I don't know what I’ll do

[GoodTaste]

Does the phrase "I don't know what I’ll do" sound threatening to you? It does because it seems to say "I will no longer care doing something bad or illegal to survive."

If she said "I will endure hardship and do my best to find a way out", then I would believe the speaker to be well wisher. I am not sure.

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There are two COVID Americas. One hopes for an extension of federal unemployment and stimulus. The other is saving and spending.
......................
“I'm panicked. I’ve run through my entire savings,” says Caudle, who returned to work a few weeks ago. But she has put in fewer hours with less clients due to social-distancing measures.
“If the state shuts down the salon again, I don't know what I’ll do,” says Caudle, 35..

[FONT=Georgia Pro, Georgia, Droid Serif, serif]Source: [/FONT]USA TODAY July 19, 2020
https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...icans-face-lasting-scars-pandemic/5446881002/

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Does the phrase "I don't know what I’ll do" sound threatening to you?

No.

It does because it seems to say "I will no longer care about doing something bad or illegal to survive."

No, it doesn't. Not at all.

If she said "I will endure hardship and do my best to find a way out", then I would believe the speaker to be well-wisher.

It doen't imply that. She's not talking about another person. She's talking about herself.

Maybe you misunderstand well-wisher. Well-wishers don't wish themselves well. They wish other people well.

I am not sure.

===================
There are two COVID Americas. One hopes for an extension of federal unemployment and stimulus. The other is saving and spending.
......................
“I'm panicked. I’ve run through my entire savings,” says Caudle, who returned to work a few weeks ago. But she has put in fewer hours with less clients due to social-distancing measures.
“If the state shuts down the salon again, I don't know what I’ll do,” says Caudle, 35..

There is no threat implied there.

Source: USA TODAY July 19, 2020
https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...icans-face-lasting-scars-pandemic/5446881002/

You're reading too much into the quote.

 

[GoodTaste]

OK. Use healthy-minded than well-wisher.

 

[GoesStation]

OK. I should use "healthy-minded" rather than "well-wisher".

No. I can't tell what you're trying to express, but neither term works there.

 

[GoesStation]

"I don't know what I’ll do" means what it says: I have no idea how I'll handle the situation. Try to read texts literally. If they make sense as written, there's no need to attribute additional meaning that isn't present in the words.

 

[GoodTaste]

"I don't know what I’ll do" means what it says: I have no idea how I'll handle the situation. Try to read texts literally. If they make sense as written, there's no need to attribute additional meaning that isn't present in the words.

Reading it literally in the first place is common sense, of course. The problem might be in cultural difference? The phrase "I don't know what I’ll do" in Chinese could either mean helplessness or a threatening implication ("I will no more care about what I do is legal or illegal!").