do, v.i.

[Garson O'Toole]

>From the most well-known sage of the previous century:

Luke: All right, I'll give it a try.
Yoda: No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3hn6fFTxeo

The contrast with "try" indicates that this "do" refers to effective
action. Or as Jon requests "the sense is something like 'to carry out
one's intentions with effect; take effective action'"

This is natural contemporary, speech on the swamp planet Dagobah.

On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 9:00 AM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      do, v.i.
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At the memorial service for Richard Holbrooke last week, Pres. Clinton
> observed that "I loved the guy because he could do =97 doing in diplomacy
> saves lives."  He added, "He could do and do."
>
> This reminds me of the Witch in Macbeth who says, "I'll do and I'll do and
> I'll do."  But many things remind me of the Witches n Macbeth.
>
> The point is that that this usage, which Clinton may or may not have picked
> up from the Witches, is something I can't recall ever hearing it in natural=
> ,
> contemporary speech.  The OED entry on "do" is so daunting that I haven't
> checked adequately for its latest ex..The sense is sonething like "to carry
> out one's intentions with effect; take effective action"
>
> JL
> --=20
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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