don'ts

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English

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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don'ts

  1. 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

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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.)

Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Anagrams

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