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.)