take one's leave
take leave of
leave-taking
To say good-bye and leave.
He stayed on after most of the guests had taken their leave.
The messenger bowed and took leave of the queen.
The end of school in June is a time of leave-taking.
take one's life in one's hands
To face great danger or take great risk.
Driving that car with those worn tires would be taking your life in your hands.
He took his life in his hands when he tried to capture the wild horse.
take one's measure
take the measure of
To judge the character, quality, or nature of; try to guess about something - how hard or easy, dangerous or safe, good or bad, etc.
The boxers sparred for a while taking each other's measure.
John took the measure of the cliff before he climbed it.
take one's medicine
To accept punishment without complaining.
The boy said he was sorry he broke the window and was ready to take his medicine.
take one's name in vain
To call upon (God) as a witness to your truth or honesty when you are lying; swear by (God) untruthfully.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
To talk about a person or mention his name.
"Did I hear someone taking my name in vain?" asked Bill as he joined his friends.
take one's time
To avoid haste; act in an unhurried way; to do without rush; not to hurry.
He liked to take his time over breakfast.
It is better to take your time at this job than to hurry and make mistakes.
There's no need to hurry doing those exercises. Take your time.
William never works rapidly. He always takes his time in everything that he does.
take one's word
To believe one's promise.
Herb took Eric's word when he promised to pay up his debt.