do a job on

Idioms  

1. Also, do a number on. Damage, harm, as in The cat really did a job on the upholstery, or The teacher did a number on the class with that assignment. This slangy idiom uses job (or number) in the sense of “something negative.”

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Example Sentences

“When you do a job on behalf of the government — as an employee or a contractor — there is no license to discriminate or turn people away because they do not meet religious criteria.”

From New York Times • Oct. 5, 2020

If fit peripheral figures such as Fred, Antonio Valencia, Andreas Pereira, Matteo Darmian and Scott McTominay can’t be trusted to do a job on Saturday, then they probably have no future at Manchester United.

From The Guardian • Feb. 7, 2019

You have it when you drive to work or do a job on deadline.

From Washington Post • May 17, 2018

I know I've got to go in there and do a job on him.

From BBC • Feb. 17, 2012

Nancy thought, An angry monkey is like a flying pit bull terrier with five prehensile limbs—these critters can do a job on you.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston