what can one do

‘What’s the use of weeping now, Brother Vikentiy? You should have thought of this before. Now it’s too late.’ He made a good monk, however. Not that he is perfect. Of course, he would never go near a woman, but then, you know. . . . Oh, well, what can one do? The spirit is strong, but the flesh is weak.

1929 September, Gleb Botkin, chapter 16, in The God Who Didn’t Laugh, New York, N.Y.: Payson & Clarke Ltd, →OCLC, pages 92–93

An exception to the general principle that the gesture precedes the words is the one used to replace words. The gesture then should terminate the thought and be followed by a pause so that there is no confusion that action did not suit the word. Thus, if a speaker wishes to act out rather than say “oh well, what can one do” by shrugging his shoulders, a pause should follow the gesture before oral speech is resumed.

1964, Jon Eisenson, Paul H. Boase, “Speaking in public”, in Basic Speech, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Collier-Macmillan Limited, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 292

“The boss is the one who makes the profit,” the boy answered. “I’m just a half-starved flea in this place.” / “I know. But look at that! Fifty-nine cents for an avocado. Oh, well, what can one do. Give me one. After a while nobody will be able to eat in New York. Food is gold in this country. Give me two plantains. I won't even ask how much they cost because they never go for less than a quarter.”

1966, Oscar Lewis, “Days with Simplicio in New York”, in La Vida: A Puerto Rican Family in the Culture of Poverty—San Juan and New York, New York, N.Y.; Toronto, Ont.: Random House, →ISBN, →LCCN, part IV (Simplicio), page 435

‘I’ve probably damaged his ego, that’s all.’ / ‘Oh definitely, Meredith, I’m certain of that. But I also believe that our Reed, the glamorous playboy, fell rather heavily for you. That’s always been my opinion. Oh well, what can one do . . . He finally met his Waterloo.’

1996, Barbara Taylor Bradford, chapter 6, in Her Own Rules, London: BCA [Book Club Associates] by arrangement with HarperCollinsPublishers, →OCLC, part 1 (Time Present), page 75

“Good God, the laziness! You should have continued on with the others, my good man of God! You should not have come back like a guanaco thirsty for the taste of chicha!” / “But there are no traces of the chapetones left anywhere! And the others will also return, just like me.” / “May the Heavens not allow such idleness! This would mean the miserable loss of the fruits of such a joyous victory. Oh well. . . . What can one do?! Tell me, at least, in some kind of orderly manner, what happened since you arrived in Oruro.”

1998, Nataniel Aguirre, translated by Sergio Gabriel Waisman, “The Battle of Aroma According to Alejo”, in Alba María Paz-Soldán, editor, Juan de la Rosa: Memoirs of the Last Soldier of the Independence Movement (Library of Latin America), New York, N.Y.; Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 69