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Explain me some expressions, about relationships, please:

  • fancy someone;
  • go out together;
  • ask someone out;
  • fix someone up.

It's all about first contact, but can I substitute one for the other, without changing the meaning?

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Each of these phrases is distinct from the others, so you cannot substitute one for any of the others.

  • to fancy someone is to be attracted to someone
  • to go out together is to go on a date with someone or can also be used to mean to be in a relationship with someone
  • to ask someone out is to ask someone on a date or can also be used to ask someone to start a relationship
  • to fix someone up is to matchmake

You can use all four in one scenario:

Jack told me he fancied Jane, and Jane was an old friend of mine, so I decided to fix them up with one another. Jack ended up asking her out last Friday, and they went out together on Saturday.

"Fancy" is not typically used in American English in this context (as a verb), but if I recall correctly, its use is not uncommon in British English.

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    Very much a British English phrase, so you'll run into it in the UK and her former colonies.
    – Damien H
    Oct 14, 2014 at 5:06
  • @DamienH: usually, when something is "very much" or "typically" a British English phrase, it means you will not run into it very much in the former colonies (it usually means that such a phrase is, for instance, not standard American English). If it is used in Britain and (most) former colonies, it is usually considered Standard English.
    – oerkelens
    Oct 14, 2014 at 9:15
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    In fact Jack and Jane have been going out ever since.
    – nekomatic
    Oct 14, 2014 at 13:05

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