# honey do list

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/honey-do-list
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A collection of requests, usually a list of household tasks assigned by a partner.

## Examples

- My weekend is full of chores from my honey do list.
- She adds fixing the leaky kitchen sink to his honey do list.
- Does your honey do list include cleaning the garage this morning?
- My partner left a long honey do list on the fridge for me to finish before Sunday.
- I need to buy a new ladder at the hardware store because painting the ceiling is the first item on my honey do list.
- We cannot go to the cinema tonight because I still have three difficult repairs left on my honey do list.
- I spent all Saturday morning at the garden center buying plants because my husband finally added landscaping to my honey do list.
- Despite his desire to spend the afternoon reading, he found himself overwhelmed by the extensive honey do list his wife had prepared for the weekend.

## Origin

A mid-20th-century American pun on the honeydew melon, derived from the domestic appeal "Honey, do this" or "Honey, could you do..." The term emerged as a humorous label for a list of household chores assigned to a spouse, using the name Honey to facilitate the phonetic play.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.