by herself

Related to by herself: liven up, turn down, stand pat, take into account, increase by, Pertaining to, lined up, taking for granted

by (oneself)

1. Alone. Because there's usually so much going on with the kids, I really enjoy spending a quiet Saturday night by myself.
2. Through one's own efforts alone. You can't move that table all by yourself! Here, let me help you. My little girl loves to get dressed by herself, so tutus and cowboy boots have become the norm around here.
See also: by
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

by herself

 and by himself 
1. with no one else present; alone. She hates to go to strange places by herself. He sat by himself at a table big enough for six people.
2. with the help of no one else. The two-year-old boy can get dressed by himself. Susan is unable to get there by herself.
See also: by, herself
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • at will
  • at the end of (one's) fingertips
  • be hoist by (one's) own petard
  • be hoist with (one's) own petard
  • be hoist with one's own petard
  • be hoist/hoisted by/with your own petard
  • be on (one's) pat
  • at (one's) doorstep
  • at doorstep
  • a ball and chain
References in periodicals archive
At this point in time, Melissa was choosing to read books by herself at snack time.
An ESL child's emergent literacy development
Harriet Jacobs's 1861 Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself, demonstrates the extent of Keckley's optimistic embrace of capitalism.
Written by Herself: Literary Productions by African American Women, 1746-1892.
Unmasking the Genteel Performer: Elizabeth Keckley's Behind the Scenes and the Politics of Public Wrath
A nice Jewish chanteuse accomplished enough to get on The Ed Sullivan Show by herself, Barbra's sister was poised and apparently at peace with the freakish hand dealt her by fate; Dolly's sister Stella was sassy blues singer; Cher's looked cute in her old nose.
Confessions of another pretty lady
Jacobs's fictionalized slave narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, as Written by Herself, focusing on the scenario of seduction that occurs in Incidents when Linda Brent (Jacobs's pseudonymous identity) explains her decision to "give herself" to a white man named Mr.
Scenes of Subjection: Terror, Slavery, and Self-Making in Nineteenth-Century America
"Dancers aren't encouraged to think for themselves." She developed more solo work; when a would-be impresario's offer to fund a show for Becket and a group of dancers fell through, Becket auditioned for jobs alone, dancing all the parts she'd choreographed for the show by herself. Eventually, she began to tour her solos at schools and universities, dancing up to three shows daily and driving long distances in between engagements.
Dancing at the end of the Earth: Marta Becket's show at the Amargosa Opera House always goes on--with or without an audience
Everything in the work resembles Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl: Written by Herself: the strident, moral voice of the former slave recounting and remembering her ordeal in bondage, the harrowing scenes of physical abuse at the hands of both a slave master and a jealous slave mistress, the master's refusal to allow the slave girl to marry the man of her choice - a free black man - and the pivotal moment when the slave decides to rebel and take her stand for freedom.
One of the many aspects of this narrative that interests me is the phrase "Related By Herself" included in its title.
In addition to the orality signaled by the phrase "Related By Herself," the phrase also depicts Prince as giving testimony to the slaves' true feelings about slavery: "I have been a slave myself - I know what slaves feel - I can tell by myself what other slaves feel, and by what they have told me.
The History of Mary Prince, A West Indian Slave, Related by Herself