take the law into your own hands
C2 to do something illegal and often violent in order to punish someone because you know the law will not punish that person:
One day, after years of violent abuse from her husband, she took the law into her own hands.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Punishing & punishments
- bar
- be brought/called to account idiom
- boot
- bring
- bum rap
- carrot
- chastise
- clobber
- crucify
- heads will roll! idiom
- kick
- kick (some) ass idiom
- non-custodial
- parking ticket
- penal
- string
- strip
- throw
- throw the book at sb idiom
- wheel clamp
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