merriam-webster.com:
(1) for what it's worth — used to say that one is not sure whether something one is about to say will be helpful or valued
The word "one" seems a little awkward to me here.
Wouldn't it be better if we used "someone" instead?:
(2) for what it's worth — used to say that someone is not sure whether something someone is about to say will be helpful or valued
Is there any difference between (1) and (2)?
Best Answer
"One" multiple times in a row always refers to the same person. It's a more formal version of the general "you" we use when we want to talk about things a generic person might or can do.
"Someone" usually refers to a new person each time it's used. To refer back to the same "someone", we use a pronoun, in this case "they" since the gender isn't specified. "Someone ... they" would mean the same thing here, but "someone ... someone" would indicate two different people.
"One" is restricted to a relatively formal register, but that's how dictionaries are written, so there's nothing awkward about the way it's used here.