Idiom Make do

Out back, the shop/coach house

   Make do is an idiom. Grammatically, it is a verb phrase, and it means to use what one has on hand or to persevere through non-ideal circumstances.  And from the archive of The Word Detective blog, "The “make” in “make do” is our common English verb “to make,” which comes from the Old English “macian” and Germanic roots further back, all with the basic sense of “to build, construct, create.” In English, “make” has developed a dizzying number of derivative uses, from “making dinner” to “making a fire” to “make time” to do something to “make history” or simply “to make it” and achieve a goal. “To make do” falls within the use of “make” to mean “to cause a person or thing to do something,” as in “make someone cry.” (“Make believe,” using the same sense of “make,” originally meant “to make others believe something,” but now means “to pretend to believe.”)

The “do” in “make do” is the common verb meaning “to perform or execute” used in an intransitive sense meaning “to be fitting or appropriate; to suffice,” the same sense found in the expression “That will do.” In the case of “make do,” the emphasis is on “making” something “do” that otherwise might not “do,” might not be quite right or sufficient. “Make do” first appeared in print in that exact form in the 1920s, but Charlotte Bronte used the form “make it do” in her 1847 “Jane Eyre.”  

And that is exactly what I intend for the rest of today, to make do.  Here is why......

Our driveway snowplow guy came very early, in the dark this morning before it had stopped coming down. Jerry said it was still dusting flurries when he got up at 6:30 AM so the driveway got about another inch or so after he plowed it and then the city snowplow was by too, third time clearing the street since yesterday afternoon.  That means there is a pile of snow at the end of our driveway, residue from the city plowing.  .  It started snowing yesterday afternoon and continued, as predicted, a winter blast.  Well it is mid January, expect no less in MN. 

Bunny hugged the garage door

I noticed an errant snow bunny that sometimes takes refuge under the front juniper had cut across the steps and stayed close to the garage going across the driveway, leaving bunny tracks in the snow. So I went out to clear the steps & path, & 

Bunny stepped up  the steps

 to clear the drive.    But  not today. I had to surrender,  half-way,  just is too  cold and getting icy.  So I retreated indoors, winter wins this round,  fortunately do not have to go anywhere and will skip mass tonight too as the temps dip farther down.  This is how I finished, but as if getting in one more, "take this" the wind kicked in and blew snow off the roof dusting over the steps and part of the driveway.  Not playing nice at all.  But as I do not plan to venture out it can stay and I will make do inside.  After all this is bed sheet laundry day and I have tasks awaiting.  So winter wins,  I am wimping out.

Incompletely cleared driveway