Why do Americans say ‘can I do’ when ordering food?

45 comments

1. You don’t do your food?

2. It’s just a common informal slang term for “I want to order” with a bit of fake friendly politeness added on. It gives you the feeling of being nice to a total stranger without being nice to a total stranger in a weird creepy way. It’s totally not sincere in any way shape or form.

   We also say “can I get” and “let me get”.

3. I havent heard that said in california. Maybe it’s a regional expression?

4. Does your language or country not have slang or euphemisms?

5. My only guess is that it’s sort of turning you’re eating into an experience/activity. It’s not nearly as common as “I’ll have the…” “I’d like a…” or “I’ll take the…” or simply the name of the item if asked directly.

   A lot of people find this [edit: the use of “do” instead of get/have/take/order] verbal tic annoying. A few friends have mentioned cringing internally because their sister or mother always orders this way.

   Honestly it’s no big deal but it can be a bit grating once you hear it.

   Edit: deleted a sentence about who I’ve found tends to say this because I don’t feel like getting in an argument Sunday morning.

6. It’s the more formal version of canihava.

7. “can I do” or “I’ll do” is just another way of saying “can I have” or “I’ll have.”

8. It’s dumb and pretentious. I don’t get it either.

9. North Carolina here and I’ve never heard this.

10. I guess it’s their way of asking if something is available.

11. This has to be regions specific. Ive never heard anyone say this. It’s usually “can I get”

12. I dont know but it’s annoying after the third “Can I..?”

13. We don’t 🤷🏻‍♀️
    Must be a flyover state thing or something – just like the dropping of the “to be” and just saying “needs fixed,” which makes zero sense.

14. Haven’t heard that in the Southeast or out west.

15. Where I’m from we definitely say “Can I do..” but I think we say “let me get…” more.

16. Usually a substitution request, like buttered rolls instead of cornbread or house salad instead of mash potatoes.

17. This is usually a mid-western thing. It’s making the ordering into a form of a question incase the place is out of something and it just sounds generally less demanding. It just is a slightly quicker way of saying “I’ll please have”

18. It’s simply a shift in language. It’s the same reason as people saying “no problem” instead of “you’re welcome”.

19. I hear this a lot, especially taking orders as a barista. Personally, it’s not my go-to phrasing, but I’ve probably still said it before and definitely don’t question it. People even say it pretty often on Jeopardy, like “I’ll do History for 400, please”

20. A small region of the country saying that doesn’t mean we all do. Never even heard of this.

21. My family and I always say this when we order (southwest)

22. Too many Mountain Dews have ruined us

23. I don’t understand everyone trying so hard to rationalize this one. People from all over the US use all manner of casual language when ordering, especially from a drive-thru.

    “Let me get the #4, large, with onion rings…”

    “I’ll go with the #8 medium with extra ketchup…”

    “Can I grab a #22, hold the crazy sauce, with tomatoes and relish….”

    “Let’s start with two 10 pieces and that szechuan sauce I *know* y’all got in there….”

    Now for me personally it used to be “May I please have….” because I liked being formal and not worrying about how I would say it. Then it became just ordering on the app.

    I feel compelled to say not all Americans have the slight social anxiety that I clearly display.

24. Can I do… is a pet peeve of mine. How about May I please have the…??????????

25. IvI even heard an even more direct “give me…” without any “please”, which in most English speaking (and non English speaking other than maybe Germany LOL) would be considered very rude.

26. This always confused me as an Australian

27. Reading the comments and apparently no one does this, but I do this all the time. It’s either “Can I do” or “I’ll do the…”.
    Eating at a restaurant Is a whole experience, hence you “do” the experience.

28. Never said that in my life.

29. The real question should be, when someone asks “Do you mind…?” And we say, (sure, yeah, ok, go ahead) etc. The real answer would be “No.” No, I don’t mind. Meaning then a qyes, go ahead. But instead, we always skip the No part and go to total agreement and we all understand this.

30. Same reason the British ppl say oi governor, different dialects and different places means different ways of saying words.

31. I am reading the waiter’s facial expression to see if the amount of food in that particular dish in fact doable by a man of my stature.

    But really it’s just a replacement “can I have?”

32. Our parents said it

33. Colloquialisms generally do not make grammatical sense. This is not an American phenomenon.

34. Yes every single American says this. It’s written in the constitution.

35. One thing people say that I find odd is, “I’ll have your spaghetti” like it’s the waiter’s personal dish OR they have a choice between food that restaurant serves or the one next door. I’ve never understood why anyone would say “your” because I’ve never had to say, “you misunderstood me. I don’t want your competitor’s spaghetti, I want YOUR spaghetti”.

36. It’s the American equivalent of “*ich nehme…*”

37. I think it stems from fast food culture. Can I do a #5?

38. In American English there are a lot of phrases we use that have a totally different meaning than what it means literally. My SO isn’t a native speaker and says this is a real struggle.

39. I’ll do an apple pie.

40. I don’t think I have ever said that

41. I’m not sure what the British equivalent is, but I’m pretty sure it starts with “**Right**…”

42. Lazy language, slang.

43. Because everything from supply shortages, bullshit regulations (no, you can’t *do* medium rare at this particular joint), to downed shake machines will tell us we can’t do something.

44. We say it like: “Can I do my Bacon Cheeseburger with Jalapeños on it?”

    It’s just another way of saying : “Can I have Jalapeños on my Bacon Cheeseburger?”

45. I always understood it to be a combination of “I want this particular item” and “do you guys have this particular item?”