take matters into (one's) own hands

take matters into (one's) own hands

To deal with, manage, or do something oneself, especially after having relied on others to do it (and perhaps deeming that they did not do it properly or sufficiently). This project isn't being managed properly, so I'm just going to have to take matters into my own hands and start supervising the work directly.See also: hand, matter, own, take

take matters into your own ˈhands

do something yourself, because you are tired of waiting for somebody else to do it: The police were doing nothing about finding my car, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and look for it myself.See also: hand, matter, own, take