no can do

Idioms  

1. It's impossible; I can't do this. For example, When Bill asked me to write a speech, I told him bluntly no can do. This colloquial phrase was first recorded in 1914.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

no can do

But perhaps more than any other therapy, giving yourself permission to say no can do wonders for mental rehabilitation, experts say.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2022

Realize that "no shower" doesn't mean "no can do."

From US News ● Jun. 9, 2016

"Obviously that brought about more red tape and safety concerns than imaginable. It was a simple no can do."

From The Verge ● May 18, 2016

Can do, no can do, what fashion?" which translated into good Shakespearean English reads "Very bad.

From Time Magazine Archive

Don Enrique and Don Roldan fire the pistols, but after all they have to run, for no can do it nothing.

From The Splendid Idle Forties Stories of Old California by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton

Related Words

• helpless
• impotent
• inadequate
• incapable
• not able
• powerless
• sidelined
• unfit
• weak