liberty

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Related to liberties: civil liberties, take liberties

at liberty

Freely able to do something. I know you're curious about the case, but I'm not at liberty to talk about it. I'm not a union employee, so I thought I was at liberty to apply for any of these jobs here. Though he was unsuccessful in his lawsuit, he is at liberty to appeal the decision to a higher court.
See also: liberty

be at liberty to (do something)

To be permitted or freely able to do something. Often used in negative constructions. I know you're curious about the case, but I'm not at liberty to talk about it. Though he was unsuccessful in his lawsuit, he is at liberty to appeal the decision to a higher court. I'm not a union employee, so I thought I was at liberty to apply for any of these jobs here.
See also: liberty, to

Give me liberty, or give me death!

Used to indicate stark and unyielding refusal to submit to authoritarian measures or domination. Attributed to American politician Patrick Henry (1736–1799) from a speech he made to the Virginia Convention in 1775, calling for Virginian troops to assist in the Revolutionary War. Any number of alternative nouns can be used in place of "liberty" as a means of humorously or hyperbolically highlighting one's extreme reluctance to part with it. The government thinks it can censor our media, monitor our communications, and tax us to starvation without us putting up a fight. Well, I say to them, give me liberty, or give me death! I could never be a vegetarian. Give me bacon or give me death! No, Dad's not ready to try a streaming service yet. Last time I brought it up, he said, "Give me my cable channels, or give me death!"
See also: give

take liberties

1. To act disrespectfully or inappropriately. You're too friendly with your subordinates—that's why they take liberties with you. If he tries to take liberties with you, leave immediately.
2. To alter something (especially by making it inaccurate or untrue) in order to benefit from it or accommodate one's own needs or interests. I didn't slander you—the paper took liberties with what I said.
See also: liberty, take

take liberties with (someone or something)

1. To act disrespectfully or inappropriately. You're too friendly with your subordinates—that's why they take liberties with you. If he tries to take liberties with you, leave immediately.
2. To alter something (especially by making it inaccurate or untrue) in order to benefit from it or accommodate one's own needs or interests. I didn't slander you—the paper took liberties with what I said.
See also: liberty, take

take the liberty of (doing something)

To do something without first seeking out or asking someone's permission. I thought I'd take the liberty of printing out some financial reports ahead of today's meeting so we would all be on the same page. I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of telling your husband you'd be late for dinner.
See also: liberty, of, take

take the liberty to do (something)

To do something without first seeking out or asking for someone's permission. I took the liberty to print out some financial reports ahead of today's meeting. I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty to tell your husband you'd be late for dinner.
See also: liberty, take, to
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

at liberty

free; unrestrained. The criminal was set at liberty by the judge. You're at liberty to go anywhere you wish. I'm not at liberty to discuss the matter.
See also: liberty

take liberties with someone or something

 and make free with someone or something
to freely use or abuse someone or something. You are overly familiar with me, Mr. Jones. One might think you were taking liberties with me. I don't like it when you make free with my lawn mower. You should at least ask when you want to borrow it.
See also: liberty, take

take the liberty of doing something

to do something for someone voluntarily; to do something slightly personal for someone that would be more appropriate if one knew the person better. (Often used as an overly polite exaggeration in a request.) Do you mind if I take the liberty of flicking a bit of lint off your collar? May I take the liberty of removing your coat? I took the liberty of ordering an entree for you. I hope you don't mind.
See also: liberty, of, take
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

at liberty

Free, not obligated; also, not occupied. For example, I am not at liberty to tell you the whole story, or " I ... washed when there was a basin at liberty" (Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1847). This idiom is often used in a negative context, as in the first example. [First half of 1800s]
See also: liberty

take liberties

1. Behave improperly or disrespectfully; also, make unwanted sexual advances. For example, He doesn't allow staff members to take liberties, such as calling clients by their first names , or She decided that if Jack tried to take liberties with her she would go straight home. This idiom uses liberties in the sense of "an overstepping of propriety," and thus differs markedly from take the liberty of. [c. 1700]
2. Make a statement or take an action not warranted by the facts or circumstances, as in Their book takes liberties with the historical record.
See also: liberty, take

take the liberty of

Act on one's own authority without permission from another, as in I took the liberty of forwarding the mail to his summer address. It is also put as take the liberty to, as in He took the liberty to address the Governor by her first name. This rather formal locution was first recorded in 1625 and does not imply the opprobrium of the similar-sounding take liberties.
See also: liberty, of, take
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

take liberties

1 behave in an unduly familiar manner towards a person. 2 treat something freely, without strict faithfulness to the facts or to an original.
See also: liberty, take

take the liberty

venture to do something without first asking permission.
See also: liberty, take
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

take ˈliberties (with somebody/something)

be more free with somebody/something than you should be: The translator has taken too many liberties with this. The original meaning is lost.He uses our phone without asking, which I think is taking liberties.
See also: liberty, take

at ˈliberty (to do something)

(formal) having permission to do something: You are at liberty to leave, if you wish.
See also: liberty

take the liberty of doing something

(formal) do something without permission: I have taken the liberty of giving your address to a friend who is visiting London. I hope you don’t mind.
See also: liberty, of, something, take
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

at liberty

1. Not in confinement or under constraint; free.
2. Entitled or permitted to do something: We found ourselves at liberty to explore the grounds.
See also: liberty

take the liberty

To dare (to do something) on one's own initiative or without asking permission: I took the liberty to send you these pictures of my vacation.
See also: liberty, take
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive ?
Republicans and Democrats currently hold similar views of whether maintaining security or protecting civil liberties is more important in government anti-terror efforts.
The issue that finally pulled Barr into the Libertarian Party--civil liberties during the war on terror--happens to be one of the starkest, most controversial fissures in American politics.
Explain why you believe, or do not believe, that routine searches of people by the police would be an acceptable trade-off of civil liberties in exchange for protection against terrorists.
In addition, the League hired Lake Snell Perry Mermin/Decision Research (LSPM/DR), a Washington-based polling and research firm, to conduct a series of focus groups around the country and to analyze recent national public opinion data in order to ascertain Americans' views about homeland security and civil liberties.
The state of civil liberties in the United States is only worse as a result of this ruling.
We can have a more secure future without abridging the liberties of every American.
The former dean of Stanford Law School is a master litigator and one of the world's leading experts on civil liberties. She would bring a fresh perspective at a time when civil liberties are at best taken for granted, at worst under concerted attack.
Liberties exist when they are conceived of, defined, and fought or struggled for.
The Politics of the American Civil Liberties Union.
In fact, a genuinely libertarian jurisprudence would, in the words of the legal scholar Randy Barnett, "requir[e] the state to justify its statute, whatever the status of the right at issue." The real legal challenge facing libertarians isn't judicial activism; it is defending individual rights from the liberals and conservatives who seek to take our liberties away.
It is now universally acknowledged that one of the most egregious infringements of civil liberties in our history--the World War II internment of over 100,000 Japanese immigrants and their American children--served no security objective.
For if the mechanisms of security are later turned against you, causing you to seek security from the government, you won't be able to call up the liberties which once would have rescued you.
FOR JOHN KERRY, the specter of Attorney General John Ashcroft trashing Americans' civil liberties has been a useful campaign prop.
Rather than summarizing the president's remarks here, I would simply note that they were in large part consistent with and perhaps taken from "Religion in the Public Schools: A Joint Statement of Current Law," drafted by a wide range of organizations, including Jewish, Muslim, and Christian groups (the latter including the National Association of Evangelicals and the National Council of Churches), as well as the American Civil Liberties Union and People for the American Way.