"fine by me" vs. "fine with me"

[Torsten]

Hi, what is the difference between "fine by me" and "fine with me"? The latter seems to be more popular but other than that they have the same meaning, don't they?
Hope my question is fine by you.

Regards,
Torsten
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Yankee]

Hi Torsten

Saying "That's fine by me" sounds more informal to me, but otherwise I'd say the meanings are exactly the same.

Amy

[Alan]

Hi Torsten,

Fine by me sounds to me the more acceptable. Fine with me has more the sense of agreeing to a settlement as in sharing the cost of a joint venture or paying an equal share of the cost of a meal among a group of people.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Conditionals

[Mister Micawber]

.
Interesting. I use both frequently and (as per Yankee's comment) I use by when I am being slightly more offhand. (I do share meal costs from time to time, but I seldom engage in joint ventures!)
.
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Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
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