Worked a treat?

Reader question:

Please explain this headline: “Dating app worked a treat for Claire and Jamie.” Worked a treat?

My comments:

Sounds odd, doesn’t it?

Here, “treat” serves the verb “worked” as advert. That’s what is odd about it.

Otherwise, everything’s fine.

First, paraphrase:

Dating apps might not be what lead most couples to meet and mate and, eventually, to marry, but in the case of Claire and Jamie, that’s exactly how it worked.

It worked wonderfully for them, which is unusual. It is something that does not often happen.

They got to know each other via a dating app and are now happily married. And the way it worked is, like, a treat, a real treat.

As noun, “treat” is easy to understand, right?

Yes, of course. A treat is something good, special and reserved for special occasions.

Old timers like yours truly used to get, as children, new clothes during the Chinese New Year and those things were always a treat, something we didn’t get any other time of the year.

We were very poor, as you can imagine, back in the day.

Nowadays, you ask for things like new clothes and your parents buy them for you any day of the week. Therefore, getting new clothes no longer feels like a treat.

Likewise, going to the cinema back in the day felt like a treat. Today, it no longer does.

Well, for better or worse.

Anyways, back to our example, dating apps may not be the best route to take for most people to get married, but for Claire and Jamie, it worked.

In fact, it worked a treat.

Dating apps may not fit everyone, but it fitted this pair perfectly. Like a pair of T-shirts that fits them to a T, so to speak, the dating app they used fitted them perfectly that time.

It fitted a treat.

Fitted a treat?

Yes, like “worked a treat”, “fitted a treat” is also acceptable English, even though both expressions may sound odd.

But odd is English, isn’t it?

Let’s face it: All languages are odd to the foreign ear. English is odd-sounding to the Chinese, for example, as much as it is the other way around.

So, what we can – and should – do is follow the lead of native speakers and say what they say without questioning them too much.

In other words, when in Rome, just do as the Romans do.

All right?

Here are media examples of things that work a treat for various people in different situations:

1. Liverpool have been warned about the “worrying thing” about Darwin Nunez after Mohamed Salah returned to his best against Man City over the weekend.

The Reds put in their best performance of the season against Man City at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

Jurgen Klopp’s side defended valiantly as they got the better of Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and co.

Salah was also in inspired form and he scored what proved to be the winning goal towards the end of the second half.

Before this win, Paul Merson claimed that Jurgen Klopp “didn’t foresee” Nunez’s arrival being an issue for Salah.

Nunez started the game against Man City on the bench but he came on for the final stretch. He could have played in Salah to score Liverpool’s second but he went alone and shot wide.

In the aftermath, Gary Neville suggested that Nunez is still “raw” and Merson noticed a “worrying thing” about his performance.

“Liverpool seem to be back at their best. They worked their socks off against Manchester City, and that game would’ve taken a lot out of them,” Merson told Sportskeeda.

“This is going to be a hard match. If they win, they’ve secured back-to-back victories and are back in the top-four race.

“I did tell you that Mohamed Salah was going to be a better player with Firmino in the team, didn’t I? How many runs did make from the outside to the inside yesterday? It worked a treat.

“Look at Virgil van Dijk yesterday – he’s back to being an absolute Rolls Royce. He was up against the best centre-forward in the world yesterday and was outstanding at the highest level.

“When Darwin Nunez came on, the worrying thing was that he didn’t pass the ball to Salah. It’s even more worrying that he didn’t even spot Salah’s run.

“They might play Carvalho or Harvey Elliott further up the pitch this week. With West Ham’s injuries at the back, this might be a good time to help Nunez with his game. With him on the pitch, however, you won’t get the best out of Salah.”

- Liverpool warned over ‘worrying thing’ about Nunez after Klopp change ‘worked a treat’ vs Man City, Football365.com, October 18, 2022.

2. A doctor has revealed a simple hack that can help you get rid of your migraine headache with “no side effects.”

Millions of people suffer from migraines without relief but one woman on TikTok claimed to have found a solution for her recurring pain.

Dr. Kunal Sood, a board-certified acute and chronic pain doctor from Maryland, reacted to a TikTok video of a woman claiming that soaking your feet in hot water can ease migraine pain.

In the video, she said that she has suffered from migraines “forever” and has found relief from this simple but strange hack.

The doctor confirmed that this easy trick can work.

The medical expert said that soaking your feet in hot water can help relieve you of aches without any of the side effects that medications may leave you with.

Sood explained that hot water helps to dilate the blood vessels in your feet, which pulls the blood from your head down to your feet. When the blood is pulled to your feet, it will ease the pressure in your head.

The clip went viral with 3.1 million views as people flooded the comments claiming that the trick worked for them.

“Migraine gone in about 10-15 minutes with no gross feeling after,” one TikToker commented.

“I did this last week. Soaked my feet for 10 minutes in hot water and it worked a treat. I had a mild headache for about four hours after,” another said.

- Doctor confirms simple hack that can get rid of headaches: ‘Worked a treat’, NYPost.com, September 12, 2023.

3. Great Britain will be present at the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals thanks to a 2-1 triumph over the Netherlands in their final Group F qualifier in The Hague.

After both nations got the better of already-eliminated Germany, Saturday's best-of-three was a winner-takes-all affair, one that began in perfect fashion for GB as Sonay Kartal bested Eva Vedder.

However, Katie Boulter’s straights-sets loss to Suzan Lamens forced a critical doubles decider, where Boulter and Lamens found themselves on opposite sides of the court again, this time alongside Jodie Burrage and Demi Schuurs.

Boulter quickly atoned for her singles loss as her and Burrage demolished the Dutch pair, thus sending Anne Keothavong’s squad to September’s eight-team Finals in China.

The build-up to April’s qualifiers was dominated by a familiar story – Emma Raducanu withdrawing from GB duty to “look after her body” – but Keothavong’s contingent defied the absence of the former US Open champion over the course of two days in the Netherlands.

Rising star Kartal followed up her statement win over Germany’s Jule Niemeier with a more hard-fought success this time around, having to fight back from a second-set blip to prevail 6-4 4-6 6-1 against Vedder.

The world number 60 was ruthless when required in the third and final set, taking the only two break points she fashioned and holding to love while serving for the match to put GB 1-0 to the good.

Kartal’s success gave Boulter the chance to confirm GB’s progression against Lamens, a player ranked 30 places lower than her, but the British number one fell to a 4-6 3-6 loss on the clay.

After losing the first set, Boulter was on track to force a decider as she moved 3-1 up in the second, but the world number 40 capitulated as a resurgent Lamens won five games in a row to level the tie for the Dutch.

However, Boulter was given an immediate shot at redemption as she and Burrage clashed with Lamens and Schuurs, rather than the expected pairing of Olivia Nicholls and Harriet Dart.

Keothavong’s last-minute change worked a treat, as the GB pair thrashed Lamens and Schuurs 6-2 6-2, firing 26 winners throughout the contest and sealing the win on a Burrage ace, which was initially called out before an overrule from the chair umpire.

- Katie Boulter, Jodie Burrage send GB to Billie Jean King Cup Finals as late change works a treat, SportsMole.co.uk, April 12, 2025.

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：张欣）