A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

do someone well • do well by someone
do someone well —
1
. (of a hotel, etc.) provide a high quality
service: Kensington is only a small place, they do you well
there, and it’s always full…. 2. (followed by Infinitive) be well-
advised to act in a particular way: It will do you well to learn
these things before you choose a career or job.
do well by someone —treat a person with loving kindness:
Soon after this the boy was transferred to another home, where
a childless couple are trying to do well by him.
See also: do good to someone / do someone good.
do something blindfolded • do something sight
unseen
do something blindfolded —(also: do something with one’s eyes
closed) do smth. very easily, without much effort: Flying this
thing is so easy I can do it blindfolded!
do something sight unseen —do or make up one’s mind about
smth. without having previously seen it: They bought the
house sight unseen, working out the details by phone and fax.
do something out of hand • put something out of
hand
do something out of hand —do smth. immediately, without
delay or preparation: Newspapers reject this kind of writing
out of hand for fear of offending advertisers.
put something out of hand —accomplish smth.; no longer
deal with smth.: He has been indefatigable … whereby he has
caused much work to be put out of hand.
do something over • overdo something
do something over —
1
. repeat an action; do smth. again: Also,
if I could do the paper over, I would remove the word “con-
troversy.” 2. remodel or redecorate smth.: We ought to keep
this as the spare room and do the nursery over.
overdo something—
1
. carry smth. to excess; do too much:
With the zeal of a new convert he overdid matters. 2. cook
food too much: Don’t overdo the meat. When the peppers are
soft, taste the mixture to see if it needs anything.
See also: make over something / make something over.