can't do anything with

Idioms  

1. Unable to cope with or manage someone or something. For example, I can't do anything with my hair, or My teenage daughter is very difficult—I can't do anything with her. This expression uses do in the sense of “deal with,” a usage dating from the early 1500s.

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Example Sentences

You can’t do anything with the rest of your body because you have to involve your core to do that.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2024

On Sunday, Washington had an eight-minute drive that didn’t cross midfield, prompting the question: What good is having the ball for all that time if the offense can’t do anything with it?

From Washington Post • Dec. 5, 2022

“Life is so unpredictable and uncertain. We can’t do anything with this uncertainty.”

From New York Times • Oct. 8, 2022

"We can't do anything with that £437m," he added.

From BBC • Jun. 20, 2022

Given the odds, “my staff refused to do anything more with it. They said it isn’t worth working on; there isn’t enough material. We can’t do anything with it.”

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield