As you do

I was reading the Oxford English Dictionary earlier – as you do – and I discovered that the expression ‘as you do’ entered the Dictionary for the first time last month. The first citation, from The Guardian in 1993 is “She stormed out of the cafe with her four children and returned with a 12-bore shotgun. As you do.”

‘As you do’ is a common colloquialism in British English. It’s used ironically to show that you are surprised at what has just been said, or think it’s odd, (it doesn’t matter whether it’s something you said yourself, or whether it was someone else who said it). However, it’s spoken in a deadpan voice, as if you are not surprised at all, and as if you think the action or activity is the most normal thing in the world. Here's another recent example from a celebrity story in The Daily Mail: "... she fell in love with an American special forces veteran, as you do."

 

The entry for ‘as’ in the OED has been updated in other ways recently too. Phrases like ‘as easy as pie’ have been in for ages, but previously it was necessary to include the object of comparison (pie, falling off a log etc). Now it has gone in as not needing the standard of comparison (just 'easy as', 'simple as', 'soft as' etc). Here are a couple of citations:
Even my mum had come up to me earlier in the day to tell me what a wonderful son I had finally become. Easy as. (from Bali Rai, (Un)Arranged Marriage, 2001)
No filth, simple as. No smut, no swearing, no racism, right? (from P. Kay et al. Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights: Scripts Ser. 1. Episode 5. 97/1, 2003)

Comments

[Alyssa S]

I enjoy the phrase "as you do". There's a sarcasm about it that is really funny.

[Marc Leavitt]

Susan:
I've never heard this phrase in the New York Metropolitan area. What is the intonation? Is the emphasis on you, or do, or even, as?

[Virtual Linguist]

Thanks for the comments. The emphasis is on 'as' and 'do', and it can be a mild sing-song-like intonation (especially if it is intended to be particularly ironic). Listen to Richard Hammond promoting his new book called 'As You Do' in this YouTube clip, as he says it (although not as an ironic response): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_Vm1smGE8Q
No need to listen to it all; the first mention is just after 1m30secs in, and the second is at 2m20.