do one's homework
Prepare through research
To do one's homework is to prepare thoroughly before a meeting, presentation, or decision.
The phrase borrows from school assignments to describe adult preparation: researching a company before an interview, studying a proposal before negotiating.
She clearly did her homework—she knew every detail of the case.
Someone who hasn't done their homework shows up unprepared.
Systematic fact-finding effort
- due diligencePre-transaction reasonable care
- background checkInvestigation of someone's history
- groundworkFoundational preparation for something
- legworkPractical preliminary investigation
briefing · readiness · fact-finding · vetting · information gathering · reconnaissance · case study · risk assessment
Allocated work or duty
- studyDeliberate learning effort
- revisionAltering to improve
- courseworkStudent academic tasks
- readingInterpreting written text
problem sets · exam prep · memorization · note-taking · practice problems · textbook · review · tutoring
research
Systematic fact-finding effort
- due diligencePre-transaction reasonable care
- background checkInvestigation of someone's history
- groundworkFoundational preparation for something
legwork · briefing · readiness · fact-finding · vetting · information gathering · reconnaissance · case study · risk assessment · competitive analysis
assignment
Allocated work or duty
- studyDeliberate learning effort
- revisionAltering to improve
- courseworkStudent academic tasks
reading · problem sets · exam prep · memorization · note-taking · practice problems · textbook · review · tutoring · curriculum
do one's homeworkwing it
Act without preparation
improvise · fly by the seat of one's pants · play it by ear · shoot from the hip · ad-lib
do one's homeworkslack off
Reduce one's effort
cut corners · phone it in · coast · procrastinate · drop the ball
does, done, doer, doers, undone, redone, ones, oneness, home