done thing

English

Noun

done thing (plural done things)

1. (chiefly UK) Something done habitually or according to social norms, expectations, etc.
   • 1985, Susan Howatch, Wheel of Fortune:

     I wanted to be called Linda but Aunt Angela said that was a common name, you know, not the done thing, so I have to be Bella...

   • 2000 August 12, Vivek Chaudhary, The Guardian:

     "I was only 18 and was having back problems so I got regular cortisone injections. It was the done thing in those days, all the players were having them."

Usage notes

• Used with the definite article the.

See also

• do the decent thing

Further reading

• “the done thing” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “done thing”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “done thing” (US) / “done thing” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.