take the fifth

take the fifth
To decline to comment, especially on grounds that it might be incriminating.

If you ask me who ate the last of the ice cream, I will simply take the fifth.


Wikipedia foundation.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Take the fifth — may refer to: *Taking the Fifth, the act of refusing to testify under oath in a court of law on the grounds that the answers that would be given would incriminate the person under oath * Take the Fifth , a song by Spoon from their 2001 album… …   Wikipedia

  • take the fifth — (USA) If you do not want to answer a question you can take the fifth, meaning you are choosing not to answer.  ( Plead the fifth is also used.) …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • take the fifth — ► take the fifth (in the US) exercise the right guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution to refuse to answer questions in order to avoid incriminating oneself. Main Entry: ↑fifth …   English terms dictionary

  • take the fifth — v. To invoke the Fifth Amendment as justification for refusing to answer a question in a criminal prosecution. The Essential Law Dictionary. Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008 …   Law dictionary

  • take the fifth — (amendment) to avoid answering a question, esp. that could cause embarrassment. I plead the fifth I don t know where your girlfriend went! …   New idioms dictionary

  • take the Fifth — verb refuse to testify by invoking the Fifth Amendment, which states that nobody may be forced to testify as a witness against himself or herself • Syn: ↑take the Fifth Amendment • Hypernyms: ↑declare • Verb Frames: Somebody s * * * take the… …   Useful english dictionary

  • take the fifth — 1. AND five it tv. to refuse to testify to a U.S. legislative committee under the protection of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. □ His lawyer told him to take the fifth. □ The lawyer just sat there and said, “Five it.” after every… …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • take the fifth — {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. Taking refuge behind the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States which guarantees any witness the right not to incriminate himself while testifying at a trial. * /Alger Hiss took the Fifth when asked… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • take the fifth — {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. Taking refuge behind the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States which guarantees any witness the right not to incriminate himself while testifying at a trial. * /Alger Hiss took the Fifth when asked… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • take\ the\ fifth — v. phr. informal 1. taking refuge behind the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States which guarantees any witness the right not to incriminate himself while testifying at a trial. Alger Hiss took the Fifth when asked whether he… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • take the Fifth — hide behind the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which guarantees any witness the right not to incriminate himself while testifying at a trial He decided to take the Fifth rather than tell the truth at the trial …   Idioms and examples

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”