can do with

past could do with

1. no past participleno present participletransitiveusuallyTo need; to want; to be in a position to benefit from.

   A garden can do with a little mystery, which serpentine paths provide.

   1999 July, Jim McCausland, “Paths of discovery”, in Sunset, volume 203, number 1, page 57

   3 more examples

   His hair was thinning and slicked back, and he could have done with a good shave.

   1996 March, D. William Shunn, “Celestial Mechanics.”, in Fantasy & Science Fiction, volume 90, number 3, page 109

   In fact, while balking at the cruel burden he had imposed on me, I thought that his mind could do with some improvement

   2000 Spring, Jervis Anderson, “England in Jamaica.”, in American Scholar, volume 69, number 2, page 15

   Journalism today could do with a little more attention to principle, a little more concern about ethics.

   2000 May 17, John Huges, “How do we find what's true?”, in Christian Science Monitor