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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread done for #207038 09/09/2012 1:22 AM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,891 belMarduk Carpal Tunnel belMarduk Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,891 I wrote a note recently in which I said somebody was "done for". In other words, he's reached the end of his line, the jump off point. Voilà, all euphamisms aside, the gent is dying. But I realize, I said, he's "done for" instead of "he's dying". Where did that expression come from, do you think? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: done for belMarduk #207048 09/09/2012 11:06 AM Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 1,706 down under Candy Pooh-Bah Candy Pooh-Bah Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 1,706 down under I dont know (where it comes from) but I know it well. 'done for' also could mean caught...doing something illegal, like by police. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: done for Candy #207053 09/09/2012 3:48 PM Joined: Jun 2010 Posts: 1,554 Lower Aberdeen, Mississippi jenny jenny veteran jenny jenny veteran Joined: Jun 2010 Posts: 1,554 Lower Aberdeen, Mississippi In Mississippi we say "done for" when we mean "done for good". Maybeso the unspoken "good" adds finality as does "done for sure". And maybeso "done for God" was once a religious phrase used at funerals which later transmuted into "done for good". But "done for good" is semantically illogical so we say "done for" with the "good" serving as an unspoken intensifier of "done". Or maybe not. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: done for belMarduk #207066 09/09/2012 10:42 PM Joined: May 2010 Posts: 963 Alaska Tromboniator old hand Tromboniator old hand Joined: May 2010 Posts: 963 Alaska My interpretation of the phrase, with absolutely no authoritative backup, is that it relates to "doing for" someone in the sense of domestic service, as a valet or a lady's maid: "Robert was hired to do for Mr. Halt-Rodney." When one is "done for," all possible service has been rendered, further service is neither necessary nor possible. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

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