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Don't Do Anything That I Wouldn't Do...

C

Captain Caveman

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
I am trying to work this out.

"Don't do anything that I would not do..." Means to only do the things that I would do... I think!

But what puzzles me is that I started saying that as other people would say it in certain situations, so I copied and said it in general... As it seemed like something to say to try and connect to people as you do... ("As you do" is another saying I sould say...).

Anyway, as I am going off on tangents so I need to reach the point.

When I said "Don't do anything that I wouldn't do" people would reply "That doesn't give me much choice". What exactly does that mean? As even my Mum is confused when we try to work it out and she is a "Words" person, but even she just became confused!

Logically what does it mean? (In simple talk).
 
Their reply to you is a put down. As if to suggest you haven't done/experienced much, therefore they don't have many choices if they were to only do things you've done before.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do" implies the person saying it is a bit wild, and they've likely done/tried many things. So it's less of a word of caution, and more like a green light to indulge in some hedonistic behaviour.

Ed
 
Raggamuffin said:
Their reply to you is a put down. As if to suggest you haven't done/experienced much, therefore they don't have many choices if they were to only do things you've done before.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do" implies the person saying it is a bit wild, and they've likely done/tried many things. So it's less of a word of caution, and more like a green light to indulge in some hedonistic behaviour.

Ed
Click to expand...

Ah. Makes sense in some ways as I am single.
 
Captain Caveman said:
Yes, but trying to work out what the reply means is not easy!
Click to expand...
"That doesn't leave me much choice" sounds like it's implying
the person either has such strict standards/narrow range of behavior
or it could mean, again jocularly, that the sky's the limit (do virtually whatever
you want)

At any rate, the phrase isn't meant to be taken literally.
 
They are basically telling you to avoid the things in life that they avoid, like if it is smoking, drinking, cursing, etc., suggesting that they are a good role model for you to follow. Whether they are using humor, just being light hearted or more serious is irrelevant I feel , as everyone does some things that are harmful and imperfect to themselves and others, that they do not disclose, or that they minimize or think is typical or fine..

So what they say and imply to you when they state such a command or phrase should not be taken seriously, as they may be right or wrong, or be seen as more proper or not, in what they avoid, or in saying what we should avoid, and in what they see as good for you or as acceptable or not, as each situation is different and as we all are different and entitled to our own decisions, unless some incapacitation legally forbids this.
 
I don't really know what it means but I know it's just an expression, a bit like "don't work too hard!" I don't always know what to say in response either, so I just give a little laugh.
 
Only version I know is don't do what I'd do!

People seem to instantly know what I mean, but I'm not sure that's a good thing! 🤔🤭
 
It's just one of those light-hearted, "tongue-in-cheek" remarks not intended for anyone to dwell on. Like one actor telling another, "break a leg!". Just a way to telling a fellow thespian "good luck".
 
When I hear “don’t do anything I wouldn’t do”, it is not an admonition, but jocular (with the implied “and I’m up for anything”.)
The response “that doesn’t leave me much choice” is again jocular, not meant in an unkind way, implying “if I believed what you would do is so limited, you’ve just stopped me doing so many outlandish things I was imagining, but I don’t, so you’ve just given me licence to do what I wish.” All a bit silly, and usually only said between people who know each other well. Use with caution.
 
Jocular? Throat? Grabbed by the jocular... Grabbed by the throat... :D

I understand what you mean. I used to say it the same way that I heard it said as a convenient way to say goodbye without saying goodbye?
 
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I always took it as an adult version of the parental "Now behave yourself while we're gone" phrase, or similar, but with an insincere element of jocularity to temper the implied authoritarian attitude.

And the usual response of “that doesn’t leave me much choice” being a play on that implicit 'joke' surrounding that childish period of life where we are bound by our parents/guardians, sometimes in strict fashion, and the implied recognition of the insincere nature of the original comment.
 
I haven't heard it much in recent decades. I associate more with my parents generation. Something I heard in the 60s/70s. Perhaps it has revived as sayings sometimes do.

I took it to be presented as a warning against bad/licentious behavior, but actually ironic because the speaker is known for not being cautious so its a useless advice on one hand and a wink and a nod to be bad on the other.

Just the sort of convoluted social humor that will leave many on the spectrum baffled.

To get the comeback 'That doesn't leave me much choice' says they think you are cautious and not prone to reckless/bad behavior. It also can show you yourself don't know what the saying originally meant. Unless you purposely use it to really say don't misbehave, where you are playing a twist on the original.

It remind me of the idea 'some people are good at telling jokes; others aren't' which I also heard along the way. Joke telling is actually a skill involving things like humorous delivery and timing. I realized fairly early on jokes were not my forte. So I limit myself to attempts at original comments/humorous stories which have better success but I generally don't try it with strangers, people I know very little.
 
Captain Caveman said:
I am trying to work this out.

"Don't do anything that I would not do..." Means to only do the things that I would do... I think!

But what puzzles me is that I started saying that as other people would say it in certain situations, so I copied and said it in general... As it seemed like something to say to try and connect to people as you do... ("As you do" is another saying I sould say...).

Anyway, as I am going off on tangents so I need to reach the point.

When I said "Don't do anything that I wouldn't do" people would reply "That doesn't give me much choice". What exactly does that mean? As even my Mum is confused when we try to work it out and she is a "Words" person, but even she just became confused!

Logically what does it mean? (In simple talk).
Click to expand...
I don't really know, but for years, I have thought it fun to change those words around to say, "Don't do anything that I would do."
It's amazing how so few people realizes that I just said a joke.
 
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