expose oneself

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expose oneself (third-person singular simple present exposes oneself, present participle exposing oneself, simple past and past participle exposed oneself)

1. (idiomatic, euphemistic) To display one's genitalia in a public place or in other inappropriate circumstances.

   The police arrested the man who had exposed himself in public.

   • 1985 May 5, “Offender's One-way Ticket Stirs 2-city Feud”, in New York Times, retrieved 27 April 2014:

     On Thursday the police in Miami Beach arrested the man, Weston J. Hill, 44 years old, charging him with indecent exposure. . . . He had been charged with exposing himself to children.

   • 1998 September 18, “Bill & Monica: The Intern Serves the Pizza”, in Time, retrieved 27 April 2014:

     While the President was on the telephone, according to Ms. Lewinsky, "he unzipped his pants and exposed himself," and she performed oral sex.

   • 2013 September 20, Holly Baxter, “Is masturbating in public a laughing matter?”, in The Guardian, UK:

     Elsewhere in Sweden recently, two underage girls pressed charges when a teenage boy exposed himself to them at a lake. The court decided, despite the victims' testimonies, that the offence was "not of a sexual nature" and dismissed it.

2. (idiomatic) To put oneself in a vulnerable position.

   The soldiers exposed themselves by moving into unfamiliar territory.

• indecent exposure