See also: book, leaf, of, out, take

take a leaf out of someone's book, to

To imitate someone; to follow someone’s example. Literally, this expression alludes to either vandalism (tearing a page from a book) or plagiarism (copying someone else’s work). The figurative use of the term, which dates from about 1800, is much less nefarious. B. H. Malkin used it in his translation of Gil Blas (1809), “I took a leaf out of their book,” meaning simply, “I imitated them,” or “I followed their example.”See also: leaf, of, out, take