Learn English with English, baby!

Join for FREE!

Social_nav_masthead_logged_in
 
do time

简体
do time
服刑

Date: Dec 20 2012

Themes: News, Pop Culture

Quote

1. Quote - Listen to the quote and guess what the slang means.

Go Super to Listen Go Super!

“I did my time and I respect the law.”

- Actress Lindsay Lohan on what she learned in jail. (Us Weekly)

“我在那里服刑,并懂得了尊重法律。”

- 演员林赛·罗韩 (Lindsay Lohan) 谈论自己在狱中的体会。

Definition

1. Definition - Study the definition.

Go Super to Listen Go Super!

be in prison; spend time in jail

2. Use - Learn how the slang is used.

Go Super to Listen Go Super!

There are a lot of terrible things about going to jail. You’re kept away from your family and loved ones. The living conditions might be terrible. You might be treated badly. The food would probably be terrible. No matter what the specific conditions, one thing that jail does is take away time, whether months or years, time that you could have been spending being free. Therefore, you can refer to going to jail as doing time.

People also sometimes talk about doing time to refer to activities other than going to jail. Usually, these are activities that you didn’t really want to do, so they made you feel trapped, or like you were in jail. If you had to spend a month in a town you hated, you might say that you did your time there. Of if you worked at a job you didn’t like and then quit, you might say that you’d done your time.

Lindsay Lohan did actually spend time in jail, so she knows the literal meaning of watching the hours and days pass away while being locked up. She says that doing time ended up having a positive effect on her. It made her respect the law.

Examples

1. Examples - Hear some example sentences.

Go Super to Listen Go Super!

“Ricky did time for robbing a liquor store.”

“If you do the crime, you gotta do the time.”

“He’s been in trouble, but he’s never done time.”

Winners

1. Winners - See who guessed the slang definition correctly.

mozheh i was in jail
by mozheh
a2020 It means she's passed her sentence to jail.
by a2020
a_endari finishing the time you are convined to spend in jail.
by a_endari
goodmahsa 1.somebody spend time in prison to pay for a crime 2.spend enough time for gaining experience and knowledge about a particular job or activity In this example the first meaning rules.
by goodmahsa
Somebody spent time in prison to pay for a crime.
by Irene Forever
Julissita She finished her time in prison.
by Julissita
dearpesar accepting the punishment by staying in jail
by dearpesar
knuschu to spend time in prison
by knuschu
 julito I paid up my debt with the law.
by julito

Want to guess next week's slang?

The iTEP® test

  • Schedule an iTEP® test and take the official English Practice Test.

    Take Now >

Comments

Log in to Comment

 julito

julito

Argentina

LESYA,  i am amazed  how  quick you got the point,  i assume that at that moment she was in shock and with a distressed mind could easily  made a mistake  . I was so lucky!! praised the Lord.

11:56 AM Dec 20 2012 |

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

julito, OMG! your story is impressing. You were two steps away from prison, really. :(


Praise be to God everything went well in your case. As a rule the attention and memory about the apperance of the rapist or other sort of criminals work awful. The victims desperately trying to defence themselves from the attacker and can’t recognize the right criminal  in the precinct afterwards.


I see you were different than that devil who was with that girl in that particular day. 

11:52 AM Dec 20 2012 |

friendlover

Turkey

I agree Lesya, a lot of innocent people do their time in jail and real guilty ones enjoy their life. I know because this happened to me. An officers’s mistake caused my 2000 dollar and a terrible night in jail. Until I prove that I am innocent, I have already done my time.


Time is a treassure. Sometimes even one second can make a big change in our life. 

 julito

julito

Argentina

Dear Lesya,  Jail is never too far…..  I am presenting my case  .  a 10 years old or so girl  was  abused inside the elevator ,  she reported to the police the description of  the  man  ,and as fate would have it , at that time I  was working in the building, the next day  the police  took me to the precinct  , called in the girl  to recognize me or not, should she had said : yes , is the man. !! no lawyer in the world would have  saved me from prison.   

princessanika

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

hey  guys,wait please why we should do bad  work or do a work when it is not in your rule??? and after that going to jail!!!


when a person is robber,when a person is addict or etc…. alot another things they are not in rules of all countries true,and the policeman get u and u should going to jail.:(               

11:14 AM Dec 20 2012 |

1 person likes this

naira71

naira71

Azerbaijan

Everybody must respekt the laws and then he will never do time.

10:41 AM Dec 20 2012 |

8312016

8312016

Switzerland

i hope in our world have a time that dont exsist jail and dont ourself time there.

10:31 AM Dec 20 2012 |

 julito

julito

Argentina

Lindsay  Lohan  is a talented  and  young movie star,the box office cash in  millions with each of her flicks . Naturally, she is rich ,famous ,idolizad as a role model  by  teenagers , only that she  had a week point , to party way too much  ,drink alcohol  and drive a car. here we have a  deadly cocktail .the legal term for driving inebriated is : DUI ,driving under the influence…..  I am glad for her  that she is on the rebound , I believe that the judge  made a big favor sentencing her to do jail time to sober up and clean toilets as a pastime.         


   

naira71

naira71

Azerbaijan

Everybody must respekt the laws and then he wont do  time as Lindsay Lohan.

10:26 AM Dec 20 2012 |

Englishty

Englishty

Egypt

First of all i wanna say that i really love Lindsay Lohan, i remember the first time i see her on the movie The Parent trap, she was so young and i was impressed by her amazing acting and then i watched a few movies of her when she grew up and i was expecting to see a great actress in the short run but i got frustrated when i found out she went to jail but after doing time in jail i hope she would be able to make up for wasted time and i wish her luck.

 aminoo2

aminoo2

Algeria

I will respect the law and enjoy my life .never do my time!

08:21 AM Dec 20 2012 |

frank2012

frank2012

Nigeria

I learn more in jail

08:05 AM Dec 20 2012 |

1 person likes this

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

As proverb says: “Jail is never too far” .  It means there  is no guarantee for anyone to be suddenly prisoned during the life. The circumstances can be different and difficult to foresee  :(((  


Unfairness is happening everywhere, especially in the places like prisons. There are so many innocent people do time while the true criminals enjoy life on freedom.


Mental hospital is an alternative for jail. I dread to think how many  people in all times have been sent there to do time because somebody with the rights of authority took a decision to get rid of them for some political or other reasons. :(

jellybubble

China

doing time equals to take into jail

05:50 AM Dec 20 2012 |

1 person likes this

ola33

ola33

Japan

She was doing time for driving while being drunk and was cought like that several times. I don’t know if you need to be jailed to realize that it’s better to respect law of proper driving. Otherwise, it might cause somebody’s life, leave somebody without parents,  make somebody an invalid for life. Thanks God it didn’t happen in her case. Lindsay Lohan would be better  be famous for being a good actress, rather doing time.

hot-cabbage

China

Have to do some unwilling things for a long time.

02:12 AM Dec 20 2012 |

Likes (18):

See all >

Share this lesson:

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Bebo
  • Share on Myspace
  • Share on Twitter
  • Email this to a friend
  • Share on Sina

Post Ebaby! lessons on your blog:

Ebaby! Cast