sole use by the following people or of the following people?

[Melas]

Which is correct or "more" correct? Thanks

This refrigerator is for the sole use by the following people.

or

This refrigerator is for the sole use of the following people.

[Mister Micawber]

.
Ms Google says:

856 English pages for "the sole use by"
715,000 English pages for "the sole use of".
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber

[Melas]

how did you get that info? that's pretty cool . . . guess that answers my question eh? thanks!

[Mister Micawber]

.
Just type the desired word or phrase into the 'With the exact phrase' box HERE.
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber

[Lost_Soul]

Hi, Mister Micawber (and all native English speakers)

So, there is no rule that governs this situation? It is arbitrary what to choose and how to say?

PS, BTW, to carry out a search by exact phrase, it is sufficient that you just put your phrase in brackets (like this: "the exact phrase")

[Prezbucky]

OF
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Prezbucky]

This should be used BY Tom.

This is for the sole use OF Tom.
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Torsten]

I think both phrases are strange somehow. "Sole use of Tom" to me means that Tom is being used for whatever purpose and by whom over. Why not just write "Only the following people are allowed to use this fridge: Tom, Lost_Soul, Charles and maybe TD".
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Mister Micawber]

.
This fixed phrase, Torsten, commonly appears in general public notices-- I think that that is the reason it sounds a bit odd with individual names. The complete phrase, 'for the sole use of' when googled, gets 581,000 English pages-- almost as many as for the partial phrase I googled earlier. Some samples:

-- This report and software are for the sole use of CCG members
-- UMBI computer resources are intended for the sole use of Institute faculty, staff, students and other authorized users ("users")
-- such reservation shall be held in the Treasury of the United States for the sole use of the tribe or tribes Indians

So you can see that it is 'Poster & Public Notice English' (if there is such a term).

Incidentally, there is another common fixed phrase with identical structure and similarly appearing in officialese notices: 'for the sole purpose of'--

974,000 English pages for "for the sole purpose of".

-- A great empire has been established for the sole purpose of raising up a nation of customers
-- A Party shall not, for the sole purpose of the protection of privacy, prohibit or subject to special authorisation transborder flows of personal data
-- THIS DRAFT FOR ROYALTY-FREE, INTERNAL USE LICENSE IS PROVIDED HEREIN FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF INFORMATION ONLY.
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber