take a leak

From the slang use of leak in reference to an act of urination.

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take a leak (third-person singular simple present takes a leak, present participle taking a leak, simple past took a leak, past participle taken a leak)

1. (informal, euphemistic) To urinate.

   Synonyms: take a piss, take a whiz; see also Thesaurus:urinate

   • 1962, James Baldwin, Another Country, New York, N. Y.: The Dial Press, published January 1963, page 4:

     They could scarcely bear their knowledge, nor could they have borne the sight of Rufus, but they knew why he was in the streets tonight, why he rode subways all night long, why his stomach growled, why his hair was nappy, his armpits funky, his pants and shoes too thin, and why he did not dare to stop and take a leak.

   • 1976, “The Piano Has Been Drinking”, performed by Tom Waits:

     The piano has been drinking / My neck tie is asleep / And the combo went back to New York / The jukebox has to take a leak