don'ts
English edit
Pronunciation edit
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Noun edit
don'ts
- plural of don't
- 1916, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter VIII, in Just David[1]:
- With the coming of Monday arrived a new life for David—a curious life full of "don'ts" and "dos." David wondered sometimes why all the pleasant things were "don'ts" and all the unpleasant ones "dos."
- 1998, M.T., A Sponsorship Guide for 12-Step Programs [2]
- I don’t like “don’ts.” I like “dos.” I think “don’ts” have a way of being self-defeating.
- 2003, Jerry Zeyu Gao et al., Testing and Quality Assurance for Component-Based Software,[3]:
- [...] many ad hoc dos and particularly don’ts may exist. More importantly, not all don’ts are publicized or even known. In fact, many unknown don’ts may exist.
- 2003, T.J. Tomasi and Kathryn Maloney, The 30-Second Golf Swing, [4]
- Don’t hit it left....
- Don’t hit it in the water....
- Playing by don’ts won’t get the job done.
Usage notes edit
In the phrase "do's and don'ts" the first apostrophe is obviously incorrect, leading to this unusual construction, not used outside of that idiom (and minor plays on it.)