A law unto s.o

[Guest]

Test No. incompl/advan-51 "Yours Lawfully", question 6

They have no respect for modern conventions and do exactly what they want - they are a law ......... themselves.

(a) unto
(b) into
(c) outside
(d) across

Test No. incompl/advan-51 "Yours Lawfully", answer 6

They have no respect for modern conventions and do exactly what they want - they are a law unto themselves.

Correct answer: (a) unto

Your answer was: incorrect
They have no respect for modern conventions and do exactly what they want - they are a law across themselves.
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"a law unto s.o." - could you please explain that to me? I just found "unto" as a poetic word in the dictionary.

[Alan]

Yes, this is an oldfashioned word. Here a law unto themslves means they do exactly what they want to do and don't care what other people think.
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Womens' Day