Did with/did to (heard on NPR)

[Joel S. Berson]

At 10/20/2010 09:33 AM, Michael Covarrubias wrote:
>On Oct20, 2010, at 6:24 AM, Barbara Need wrote:
> >
> > 
Thomas' wife sent a message (e-mail?) to Anita hill
> > asking her to apologize for what she "did with" Mr.
> > Thomas.
> >
> > My first reaction was to wonder if Mrs. Thomas thought that Ms. Hill
> > and Mr. Thomas had engaged in sex and was asking for an apology. If
> > she were asking Ms. Hill to apologize for having accused her husband,
> > I would have expected "did to." Are there dialects in which "did with"
> > would refer to the accusation rather than the act?
> >
> > Barbara
> >
>
>at least in my dialect it's possibly acceptable. (midwest, mostly michigan)
>
>i might expect "did with" if she meant something
>close to what my wife means when she asks what i
>"did with the leftovers." — sometimes i show them utter disrespect.
>
>something between that and a question like "what
>did you do with" this or that situation.
>
>but the first reading, of consensual behavior, did jump out at me first.
>
>michael

Me too.  Or was she just toying with him?  And
"toy with" is not a commutative verb, as perhaps "do with" is often.  Except:

More seriously, "did with" might mean "(attempted
to) ruin his career, parade him before the
Senate" -- "What did you do with the trash,
dear?"  "I put it out with the cat."

Irregardless, in the context of Hill and Thomas, I too would expect "to".

Joel

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