can do with

can do with (third-person singular simple present can do with, no present participle, simple past could do with, no past participle)

1. (transitive, usually with could) To need; to want; to be in a position to benefit from.
   • 1996 March, D. William Shunn, “Celestial Mechanics.”, in Fantasy & Science Fiction, volume 90, number 3, page 109:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• could do with, could do without
• can do without
• could have done with, could have done without