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

do business • do the business
do business —
1
. conduct transactions: The principle on
which we do business is P.O.D. Which literally means Pay on
Delivery. 2. take up business as a subject of study: I did Busi-
ness at college. I also did Accounting as a separate course.
do the business —
1
. = do business 
1
: The way we do the busi-
ness, and even the way we live our lives has altered. 2. (also:
do the job) accomplish one’s purpose; achieve the desired re-
sult: Two simple rules well observed will do the business. 3.
(euph.) have sex with a person: So he went home with her: Do
you think they did the business?
Note: 
Neither expression fully correlates in meaning with the
phrase do one’s business—
1
. = do business: Every new employee
goes to a Pragmatic Marketing class, because we want them to
understand how we do our business here. 2. (euph., of an an-
imal) urinate or defecate: You can’t teach it to eat from a certain
bowl in a certain place, or to do its business in a litter box.
do duty • do one’s duty
do duty —
1
. serve as or pass for smth. else: The handsome
building, could have done duty as a state capitol. 2. (euph.)
defecate or urinate: The lamb stood in the middle of the field
doing duties at an adjacent haystack.
do one’s duty —
1
. do what one is obliged to do by law, one’s
trade or conscience: “You’ve been very helpful, Aggie.” “I do
my duty.” 2. = do duty 2: The child never defecates or urinates;
he does his “duty.” 3. (euph.) is used of marital sex: Melinda
could not stand the idea of the marriage bed and refused to
do her duty as a wife.
do faces • make faces
do faces —
1
. sketch or model faces: I do faces better than
anything else. It’s the bodies that don’t turn out so well. 2.
apply cosmetics: Makeup artist Tom Savini, one of the best in
this creepy business, will do faces.
make faces —
1
. assume a silly, twisted expression on one’s
face intended to cause laughter: The two children sat at the
table making faces at each other. 2. express annoyance or dis-
approval by one’s facial expression: The leader swung his chair
round … presumably so he could make faces to the rest of the
orchestra. 3. = do faces 
1
: When I started my training, I was
delighted and excited to find that I could make faces as they
actually are.
See also: make a face / make face.