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Interventizio Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary

Been there, done/tried that

Hi.
"Try giving your dog cereals, if he lacks iron." "Sorry, been there, done that: I already tried, he wouldn't eat it".
Question: can you use "been there, done that" only when you actually MANAGED to do something? In the example above, since the dog didn't eat the cereals, should I say "Been there TRIED that" instead? What's your opinion? Are the two expressions interchangeable in meaning: "I've already been there, I didn't manage"?
  

Top answer

Been there, done that is a fixed expression. In your example. the friend said 'try .

— Clive

  • Been there, done that is a fixed expression.
  • In your example.
  • the friend said 'try .
  • .
  • ', so 'Done that' means that I did what you suggested, ie I tried.
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4 Answers
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Been there, done that is a fixed expression.

In your example. the friend said 'try . . . ', so 'Done that' means that I did what you suggested, ie I tried.

Clive
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That's true, my example is confusing. Here's another one. Imagine a new guy with Charlie Chaplin-like mustache seizes power in Germany and tells his people: "Now we are going to conquer Europe." An old German citizen then grabs the microphone and says: "Been there, done that."
My question is: can this last phrase mean to a native English: "Somebody already tried that in the past, and he failed
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I'd say a native speaker would take the old person to mean that Germany did indeed already conquer Europe in the past.

Clive
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