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come and go

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come and go

To occur, exist, enter, or appear and then subside or disappear quickly and/or suddenly. Ill effects of the medication come and go, but they're still better than the disease it's treating. I'm tired of you coming and going as you please, so either stay here or stay out!

See also: and, come

come and go

1. Arrive and depart, either briefly or repeatedly; go to and fro. Shakespeare had it in The Merry Wives of Windsor (2:2): "He may come and go between you both." [Late 1300s]

2. Alternately appear and disappear, as in This rash is odd; it comes and goes. [Mid-1300s] Also see coming or going; easy come, easy go.

See also: and, come