TO TAKE TOLL, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To pilfer; to ‘pick and steal’: cf. custom of millers taking a portion of grain as compensation for grinding. Also to get (or take) more than a proper share.
[1596. SHAKESPEARE, King John, iii. 1. 154. No Italian priest shall tithe or TOLL in our dominion.]
1809. MALKIN, Gil Blas [ROUTLEDGE], 42. His hand shook … the table-cloth and napkin TOOK TOLL [of soup].
