Do the needful

"Do the needful" is an archaic expression which means "do that which is necessary", with the respectful implication that the other party is trusted to understand what needs doing without being given detailed instruction.

The expression is now current mainly in South Asian English (Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan). The expression was current in both British^[1] and American English^[2] well into the early 20th century. In later years it was sometimes used as parody example of contemporary South Asian English.

The Oxford English Dictionary lists examples of usage from 1709 (Richard Steele in the Tatler), 1771 (Samuel Foote in Maid of Bath), 1821 (Maria Edgeworth in a letter), 1831 (Walter Scott in his journal), 1929 (I. Colvin in his Life of Dyer), and 1992 (Jeff Torrington in Swing Hammer Swing!), the last likely used humorously.^[1]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Oxford English Dictionary, Draft Revision, December 2008: "needful" (adj. and n.)
2. ^ The New York Times lists many examples of contemporary literal usage from its own pages mainly between 1860 and 1930