Idiom
do a number on
Meaning
To damage, especially to a significant extent; to treat harshly; to produce ill effects in.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The long winter really did a number on my garden.”
“That intense workout yesterday really did a number on my legs, so I can barely walk today.”
“The sudden economic crisis did a number on the small business, forcing the owners to close their doors after decades of operation.”
Examples
simple
“The long winter really did a number on my garden.”
contextual
“That intense workout yesterday really did a number on my legs, so I can barely walk today.”
complex
“The sudden economic crisis did a number on the small business, forcing the owners to close their doors after decades of operation.”
Key words
Related idioms
- Updated