The Archive

Etymology Journal · L

Let's not and say we did

Meaning

A sarcastic suggestion to skip a labor-intensive or undesirable task while pretending that you actually completed it. It is the ultimate idiom for procrastination.

Sassy, rebellious

Used in a sentence

  • We have to mow the lawn in this heat? Let's not and say we did.
  • Do we really have to go to that event? Let's not and say we did.
  • I am too tired for a jog, let's not and say we did.

The backstory

This has been a popular playground retort for decades. It is a cheeky way to acknowledge that a task is pointless without actually doing it.

Heard in

Nationwide

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