Alice and Bob are about to part ways for a while. Alice is going to be alone in a situation, possibly her first time in such a situation, and Bob feels compelled to give advice, so he tells her, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Can go one of a few ways. It may make Alice seriously consider,
What Would Bob Do? Depending on the situation, Alice may be wondering if there is anything Bob wouldn't do. Occasionally, in these situations, Bob may realize this and correct the phrase to "Don't do anything I would do."
Examples:
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Film
- Come See the Paradise
- Gosford Park
- Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
Freakshow: Just don't do anything the good Lord wouldn't do.
- Little Manhattan
- Mermaids
Rachel Flax: Don't do anything I wouldn't do! Or don't do anything I would!
- Sweet Smell of Success
Sidney Falco: Don't do anything I wouldn't do! That gives you a lot of leeway...
- The Munsters' Revenge
Literature
- Discworld's Nanny Ogg: "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, if you ever find anything I wouldn't do."
Live Action TV
- Fawlty Towers
Miss Gatsby: And don't do anything *we* wouldn't do!
- Married... with Children episode "No Pot to Pease In"
- Quantum Leap
Al: Don't do anything I wouldn't do. And if you do, take pictures.
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Treachery, Faith, and the Great River"
- The Facts of Life episode "Sex Symbol"
- The League of Gentlemen
- When Castle's teenage daughter is going to the prom he tells her date "Don't do anything I would do."
- Steve Austin says this to Goldberg when he gives him a ticket to 2004's No Way Out. That pretty much translates as "Go ahead and kick Brock Lesnar's ass, he deserves it".
- In Sex and the City, Samantha's boyfriend Smith is about to leave for a work-related venture. Samantha tells him not to do anything she wouldn't, to which he wryly repsonds "What things don't you do?" Samantha: "There are some things.... Karaoke. I don't do that."
- M*A*S*H:
Major Burns: Don't do anything I wouldn't do.
Colonel Potter: Major, I wouldn't want to do anything you would do!
- The Cosby Show: When Theo is about to head out to his Senior Prom he assures Cliff "I won't do anything you wouldn't do." Cliff responds, "Just remember: I married my prom date."
Professional Wrestling
Video Games
Web Comics
