Learn English – “It works for you” vs “it goes with you”

idiomsphrase-usage

Example:

"I like your nickname. It works for you."

"I like your nickname. It goes with you."

The first one has 3 hits on Google Books. The second has 1. But, still I'm a bit confused.

What's the difference between the two? What sounds more natural for native English speakers?

Best Answer

Neither of them 'works for me', but they do represent the different kinds of semantic changes that English words often undergo.

Starting with 'work for': The verb 'work' has a huge number of meanings. One of these is an intransitive use: "It works! It works!" This means that some action or method has had a successful result.

Phrases like 'It works for me' come from this sense, but have an extra meaning of 'It produces the result I desire'. This is often used to suggest cures for illnesses or problems such as hiccupping: "Stand on your head and drink a glass of water, that always works for me."

In the sentence you give, however, as user162097 says, it now seems to mean something like 'it suits you'; i.e. it is a good match for your appearance or your personality or whatever. This is a new use of 'work for'. It's sort of a semantic extension to 'the result that I want'

In fact, it seems that nowadays just 'work' can have this meaning. In the movie 'Out of Sight' for example, there is a scene where a character who is robbing someone's house picks up the victim's expensive clothes and starts holding them up in the mirror to see if they 'suit him', muttering 'oh yeah, that's working, that's working." To me, this is just weird; maybe I'm old, or maybe I've been out of the States too long.

The second example is not really a new usage; it's just extending the range of the original meaning. X 'goes with' Y means that x and y are a good match, i.e. they are compatible. This is often used with fashions or colors: "Are you crazy? Red pants don't go with yellow socks." I think that 'The nickname goes with you' is using this meaning, as if a nickname were something you might wear. You could say this is a metaphorical use, but I would never say this either. Red pants and yellow socks, yuck.