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Glite Dictionary
to come up with the goods

to come up with the goods

1 3.7
To do what is expected and give the results needed
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : cumplir con lo prometido
  • The team worked hard, and they finally came up with the goods to meet the deadline.

All these and they never came up with the goods.

Examples

  • 'They gave him a month to come up with the goods.

    Rise of the Footsoldier (2007)

  • "I just didn't come up with the goods tonight."

    Blog text (16)

  • I'm going to give a gold coin to the writer who comes up with the best bit for the Emmy Awards.

  • If you can come up with the goods, I don't care if you're female, Canadian, or Martian.

    Blog text (11)

  • It was very awkward, like all relationships at the beginning, because they wanted one thing from me, and I wasn't coming up with the goods, I felt.

    Pink Floyd: The Story of Wish You Were Here (2012)

  • Oldham are seriously lucky that they have a player of Derbyshire's ability to score goals; three games into his spell with Latics, he has already come up with the goods twice.

    Blog text (13)

  • He promised to deliver results, and he really came up with the goods on the project.

  • During the game, she came up with the goods and scored the winning goal.

Synonyms

to fulfill
vsto come up with the goods
  • US
265 2.8

To do what is required or promised

emphasizes producing actual results rather than only meeting requirements
to get it done
vsto come up with the goods
134 2.8

To finish a task you need to do

is about delivering on expectations or promises rather than merely finishing jobs
to get the job done
vsto come up with the goods
94 2.4

To finish a task well and quickly

focuses on meeting expectations or promises rather than just efficiency
to make good
vsto come up with the goods
70 3.9

To keep a promise

focuses more on delivering results rather than only meeting obligations
to come through with
vsto come up with the goods
  • Informal
12 3.8

To give what was promised or expected

is about producing the needed result rather than only providing an item
to come up to
vsto come up with the goods
8 3.7

To reach the level needed

focuses on producing actual results or keeping promises, not only meeting levels
to deliver the goods
vsto come up with the goods
  • Informal
4 3.9

To do what was promised and get the expected result

is used for the same idea without a practical difference
to deliver results
vsto come up with the goods
  • Jargon
3 3.7

Achieve the needed goal at work or in projects

is used more generally, covering any promise or required outcome

Antonyms

to fail
898 1.0

Not succeed in doing something you wanted to do

to disappoint
492 1.0

Fail to do what someone hoped for

How Successful

to excel
58 3.7
to outperform
30 4.8
to come up with the goods
  • Informal
1 3.7
to succeed
846 2.0
to manage
∞ 3.2

Surface Forms

come up with the goods infinitive
came up with the goods past
come up with the goods past participle
coming up with the goods present participle
comes up with the goods third person singular

Morphology

come + up + with + the + good

The verb phrase 'come up with' already conveys producing or supplying something, and 'the goods' literally refers to products, so a learner who knows the constituents can often infer a meaning like 'produce or supply what is needed.' However, the idiomatic sense 'deliver results / do what is expected' is a metaphorical extension of the literal words and may not be fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Come up with the goods probably comes from the image of a person who promised to bring important goods and then actually comes up with them, so it means 'to do what is expected' or 'to deliver results'.