Talk:do well

RFV discussion: March–May 2017

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do well

To benefit; to favour. This does not match either "you would do well to stay out of trouble" or "I did well in my exams". Any ideas? Equinox ◑ 20:32, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

"I did well in my exams" is simply SOP. "you would do well to stay out of trouble" is more ideomatic, meaning take the advised or prudent approach. Kiwima (talk) 20:51, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

But the given definition fits neither. What sentence would it make sense in? Equinox ◑ 20:53, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

I agree -- I have added the meanings that I can find, with supporting quotes, leaving the RFV on the original definition. I suspect the author was trying for the "flourish" meaning. Kiwima (talk) 21:20, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

I disagree. To benefit can mean to accrue, as in the principal accrued, through compounded interest, over time. (The insurance benefit sense I would oppose through principle that such benefit is (always) less than the sum of the payments.) - Amgine/ ^t·e 21:37, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

Okay, but "favour" on the other hand is always transitive. Equinox ◑ 21:57, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

Maybe this is supposed to be do well by, as in "She was a good mother; she did well by her children." —Granger (talk · contribs) 23:26, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

I see that User:Alumnum, who created this entry, is still active—maybe they can give us an example of what they meant by this definition? —Granger (talk · contribs) 23:29, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

• I have reordered the definitions, and inserted a grammar label for each of two of the definitions, including the one being challenged. To me the last definition "succeed, flourish" seems to be non-idiomatic, being just intransitive do + well. I believe that the do well by usage is widespread, though usage examples are always nice, especially to illustrate the meaning of a terse grammar label. DCDuring TALK 01:23, 8 March 2017 (UTC)

  Nicely done, thanks! - Amgine/ ^t·e 17:18, 8 March 2017 (UTC)

As the person who added the "succeed, flourish" meaning -- I can see where it is close to a literal meaning, but I think it goes a bit beyond that - it is not that there is something one does well, it is not really about doing any particular thing, it is about being. Kiwima (talk) 23:36, 9 March 2017 (UTC)

I think I created this entry after reading this idiom somewhere, but it was more than two years ago so I can't recall it and bring back the context. "Do well by" seems to be a fitting variation, so User:Mx._Granger is most likely right. Moreover, Google Translate also translates "do well" to my native Portuguese as "beneficiar", which means to benefit, favour, advantage, avail, etc., so it may have prompted me to create this entry at the time. - Alumnum (talk) 02:13, 8 March 2017 (UTC)

RFV-passed Kiwima (talk) 19:12, 22 May 2017 (UTC)

I did well on the first part of the exam

What meaning of do applies to the example I did well on the first part of the exam ? --Backinstadiums (talk) 17:22, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

@Backinstadiums: I would say "To perform the tasks or actions associated with" Kiwima (talk) 19:40, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

recover, get well

be doing well (recover): 
A month after her car accident, Mary is doing well.
https://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=do%20well

--Backinstadiums (talk) 16:30, 5 April 2020 (UTC)

do better

As in You'd do better to tell her the truth --Backinstadiums (talk) 19:29, 22 November 2020 (UTC)

be doing well; do well to do something

Be doing well: to be getting healthier after an illness; to be in good health after a birth --Backinstadiums (talk) 17:42, 24 November 2020 (UTC) Do well to do something: ​to be sensible or wise to do something --Backinstadiums (talk) 17:45, 24 November 2020 (UTC)