Proper response to "Do the needful", when the "needful" might not be clearly defined

Question

I have worked in various places where "do the needful" is quite the common idiom. However, in some situations, both parties might not be quite aligned precisely with what falls under the scope of "needful".

Is there a concise idiom that one can respond with to clearly convey that, while it may be blatantly obvious to the requester what classifies as "needful", it is not so clearly defined to the party who the request is directed towards?

Edit:

For those of you unfamiliar with the idiom, it is an Indian English phrase which loosely translates into something along the lines of, "I assume that it is clear to you what needs to be done as well as how to do it, so kindly do so." Essentially, what I am looking for is a proper response that is along the lines of, "Sorry, but your assumption(that either I know what needs to be done or how to perform it) is invalid."

Edit:

This question is simply out intellectual curiosity as to whether or not a concise, idiomatic response exists.

Doug Warren · Answer

I've never heard "do the needful" in the wild, but it sounds kind of British.  With that in mind, if all that is desired is a snappy comeback, perhaps this line from the BBC comedy Yes, Minister will serve:

We must do something.  This is something.  Therefore we must do it.

An internet search indicates that this line has achieved something of a life of its own, and has become known as "the Politician's Syllogism".  See the Wikipedia article.

(If that's no good, consider "smurf me a smurf of smurf", from The Smurfs and the Magic Flute.  Long story short, the speaker is asking for a glass of water in what he imagines to be the smurfs' vernacular, but the smurfs themselves have no idea what he means. )

aparente001 · Answer

A snappy response (I don't know if this would be a polite phrase in Indian English):

And the needful being...?

A constructive, slightly longer response:

[First, restate the problem to be solved] Did I get that right?  [Hopefully this gets a nod.]  I want to make sure we're on the same page about how to solve this [OR how to proceed].

My idea here is to show that you have been doing good listening by restating the problem.

user129823 · Answer

Indian here. Aren't you being a little paranoid about this? Just ask.

Whenever I get such a response and I'm unsure, I immediately pounce on the person concerned: "What exactly do I need to do? I'm not clear on the actions I'm supposed to take."

If they do clarify, great! If not, then ask them if you could either work on it together and plan something out, or request them to ask their boss (or whoever assigned the work to y'all) to go in detail about 'the needful'.

Proper response to "Do the needful", when the "needful" might not be clearly defined

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