give (someone) an out



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give (someone) an out

To provide someone with an excuse or a means of escaping (from something). I know John is dreading going to his high school reunion, so I'm looking for a way to give him an out by the time it rolls around. They left a clause in the contract that would give them an out in case the deal went sour.
See also: give, out

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Alfie['ælfi]
Arjuna-Hinduism
LjubaLYOO-bah (Serbian, Croatian)Serbian, Croatian, Czech, Slovene, Macedonian
Yekonyah-Biblical Hebrew
Maristela-Spanish, Portuguese
Charleneshahr-LEEN, chahr-LEENEnglish