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.

Words nearby take the liberty of

take the fifth, take the floor, take the heat, take the initiative, take the law into one's hands, take the liberty of, take the load off, take the plunge, take the pulse of, take the rap, take the rough with the smooth