help oneself
help (oneself) (to something)
To serve oneself (something); to take, consume, or indulge in (something) freely or without permission or restraint. There's plenty of food in the kitchen, so please, help yourselves to more. The vagrant they had given shelter to for the night helped himself to the family's prized set of silverware. The maps at the information kiosk are free, so tourists are welcome to help themselves.
See also: help
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
help oneself
1. Make an effort on one's own behalf. Shakespeare used this expression in 2 Henry IV (3:2): "She is old, and cannot help herself," and it also appears in the old proverb, God (or heaven) helps those who help themselves. [First half of 1500s] Also see can't help.
2. Serve oneself, as in The food's in the kitchen; just help yourself. When it takes an object this phrase is put as help oneself to, as in I helped myself to more meat. It also is used as a euphemism for stealing, as in She simply helped herself to the hotel towels and left. The first usage dates from the late 1600s; the second, a colloquialism, from the mid-1800s.
See also: help
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
- wash (one's) hands of (someone or something)
- wash hands of
- wash one's hands of
- wash your hands of
- wash your hands of somebody/something
- wash your hands of something/someone
- for (one's) (own) sake
- for sake
- keep in sight
- keep sight of (someone or something)