Don’t Go There

Meanings of “Don’t Go There”

The phrase “don’t go there” means that the person in question does not want to discuss the issue anymore. It simply means that that the person wants to avoid this topic.

Origin of “Don’t Go There”

The phrase “don’t go there” is stated to have emerged in the United States. Its first citation emerged in The Gettysburg Times in its January publication in 1997 in the Question/Answer section “Ask the Chef” where it goes into parenthesis but with the meanings as given above which goes:
Q: My biscuits seldom turn out thick and light. Most of the time they are like a hockey puck. Hey?
A: It is a good thing I am a food service professional or I may be inclined to make a reference to the National Hockey League (Don’t go there).

Examples in Literature

Example #1

Don’t Go There by Gerhardus Keen

“Miles of empty space
barren like a dessert
where you will get burnt
should you dare to go there

Rugged cliffs reaching up to heaven
too high for you to climb
where you will get hurt
should you dare to go there

That is what my heart is like
not because I wanted it that way
but all the cheating and the lies
caused it to be like that

So don’t try to get too close
my defenses are too hard to crack
and I know that I would make you cry
should you dare to go there.”

In these stanzas, the poet describes the situation of a desert and hilly region to warn his friend or beloved that they cannot go there. In other words, it simply connotes the title that they should stop talking about this. The reason is that he has now closed his heart for others due to cheating and lies that he has faced in this world. Therefore, he warns his beloved through the refrain of “should you dare go there” in this metaphorical rendition of the phrase.

Example #2

Why Don’t We Go There by One Direction

“Say the word, say the word but don’t say no
Skydive, you and I, with just these clothes
The secret’s safe with me
There’s no right time or place
‘Cause anyone can see we’ll do it anyway

‘Cause we got all night
We’re going nowhere
Why don’t you stay
Why don’t we go there?
Let’s take a ride
Out in the cold air
I know the way, why don’t you go there with me?”

These lines shed light on the thinking of the singer that he is with his beloved like skydivers and that the secret of their love is with him. Then the singer asks his beloved why they do not go and why she does not stay with him with his clear answer that he knows what is difficult to ask. The phrase has been used in an interrogative way in the last line of the second stanza.

Example #3

Don’t Go There: The Mystery of Dyatlov Pass by Svetlana Oss

The storyline revolves around nine students of a university who disappear during their mountaineering expedition though later their bodies were discovered with several questions staying unanswered. This real story of 1959 expedition seems to have defied all the conjectures of such accidents. That is why the phrase echoes throughout the novel as an extended metaphor in the shape of this story.

Example #4

Don’t Go There by Kolan Keegan

This poetic collection shows the poetess’s life in the city of Dublin where she has been living on the margins and yet has refused to be marginalized. She has written about everything, ranging from family to friends and children. Yet, the remarkable metaphorical extension of the phrase given as the title of the book does not go missing. It shows its connotative meanings all over the book through different short and long poems.

Example in Sentences

Example #1: “After a huge fight between Kate and her husband Jake, Kate suddenly brought up her husband’s past although he told her, “don’t go there.”

Example #2: “I harshly replied to John, “Don’t go there or it will really hurt me.” I didn’t pay heed to him and kept bringing it up.”

Example #3: “When Rebecca was crying and I asked her what happened, all she replied was, “Don’t go there,” and I immediately relapsed into silence.

Example #4: “After losing the Championship, the captain of the Australian team upon being asked by the media about the loss just answered, “don’t go there.”

Example #5: “Having wept for hours, she finally admitted that she was crying for her lost husband, breaking the taboo of don’t go there.”