| Examples/ definitions with source references | LEO:
to be done for (Brit.) [coll.] - erledigt sein [ugs.]
to be done for (Brit.) [coll.] - geliefert sein [ugs.]
to be done for (Brit.) [coll.] - ruiniert sein
NOAD:
done for - [informal] in a situation so bad that it is impossible to get out: if he gets them, we'll all be done for.
Random House unabridged:
do - ... v.i. ... 31. do for, a. to cause the defeat, ruin or death of. b. [Chiefly Brit.] to cook and keep house for; manage or provide for: She does for her father and brother.
done - ... 7. done for, [Informal.] a. tired; exhausted. b. deprived of one's means, position, etc. c. dead, or close to death: Three days without water and a man is done for.
Webster's 3rd unabridged:
done for - 1: irretrievably lost or mortally stricken: DOOMED {when we saw the explosion we thought he was done for} 2: left with no effective power and no capacity or opportunity for recovery: DOWN-AND-OUT {defeat in this election would mean he was done for, his career at an end} 3: sunk in defeat: WASHED-UP, BEATEN {you know, it may come out any day, and then we're done forGeorge Meredith} {if this country ever runs out of people who don't like to be pushed around, we are done forElmer Davis} 4: relegated to the discard {the impression that the old, great, simple books are declassed, passé, dated, outmoded, done forJ. C. Powys}
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| Comment |
I disagree with some of how the Webster's entry tries to match supposed synonyms to definitions; to me 'down and out' means broke, poor, scrounging a living, and 'washed-up' means passé, past its peak, old.
But the main point -- that this is by no means just BE -- seems clear enough.
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