Idiom: I can't be doing with it

[Ronaldino]

English Idioms and Expressions, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #12 "No good", question 7

This happens every time I start the engine up. I tell you I can't be doing with it.

(a) I find it difficult
(b) I find it irritating
(c) I find it stupid
(d) I find it hard

English Idioms and Expressions, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #12 "No good", answer 7

This happens every time I start the engine up. I tell you I find it irritating.

Correct answer: (b) I find it irritating
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What does doing with it mean? That's really bad grammar!

Ronaldino

[Alan]

Hi Ronaldino,

I wouldn't call it 'bad grammar'. It simply means: I can't accept it because I find it annoys me as in: So many things have gone wrong today that I just can't be doing with any more problems.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Good Bye Summer

[Yankee]

Hi

The expression "can't be doing with" may be mainly British, but I'm sure if an American heard it in context, it would be understood.

Here is a link to the online Cambridge Dictionary definition.
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English