dirty one's hands

Idioms and Phrases

Also, get one's hands dirty or soil one's hands . Do something shameful or illegal. For example, He refused to dirty his hands and give jobs to the big campaign donors , or Getting one's hands dirty by lying to the boss will be severely punished , or She would not soil her hands by cheating . This expression is a metaphor for literally defiling or soiling oneself. [Mid-1600s]