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Society, Law & Politics - Defying Norms

Explore English idioms that relate to defying the norms with examples like "bandit territory" and "break ranks".

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English idioms related to Society, Law & Politics
to [bend|stretch] the rules

to do something that is not strictly according to rules, often by making exceptions

Ex: The school stretched the rules so the student could retake the exam.
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dead to rights

in a situation where there is clear proof of one's crime or wrongdoing

Ex: Once the witnesses came forward, the suspects were dead to rights.
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blood on {one's} hands

a situation in which one is responsible for the death of a person

Ex: The company executives now have blood on their hands because they ignored the deadly defect.
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smoking gun

a piece of evidence that is used to prove someone's crimes or wrong deeds

Ex: The leaked recording became the smoking gun everyone had been waiting for .
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to [beard] the lion in (his|her) den

to confront someone very powerful or dangerous in their area of control and strength, where they hold the advantage

Ex: Few employees dared to beard the lion in her den and challenge the founder in her own office.
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to [break] ranks

to publicly oppose a group or party that one has been a member of

Ex: A few members broke ranks and called the decision unfair.
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to [take] the law into {one's} (own|) hands

to illegally punish someone in a way that one personally thinks is right or just, often by the use of violence

Ex: When the courts failed, some villagers took the law into their own hands.
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to [jump] the [light]

to ignore red traffic lights and move past them

Ex: She was late, but she still refused to jump the light.
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the law of the jungle

used to refer to a situation in which people are willing to do whatever it takes to succeed

Ex: The new boss encouraged the law of the jungle instead of teamwork.
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bandit territory

a place in which rules and laws are not followed or obeyed

Ex: The online forum turned into bandit territory with no moderators around .
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to [jump] the line

to try to unfairly move past a group of people lining up somewhere before one's turn arrives

Ex: She pretended not to notice the queue and jumped the line.
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off the back of a truck

used for saying that a free or unreasonably cheap product is not obtained legally

Ex: The price was great, but the watch seemed off the back of a truck.
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AWOL
AWOL
[Adjective]

(of a person) not attending a place one was supposed to or leaving an obligation without any notice or permission

Ex: If you go AWOL again, you could lose your job.
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French leave

an unannounced and unauthorized absence from a job, workplace, or other commitment

Ex: His French leave from the charity event upset the whole team.
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to [slip] {sb} a Mickey (Finn|)

to secretly put a drug in a person's drink in order to make them unconscious

Ex: Never leave your drink unattended; someone could slip you a Mickey.
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pink elephants

a vivid and often bizarre hallucination that a person may experience, typically as a result of heavy drinking or drug use

Ex: By midnight , his jokes about pink elephants stopped being funny .
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out of season

at a time when it is illegal to hunt an animal

Ex: They warned tourists not to hunt any game out of season.
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