Where I grew up in England it was the polite version of "well you can just shove it up your arse". Maybe the meaning has moved on because "smoke" as meaning consider has been lost, or perhaps it was a local variation.
Just checked with my partner, they're from half the country away from where I'm from and they agree.
Over in Midwest USA, it always meant, usually (but not always) adversarially, “so you can ponder THAT all night, and no matter how much you think about it, will change neither the facts nor the conclusion.”
The only local color I have to add is that it was also somewhat normal to hear “put that in your peace pipe and smoke it” and also “so you can shove that in your peace pipe, and smoke it,” both being references to the custom among some Native North American nations to share a “peace pipe” as a kind of diplomatic gesture, but turned on its head.
This had the effect of me always believing and perceiving it as (usually) especially sarcastic, but largely deriving from the exact meaning that it originates from, even if the cultural reasons were obfuscated.
With an unspecified subject "deal with it", it does mean "put up with" or abide. However, if your boss told you that "We haven't been paid yet; deal with it!", odds are good that you're expected to be on the phone or otherwise chasing down the tardy clients.
The only thing that came to mind is "bite/eat it" (i.e., fall), and there "it" is presumably the dirt/snow/pavement/etc that the person fell onto. The "it" in "hit it" and "cool it" seems to refer to the on-going action/attitude too, even if it's not precisely specified.
What are you thinking of? Your original comment just illustrates that "deal" has multiple senses. This followup suggests you think there's something special about the "it", which I agree with in the case of "bite it", but not in the case of "deal with it".
Deal is the only verb I can think of where an expletive object flips the meaning 180 degrees vs. a concrete one.
Taking more examples from your link:
- "I don't get it" == "I don't understand [something]", in the same way that "I don't get math" == "I don't understand math."
- "He made it" == "He succeeded [generally]", but you can drop in several concrete goals: "He made the team/grade/partner" == "He was successful at ..."
- "Deal with the problem" == "Take some action to solve the problem", but "Deal with it" == "Abide the current situation because it will not change".
> 'deal' itself seems to have a different meaning depending on the country
As other comments have pointed out, there is no difference in meaning by country. Both meanings exist, and which one is being used is determined by context.
> Where I grew up in England it was the polite version of "well you can just shove it up your arse". Maybe the meaning has moved on
That's the meaning I'm familiar with in the US. Jonathan Coulton's song Not About You [also American] makes it quite explicit that those two phrases in particular are synonymous.
(From the South West) I agree it can be like that, but I also think the quoted bit is fair - to me it doesn't have to be adversarial 'ha, take that!' it can be more 'eesh, I'm on your side but ugh, what a blow'.
Just checked with my partner, they're from half the country away from where I'm from and they agree.