OE (Northumbrian) Liturgical Texts (Durham Ritual) in A. H. Thompson & U. Lindelöf Rituale Ecclesiae Dunelmensis (1927) 36 Transacto noctis spatio : oferdoene..næhtes rune.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Ecclus. xxxviii. 28 Eche smyþ..þe whiche þe nyȝt as þe dai ouerdoþ [a1425 L.V. passith; L. transigit].

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 2 Kings xi. 27 Þe wijf of vrie herde þat vrie hir husbonde was dead, & sche weilede hym, & þe weilynge ouer don [a1425 Corpus Oxf. ouere doon; a1425 L.V. was passid; L. Transacto], dauiþ sente & brouȝte hir in to his hous.

a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Double Marriage iv. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Eeee4/1 Are you she That overdid all ages, with your honour?

a1658 J. Cleveland Rustick Rampant in Wks. (1687) 392 One who could overdo all Men in Dissembling.

1762 D. Garrick Let. Jan. (1963) I. 353 He..offered to destroy the plate..for he declared that he would not be overdone in kindness.

1859 Ld. Tennyson Elaine in Idylls of King 171 Wrathful that a stranger knight Should do and almost overdo the deeds Of Lancelot.

1987 Handgunner July 9/1 Federal responded to the challenge by honking their 125-grain up to 1,450 fps, while Winchester, not to be overdone, throttled theirs up close to 1,500 honest feet per second.

1683 T. Tryon Way to Health 111 That it [sc. roast flesh] be neither over nor under-done, but of the two, it is better that it be under-done.

1832 E. Bulwer-Lytton Eugene Aram II. iv. iii. 238 Julia, my dear, I trust the chickens will not be overdone.

1850 R. Bell Ladder of Gold I. i. iii. 55 He was a small thread of a man, with the aspect of one who had been baked in an oven and overdone.

1894 Westm. Gaz. 1 Jan. 7/2 An adept at underdoing the meat and overdoing the potatoes.

1978 M. Jevons Murder at Margin iv. 27 It was his belief that bacon should not be overdone, as tested by its translucency.

1997 San Antonio (Texas) Express-News (Nexis) 22 Jan. 2 c You can cook pork loin, venison or beef brisket the same way, just don't overdo the venison or underdo the pork.

1710 H. Prideaux Orig. & Right Tithes i. 7 In large Towns..this provision of a Tenth part will not do; and in other places..it will over-do.

1652 W. Blith Eng. Improver Improved 107 And for some other men when they finde so great profit, come in upon them by this or any other meanes, they out of a thirsty desire of gain will Over-doe, Over-Plough, and so destroy their Land.]

1817 M. Whalley Let. 23 Apr. in J. Constable Corr. (1962) I. 164 I trust however that your Darling is better than when you wrote, & was not overdone with company yesterday.

1858 S. Wilberforce in R. G. Wilberforce Life S. Wilberforce (1881) II. xi. 385 At night ran down too fast, and overdid myself.

1889 Harper's Mag. July 242/2 Are there five boys..who can run half a mile, in even three minutes and a half, without being badly blown and looking as if they had been overdoing themselves?

1916 A. Bennett Lion's Share vii. 52 A raw girl, overdone with money, who could only speak one language.

1972 in Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. (1983) lxx. 45 Her disease appears to have been caused by being overdone with work.

1999 Racing Post (Nexis) 5 July 9 She lengthened well, without overdoing herself, finishing a length and a half to the good.

c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xiv. 191 Noone so ofte sorfeten soþliche so mankynde..Thei ouerdon hit day and nyght.

1638 W. Chillingworth Relig. Protestants i. vi. §73. 381 Often what he took in hand, he did not doe it but over doe it.

1702 W. Burnaby Modish Husband v. 60 Cam. My bright Charmer, let me devour you with Kisses. L. P. (Aside) O! the devil! She'll overdo it and Ruine all.

1838 C. Dickens Oliver Twist I. xvi. 264 ‘Ha! ha! my dear, you are acting beautifully.’ ‘Am I?’ said the girl. ‘Take care I don't overdo it: you will be the worse for it, Fagin.’

a1852 G. H. Rodwell Freaks & Follies (1888) i. iii. 5 There's no harm in swaggering, unless you overdo it.

1927 A. Conan Doyle Case-bk. Sherlock Holmes 202 In her anxiety that it [sc. the note] should be discovered she somewhat overdid it, by holding it in her hand to the last.

1951 M. Culver in H. Brickell O. Henry Prize Stories of 1951 89 Bump Roxy was a great drummer and a great musician. He told them when they overdid it or underdid it... He held the band together.

1991 Photographer Sept. 20/3 There is a great tendency to show how ‘clever’ you can be with any new gizmo, and, in the process, overdo things.

1853 J. Ruskin Let. 18 Aug. in M. Lutyens Millais & Ruskins (1967) 85 He overdid it last winter and now evidently stands in need of rest.

1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xxxviii. 424 ‘You'll kill yourself.’ ‘Not a bit of it... I'm not going to overdo things.’

1920 N. Coward I'll leave it to You ii. 24 You work terribly hard. I only hope you won't overdo it.

1993 J. Evans Dangerous Diagnosis 108 ‘You're not overdoing things?’ ‘Probably, but I want to make the most of every minute.’