Talk:work like a charm

work like a charm
SOP: +. The definition isn't terrible either. Redirect to like a charm. Canonicalization (talk) 16:51, 17 December 2019 (UTC)


 * Indeed, Redirect. --Lambiam 21:55, 17 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Does "like a charm" collocate in other ways? I note the OED includes "work like a charm", but not "like a charm". ---&#62; Tooironic (talk) 00:49, 22 December 2019 (UTC)
 * "run/play/fly/drive/start/pivot/operate?/trot/gallop/survive/speak/go off/dispell/allay like a charm" can all be found at Google Books. Some uses of "work like a charm" are more or less literal. "How does the amulet work?" "It works like a charm.". But "work like a charm" seems to represent more than 80% of the total figurative use of "like a charm". DCDuring (talk) 04:43, 22 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Until about 1900 act like a charm was more popular: . (I expect the more literal uses to use the simple present; sentences like “The amulet worked like a charm until last year, when it lost its power” will be exceedingly rare.) --Lambiam 11:15, 22 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Keep. "work like a charm" and "works like a charm" and so on are so much more common than any other use of "like a charm", plus readers are likely to want an explanation of where the phrase came from, which makes more sense in the case of "acts like a charm" becoming "works like a charm" than trying to explain "like a charm" meaning "effectively" (presumably a back-formation?). Maitchy (talk) 21:35, 12 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Redirect -Mike (talk) 21:45, 8 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Keep: suggests this is the predominant use of "like a charm". If not that, at least redirect and don't delete.  finds the phrase in M-W, Oxford Dictionaries (now Lexico), and Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, so much for WT:LEMMING. --Dan Polansky (talk) 13:35, 14 February 2020 (UTC)
 * Preferably keep, otherwise redirect. People search for this sort of thing. Alexis Jazz (talk) 18:18, 5 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Keep (and you'd best believe without the redirect) - Dentonius (my politics | talk) 13:09, 4 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Redirect. —Μετάknowledge discuss/deeds 06:13, 12 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Redirect or delete. Vox Sciurorum (talk) 12:42, 17 December 2020 (UTC)


 * Redirect per the above. "Work" is transparent in its meaning when combined with the rest of the phrase. bd2412 T 08:00, 1 January 2021 (UTC)
 * RFV-resolved: redirected. &mdash; surjection &lang;??&rang; 16:06, 6 February 2021 (UTC)