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in speech or writing.
In British English, both of these expressions are commonly used. The meaning is that
it is (not) socially acceptable to do this. It may not be politically correct, to use
another similar expression to describe actions which might appear insulting to
particular groups of people (also sometimes referred to as PC and non-PC).
Compare the following:
" In this society, it is quite the done thing to eat with your hands.
" It's not the done thing to poke fun at disabled people.
" It's not done to remain seated when your National Anthem is played.
" It is clearly politically incorrect (non-PC) to refer to childcare workers as
nursemaids.
Sometimes, expressions which may appear similar at first glance have quite different
shades of meaning.
Use of the past participle done in expressions normally suggests completed action,
but whereas done and dusted means successfully completed and refers to
something that you are upbeat about, over and done with suggests something
mildly unpleasant which you are pleased is now finished:
" I finally completed that project last month. Yes, it's all done and dusted.
" At long last their divorce has come through. Now the whole thing's over
and done with.
What about he's done his nut and it's done his nut in?
In both of these nut means head, as in nutcase to describe someone who is crazy
or insane. But are these two very informal expressions the same or different? What
do you think?
" I didn't have time to clear up after the party and my mum's done her nut.
" He was so tired he couldn't concentrate on the details in his contract. It did
his nut in.
Clearly, they are different. To do your nut means to lose your temper, to fly into a
rage. It did his nut in means that it confused or bemused him.
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And what about have done with and do away with? Are these two informal
expressions the same, similar or different?
" Aren't you still going out with Robert?
No, I've done with him.
" They've done away with the death penalty in many countries recently.
Slightly similar, though have done with means end relations with someone and do
away with means abolish or put an end to.
If we substituted done away with for have done with in the first example, it
would mean murdered!
How about do a good turn to and done to a turn? Same, similar or different?
" He did me a good turn and took care of Felix while I was on holiday.
" The goose was done to a turn: lovely soft breast meat with the juices
oozing out of it!
Quite different: done to a turn means cooked perfectly and do a good turn means
do someone a favour.
In very common use are: Well done! All done! and Done!
But how exactly are they used?
" How would you like your steak, sir?
Well done, please. I don't want to see any blood.
" You've done really well to win first prize! Well done!
" Have you finished that job, Asha?
Yeah, all done.
" What about you Jim? All done?
All done!
" If I offered you £200 for your old car, would you accept it?
Done!
Well done = cooked thoroughly or slightly overcooked
Well done! = words of congratulation for someone who has done something
successfully
All done = completely finished
Done! = one-word acceptance of an offer or a bet someone has made
As an introduction or greeting, remember that How do you do? and Hi! How're
you doing? are complete opposites in terms of formality - informality:
" Hi Bob! How're ya doin'?
I'm fine, thanks.
" How do you do?
How do you do? (Must be accompanied by a handshake and no kisses!)
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Wear, put on, dress, be dressed in
Tugba from Turkey writes:
Hello. I would like to know the difference between wear, put on, dress, and
dressed in.
Wear
When you wear your clothes, shoes or jewellery you have them on your body:
" She was wearing a beautiful diamond necklace with matching earrings.
You can also wear your hair in a particular way:
" David Beckham used to wear his hair short, but now he is wearing it long.
There is another meaning to wear. If something wears, it becomes thinner or
weaker because it is used frequently over a long period of time. We also have the
expression to wear thin and the phrasal verb to wear out. People can also feel
worn out. If something wears you out, it makes you feel extremely tired. Compare
the following usages:
" This carpet is beginning to wear. We shall soon have to replace it.
" He is such an annoying person. My patience is wearing thin.
" If you didn't play football every day, your shoes wouldn't wear out so
quickly.
" Don't rush around so much. You'll wear yourself out.
" I've spent all day shopping and I feel quite worn out.
Put on
When you put clothes on you place them on your body in order to wear them.
And when you have finished wearing them, you take them off. We also put on
weight, the opposite of which is to lose weight. Compare the following (additional)
usages of put on:
" Take that shirt off and put on a new one. You can't go out in such an old
shirt.
" The amateur dramatic company put on a new show, but had to take it off
after three days as nobody came.
" The casserole is in the oven. Put the potatoes on now and put the rice on
in five minutes.
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" I thought I was going to put some weight on on holiday, but I lost half a
kilo as I swam every day.
" Why don't you put that new CD on so that I have some music while I'm
ironing?
Dress
When you dress, you put clothes on. You can also dress children, dress a
wound by cleaning it and covering it and dress a salad by putting oil and vinegar
on it. If you dress up, you put on different clothes to make yourself look smarter, if
you dress down, you put on clothes that are less smart than usual. We often speak
of getting dressed as a colloquial alternative to dress. Compare the following
usages:
" You'd better get dressed now. Henry will be here in ten minutes.
" She came in covered in mud. So I bathed her and dressed her in new
clothes.
" I must dress now for the party. Have you dressed the salad yet?
" I think it's better not to dress that wound. We'll just leave it so that the air
can get to it.
" It is customary now to dress down in certain offices in the city on Fridays.
There is no need to wear a suit.
" I just love dressing up and Edward's having an Edwardian party on
Saturday.
Be dressed in
If you dress or are dressed in a particular way, you wear clothes, usually for a
particular purpose:
" She was dressed in a multi-layered organdie gown with a duchess satin
opera coat for the open-air production of Don Giovanni. Her chaperone was
wearing a white dinner jacket.
Either, neither and too
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