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You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. What can I do you for?

• Thread starter Thread starter Cecilio
• Start date Start date Dec 1, 2005

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Cecilio

Senior Member

Valencia, Spain Spanish, Valencian/Catalan Hi! The other day I was watching an American film and I heard this sentence: "What can I do you for?" (it was a shop assistant addressing a customer, or something similar). Is that a common expression in the US, instead of the usual "What can I do for you?" D

Dr. Gonzo

New Member

Madrid, Spain English US Hello, "What can I do you for?"... Is a play on words considered to be "slange", commonly used in the states.

GenJen54

Senior Member

Downright Pleasant, USA USA - English It's a joke, really, a sarcastic take on the traditional "What can I do for you?" usually heard by over-assuming and/or over-bearing sales people. Imagine a smarmy car saleman type with toothy smile and dollar signs in his eyes approaching you on a car lot. "Hey, there. What can I do you for?" At that point, any reasonable customer might turn around and leave. This jokester would be no fun to deal with. It's not used in formal business context, nor really heard everyday, unless in a joking manner. Of course, in certain situations the whole idea of "do you" can take on an entirely different tone, since "to do," among its many definitions, can mean "to have sex with."

Amityville

Senior Member

France English UK I agree with GenJen about the humour which leaves me cold, too. But in BE 'What can I do you for ?' means 'How much can I swindle you out of ?' No sexual meaning that I have ever been aware of.

nycphotography

Senior Member

American English

GenJen54 said: Of course, the whole idea of "do you" takes on an entirely different tone, since "to do," among its many definitions, can mean "to have sex with." Click to expand...

Yes, but in this case, there is no sexual component. It's a merely a worn out play on words.

GenJen54

Senior Member

Downright Pleasant, USA USA - English

nycphotography said: Yes, but in this case, there is no sexual component. It's a merely a worn out play on words. Click to expand...

Which is why I said it can mean "to have sex with." I've edited my post to clarify.

Cecilio

Senior Member

Valencia, Spain Spanish, Valencian/Catalan Thanks to all of for your explanations! It's been a great help! O

OhMan

Member

English, AUS Did this once have any frequent medieval usage? I thought it did.

Einstein

Senior Member

Milano, Italia UK, English

OhMan said: Did this once have any frequent medieval usage? I thought it did. Click to expand...

I don't think so! To me it just sounds like a play on words. "Do" here can mean "have sex" or "swindle" or also "beat up". I don't think the speaker has a clear idea of which one he means, it's just an incorrect form used for fun (and not much fun, seeing how often it's used!).

Loob

Senior Member

English UK

OhMan said: Did this once have any frequent medieval usage? I thought it did. Click to expand...

No, sorry.... A

athenian200

New Member

Dallas, Texas, United States U.S. English It means, "What can I do for you?" The word order is just incorrect. I've heard that one a lot, and I've also heard a lot of Southerners say things like "What yo' name is?" instead of "What is your name?" It's just awful. Last edited: Jun 25, 2010

Loob

Senior Member

English UK

athenian200 said: It means, "What can I do for you?" The word order is just incorrect. Click to expand...

Mmm ... I don't think it's incorrect - it's just a play on words, with humorous/sexual overtones.

Bevj

Allegra Moderata (Sp/Eng, Cat)

Girona, Spain English (U.K.) I think that 'What can I do you for?' was being used as a play on words long before the verb 'to do' became commonly used in a sexual context. As Amityville has said, it's a humorous (or not!) reference to being swindled. It reminds me of old British TV comedy programmes!

JamesM

Senior Member

Los Angeles, California English, USA I agree. My mother, father or pastor would have no problem saying "What can I do you for?" to anyone. There would be no implied sexual connotation. It's a fairly old (and tired) expression, but I still hear it from time to time as a friendly question in a store or over the phone. It usually implies that the person wants to speak in a friendly and casual way with you, usually about some sort of business transaction. O

OhMan

Member

English, AUS I could have SWORN it was common in medieval times. Maybe that is because so many medieval movies use it? Last edited: Jun 26, 2010

nzfauna

Senior Member

Wellington, New Zealand New Zealand, English It is also heard in NZE, as a comical or cute turn of phrase.

Einstein

Senior Member

Milano, Italia UK, English

OhMan said: I could of SWORN it was common in medieval times. Maybe that is because so many medieval movies use it? Click to expand...

You probably mean you could have sworn.... Even "medieval" movies are made in modern times, but ayway I've never heard it in a film of any kind.

Myridon

Senior Member

Texas English - US You need to distinguish between actual medieval times and historical dramas and swords and sorcery fantasies. Through most of the medieval period, people would have spoken in Old English and Middle English toward the end. If you were transported back in time, you would probably not be able to understand much, if any, of what people were saying. S

susanna76

Senior Member

Romanian In the movie The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain, there's one scene where two locals come to see the cartographers. They greet each other, and then one of the cartographers says, "What can I do you for?" Is that an accepted version of "What can I do for you?" It sounds so strange! Thanks!

Miss Julie

Senior Member

Chicago metro area English-U.S. Yes, it's slang. It refers to the phrase "to do <someone>," which is slang for "to have sex with <someone>." The cartographer probably doesn't want to have sex with the two locals...he's just making a joke. G

Glenfarclas

Senior Member

Chicago English (American) As far as I know, it is intended to be a jocular variant of this clichéd phrase. It is common enough, but you would never use it outside of a context in which you were trying to be familiar and humorous. The "sexual" meaning is not the basis of this variation; that came later.

GreenWhiteBlue

Banned

The City of New York USA - English I completely disagree with Miss Julie; there is absolutely NO sexual reference in the statement. (Indeed, I find the statement that something sexual is being referenced to be utterly bizarre.) As Glenfarclas noted, this is merely a mildly humorous version of a standard phrase, with the humor consisting of the inversion of the standard word order.

JulianStuart

Senior Member

Sonoma County CA English (UK then US) I agree about the lack of innuendo here. I also think the reversed sense has a touch of "What scam can I pull on you today" or "What can I do you out of?" in terms of getting the other person to be on the bad end of some deal or other in which the speaker benefits.

Miss Julie

Senior Member

Chicago metro area English-U.S.

GreenWhiteBlue said: I completely disagree with Miss Julie; there is absolutely NO sexual reference in the statement. (Indeed, I find the statement that something sexual is being referenced to be utterly bizarre.) As Glenfarclas noted, this is merely a mildly humorous version of a standard phrase, with the humor consisting of the inversion of the standard word order. Click to expand...

In the U.S., it can ALSO mean what I said. Just because you don't live here it doesn't mean that I'm wrong. It's like saying "What can I do TO you--I mean FOR you--today?" S

susanna76

Senior Member

Romanian Hi again, Thank you all for your thoughts on this. I agree that it's almost like a reversal of "What can I do for you?" It also looks like the sexual allusion might work . . .

GreenWhiteBlue

Banned

The City of New York USA - English

Miss Julie said: In the U.S., it can ALSO mean what I said. Just because you don't live here it doesn't mean that I'm wrong. Click to expand...

Just because I don't live in the U.S.???????? Miss Julie, in case you don't know this -- and apparently you don't -- New York (for my location is plainly indicated) IS in the U.S. Indeed, New York has been in the U.S. for as long as there has been a U.S., and was in the U.S. long before there was a Chicago, let alone a Chicago metro area. I am fully familiar with English as it is spoken in the U.S., if for no other reason than having lived in the U.S. for my entire life. I stand by what I said: there is absolutely no sexual reference in the statement at all, and I find the claim that the sentence is a sexual reference to be utterly bizarre.

Myridon

Senior Member

Texas English - US I do live in the US and I disagree with Miss Julie very much. It is not at all sexual. I don't find her other example ( "What can I do TO you--I mean FOR you--today?" ) to be sexual either. The sexual question would be "Can I do you?" with no "to" or "for". "Doing you" is having sex, but "doing something to you" might be breaking your arm. E

Egmont

Senior Member

Massachusetts, U.S. English - U.S. The expression can indeed have a sexual connotation. However, this movie takes place in Wales in 1917. Given the time and place - the full context, in other words - I agree that any sexual meaning is most unlikely.

kengwilson

Senior Member

Germany English from the North of England I can't speak for the USA, but I don't think I've ever heard this used with a sexual innuendo in Europe. Perhaps it's a recent development that has so far escaped me. As you so rightly say, susanna76, it's the reversal of meaning which packs the punch. "How may I be of (dis)service to you?" KGW

Hermione Golightly

Senior Member

London British English This is a very old 'joke', even older than me, based on What can I do for you? which is another way of asking How can I help you?, and the slang phrasal verb "to do somebody for something" which means to charge, to cheat or to overcharge somebody. So, What did he do you for that? implies that whatever you paid was too much. To my amazement, I was greeted with "What can I do you for, Madam?" by a charming young black man with a beaming smile, a Cockney speech type, porter type, at Heathrow airport, only a few years ago. The only thing that surprised me was that such a young man would make this so very old joke. It's so old it is on "its last legs", like me! If he had asked What can I do TO you ? I would have risen from my wheelchair and ... well, maybe I wouldn't have arisen, ( that takes effort) I would simply have elbowed him hard in the balls. That takes less effort. What can I do for you? has nothing whatsoever to do with "having sex", not in the UK, and not in 1917. To "do somebody" is totally different in meaning. Did you do her? is a very vulgar, ( masculine?), crude way of asking if a man had sex with a woman. There is no 'for' in it. Although I have written 'somebody', I find it hard to imagine any pronoun except 'her'. Of course, we had no context although we were provided with a source. I have seen this film but I had to remind myself about it by googling. In another thread, fuller context is provided. The film is set in 1917. There is no way What can I do you for? had anything whatsoever to do with sex especially in this context and those days. We need full context each time, even if it means repeating information you have already given in other threads. If we are talking about British English usage, I am quite happy to have a superior but limited knowledge , on occasion. And I am not always right. Hermione Last edited: Aug 2, 2011

JulianStuart

Senior Member

Sonoma County CA English (UK then US)

JulianStuart said: I also think the reversed sense has a touch of "What scam can I pull on you today" or "What can I do you out of?" in terms of getting the other person to be on the bad end of some deal or other in which the speaker benefits. Click to expand...

Hermione Golightly said: This is a very old 'joke', even older than me, based on What can I do for you? which is another way of asking How can I help you?, and the slang phrasal verb "to do somebody for something" which means to charge, to cheat or to overcharge somebody. So, What did he do you for that? implies that whatever you paid was too much. .... Hermione Click to expand...

Thank you Hermione - I was beginning to wonder if my memory of that sense was real (it's not used in the US as far as I know) and it's been a while since I lived in the UK where it has this meaning.

grubble

Senior Member

South of England, UK British English

susanna76 said: In the movie The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain, there's one scene where two locals come to see the cartographers. They greet each other, and then one of the cartographers says, "What can I do you for?" Is that an accepted version of "What can I do for you?" It sounds so strange! Thanks! Click to expand...

This is about an Englishman. To summarise: 1. There is zero sexual reference. 2. The inversion of the words changes the meaning 3. The word inversion is humorous 4. "to do someone for something" means to cheat someone out of something 5. The phrase goes back at least to the old Music-Hall jokes of the 19th century 6. "to do someone" (without "for") is a different verb with a different meaning S

susanna76

Senior Member

Romanian Thank you, everyone! Hermione: I assume the answer to "What did he do you for that?" is, for instance, 20 pounds, or [object you exchanged for something else]. But what if I just say, "You got done for!" if someone paid too much for something. Would that work? I'm asking because the phrase is "to do someone for something," and the verb is not phrasal -- so it's not "do for." But then how do you say that someone's been cheated using these elements? Maybe if I add "for [object]" the sentence would work: "I take it you got done for 20 pounds." Last edited: Aug 2, 2011

grubble

Senior Member

South of England, UK British English

susanna76 said: Thank you, everyone! Hermione: I assume the answer to "What did he do you for that?" is, for instance, 20 pounds, or [object you exchanged for something else]. But what if I just say, "You got done for!" if someone paid too much for something. Would that work? Click to expand...

British English can be quite illogical in this respect! "to be done for" = to be seriously injured or sick to the point of death Example: "I am done for, bring me a pen I wish to write my will." "to be done for X pounds" = to be cheated of X pounds Example: "That market stall owner! He did me for fifty quid. Wait till I get hold of him!" "to be done" = to be cheated Example: "That geezer he done me good and proper." (That man, he cheated me really badly) I'm sorry about this susanna. It must be nearly impossible to understand. Also I imagine that usage is different in the USA. S

susanna76

Senior Member

Romanian No, it's not that bad. I just got confused about a few things, that's all . Thanks! Last edited: Aug 2, 2011

kengwilson

Senior Member

Germany English from the North of England Grubble left out: "to do s.o." = to cheat s.o. Example: "He's trying to do you!" - "I know; he's done me before - but he's not going to do me again!" KGW

JulianStuart

Senior Member

Sonoma County CA English (UK then US)

grubble said: British English can be quite illogical in this respect! "to be done for X pounds" = to be cheated of X pounds Example: "That market stall owner! He did me for fifty quid. Wait till I get hold of him!" . Click to expand...

kengwilson said: Grubble left out: "to do s.o." = to cheat s.o. Example: "He's trying to do you!" - "I know; he's done me before - but he's not going to do me again!" KGW Click to expand...

How is your meaning different from grubble's - I'm missing something here, methinks. A

alltmdgreen

Member

Mandarin Is there anything I can do for you? Is there anything I can do you for? What's the difference? The second is commonly used but sounds a little weird to me. Thanks! Last edited by a moderator: Jan 9, 2012 G

Gwan

Senior Member

Indre et Loire, France New Zealand, English The second is just a jokey/cute way of saying this expression. Last edited by a moderator: Jan 9, 2012 A

alltmdgreen

Member

Mandarin Thanks so much! B

brochy

Member

Chinese Oh,you all got me very confused about this.But I learned one thing.Be careful when you use "do",or you will have misunderstanding with others. D

djmc

Senior Member

France English - United Kingdom The sexual innuendo goes back to at least the time of Shakespeare. He uses it in Hamlet, and it is used by other dramatists. That said it is commonly used in England without any underlying connotations.

Pertinax

Senior Member

Queensland, Aust BrE->AuE

djmc said: The sexual innuendo goes back to at least the time of Shakespeare. He uses it in Hamlet Click to expand...

What is the reference in Hamlet? D

djmc

Senior Member

France English - United Kingdom I couldn't find one immediately in Hamlet but in Titus Andronicus (act IV scene II) there is Demetrius: Villain, what hast thou done? Aaron: That which thou canst not undo. Chiron: Thou hast undone our mother. Aaron: Villain I have done thy mother. H

helloimfish

Member

American English

djmc said: I couldn't find one immediately in Hamlet but in Titus Andronicus (act IV scene II) there is Demetrius: Villain, what hast thou done? Aaron: That which thou canst not undo. Chiron: Thou hast undone our mother. Aaron: Villain I have done thy mother. Click to expand...

Whoa! I'm completely taken aback! In defense of those who offered the sexual interpretation, I can understand why some could take it that way. In extreme slang, it's for a certainty that 'to do someone' has a sexual connotation. When one young male asks another, "What did you do her for?," a possible meaning could be that one young male is wanting to know how much money the other gave to a prostitute for a night of "fun." I have enough confidence to say I have a 'superior, but limited' knowledge of slang young people are using. It is possible for the expression "What can I do you for?" to have a sexual connotation to the mind of a young male. At any rate, I don't think there is anything wrong with mentioning the sexual interpretation. If bilinguals, trilinguals, or polyglots are needing some clarification on our language, they deserve all possible meanings. Right, monolinguals?

ernest_

Senior Member

Barcelona Catalan, Spain

helloimfish said: It is possible for the expression "What can I do you for?" to have a sexual connotation to the mind of a young male. Click to expand...

As a non-native speaker, this is exactly how I interpreted the question the first time I heard it - "how much do I have to pay to have sex with you?." The sexual connotation is clear and obvious. I'm not saying it's the only possible interpretation.

Einstein

Senior Member

Milano, Italia UK, English

djmc said: I couldn't find one immediately in Hamlet but in Titus Andronicus (act IV scene II) there is Demetrius: Villain, what hast thou done? Aaron: That which thou canst not undo. Chiron: Thou hast undone our mother. Aaron: Villain I have done thy mother. Click to expand...

But this is "to do someone", not "What can I do you for?" And to "undo someone" means to ruin someone, not exactly the opposite of "do someone". I don't think Shakespeare is much help in this case. And Ernest, I'm afraid you're wrong about the sexual connotation of the question. Especially in the case of paying, I've never heard of anyone "doing" a prostitute!

VicNicSor

Banned

Russia Russian This discussion has been added to an earlier thread. Please scroll up and read from the top. Cagey, moderator. You come to a person, and after greeting, he says: "So, what can I do you for?", what would you think? Is it kind of dialectal? Thank you. (it's from the movie Shallow Hal; a man tells so to Hal) Last edited by a moderator: May 17, 2016 J

Juhasz

Senior Member

English - United States It's not really dialectal, unless you consider jocular slang a dialect. As you probably guessed, it just means "what can I do for you."

VicNicSor

Banned

Russia Russian Ah, it's jocular, I get it, thanks.

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