do the trick

Accomplish something, succeed. Dating from the early nineteenth century, this cliché uses “trick” in the sense of an accomplish- ment. For example, “Add some pepper to the sauce and that should do the trick.” The synonymous turn the trick, dating from the same period, is heard less often today. “A couple of college products turned the trick for the Whalers,” wrote a sports columnist (Springfield Daily News, April 22, 1976). To turn a trick, on the other hand, uses “trick” in the slangy sense of a prosti- tute’s customer and means to engage in a sexual act with such an individual. Also see THAT DOES IT.