relieve oneself

relieve oneself idiom
Urinate or defecate, as in The puppy relieved itself in the middle of the floor. The use of relieve for these bodily functions dates from the mid-1800s.

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.

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