# What can I do you for?



## Cecilio

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?"


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## Dr. Gonzo

Hello,

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


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## GenJen54

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."


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## Amityville

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.


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## nycphotography

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."


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


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## GenJen54

nycphotography said:
			
		

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


 
Which is why I said it *can* mean "to have sex with."

I've edited my post to clarify.


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## Cecilio

Thanks to all of for your explanations! It's been a great help!


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## OhMan

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


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## Einstein

OhMan said:


> Did this once have any frequent medieval usage? I thought it did.


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!).


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## Loob

OhMan said:


> Did this once have any frequent medieval usage? I thought it did.


No, sorry....


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## athenian200

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.


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## Loob

athenian200 said:


> It means, "What can I do for you?" The word order is just incorrect.


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


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## Bevj

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!


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## JamesM

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.


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## OhMan

I could have SWORN it was common in medieval times. Maybe that is because so many medieval movies use it?


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## nzfauna

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


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## Einstein

OhMan said:


> I could of SWORN it was common in medieval times. Maybe that is because so many medieval movies use it?


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.


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## Myridon

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.


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## susanna76

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!


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## Miss Julie

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.


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## Glenfarclas

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.


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## GreenWhiteBlue

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.


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## JulianStuart

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.


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## Miss Julie

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.



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?"


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## susanna76

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 . . .


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## GreenWhiteBlue

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.



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.


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## Myridon

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.


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## Egmont

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.


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## kengwilson

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


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## Hermione Golightly

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


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## JulianStuart

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.


 


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



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.


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## grubble

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!


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


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## susanna76

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."


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## grubble

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?



*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.


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## susanna76

No, it's not that bad. I just got confused about a few things, that's all . Thanks!


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## kengwilson

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


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## JulianStuart

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!"
> 
> .


 


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


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


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## alltmdgreen

*I*s there anything *I* can do for you?
*I*s there anything *I* can do you for?

*W*hat's the difference?

*T*he second is commonly used but sounds a little weird to me.

Thanks!


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## Gwan

The second is just a jokey/cute way of saying this expression.


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## alltmdgreen

Thanks so much!


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## brochy

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.


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## djmc

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.


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## Pertinax

djmc said:


> The sexual innuendo goes back to at least the time of Shakespeare. He uses it in Hamlet



What is the reference in Hamlet?


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## djmc

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.


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## helloimfish

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.



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?


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## ernest_

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.


  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.


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## Einstein

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.


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!


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## VicNicSor

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)


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## Juhasz

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."


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## VicNicSor

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


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## Glasguensis

It means what can I swindle you out of, and it is a corny joke, as Juhasz says.


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## VicNicSor

Glasguensis said:


> what can I swindle you out of


Sorry, could you explain why it can mean that?


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## The Newt

Glasguensis said:


> It means what can I swindle you out of, and it is a corny joke, as Juhasz says.



Possibly, although I'm not sure that Americans in general are familiar with the idiom "to do someone for X."


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## VicNicSor

Ah, it seems to be a BrE idiom. Thank you, all.


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## Glasguensis

To do someone can mean, depending on context, to swindle them, to have sex with them, or to beat them up. Only the swindling version works with "for".


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## The Newt

Glasguensis said:


> To do someone can mean, depending on context, to swindle them, to have sex with them, or to beat them up. Only the swindling version works with "for".



Just out of curiosity, how would you use this? "He did him for £100"?


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## VicNicSor

The Newt said:


> Just out of curiosity, how would you use this? "He did him for £100"?


I recalled a C&H picture: (vulgar picture)
http://2new4.fjcdn.com/pictures/Cyanide+happiness_9a5e18_5577093.jpg


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## Glasguensis

He swindled him out of £100 - you could use this to describe for example a plumber that charged for a repair that wasn't needed, or a mechanic who replaces a part which wasn't broken.


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## Loob

We know some previous threads about this, Vic
What can I do you for?_  EDIT: Link removed as threads now merged._
What can I do you for?


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## exgerman

The Newt said:


> Possibly, although I'm not sure that Americans in general are familiar with the idiom "to do someone for X."


Yup. In AE, _what can I do for you?_ means _how can I help you?_ and_ what can I do you for? _is simply a jocular version of that, as Juhasz said.

I doubt that an American film would use a British idiom that's not understood in the US.


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## Glasguensis

It's interesting to know that AE has picked up this joke from BE without understanding it.


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## VicNicSor

Thanks, Loob! I should've tried the search.


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## Forero

Myridon said:


> 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.


It seems to me it could mean "Why can I do you?" or "What can I trade in order to do you?". No matter what it means, it is a long way from "What can I do for you?".

It is a joke that hardly ever amuses any more.


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## Hermione Golightly

The 'joke' is based on the phrasal slang "To do somebody for something' which means 'to charge somebody an exorbitant price for', or 'By how much did he cheat you?' 
It's a play on words, on  the normal 'to do something for somebody'. meaning to help them.
'What can I do for you?' means 'How can I help you?'
The  huge social significance of the so- called joke is that you can form instant justifiable opinions about the person using it.


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## VicNicSor

Thank you, everyone!


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