Come and go means to arrive and leave, or to appear for a while and then disappear. About people, it means they arrive and leave freely: Guests can come and go as they like. About pain, fashions or moods, it means something appears for a time and then passes: Fashions come and go.
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people + come and go (as they like/please); pain/trends/fashions + come and go
- Our office has flexible hours, so people come and go as they please.
- Diet trends come and go, but eating more vegetables is always good advice.
- The pain in my shoulder comes and goes, especially after long hours at the computer.
What changed
First versionMy knee pain then appears, then disappears, so the doctor asked me to write down when it hurts.
RevisionMy knee pain comes and goes, so the doctor asked me to write down when it hurts.
Then appears, then disappears tries to describe pain that keeps starting and stopping. But then means after that, so the sentence reads like two steps in a row. For something that appears and passes again and again, English has the ready-made phrase come and go, and it replaced then appears, then disappears.
Pain that comes and goes keeps coming back. If it has stopped completely, say go away: The pain finally went away after a week. The word order in come and go is fixed: people don't say go and come.
Your turn
Many managers thought remote work was a fashion that would ___, but it has become a normal part of working life.
Show the answer
come and go — The managers expected remote work to be a passing fashion, but things turned out differently, as but shows. A fashion that appears and then passes is one that will come and go. With stay there would be no contrast, because the expectation would match what actually happened.
Describe something in your life or work that appears and disappears from time to time: a habit, an interest or a problem. Name it and say how you feel about it.
My motivation to run in the mornings comes and goes, so I don't worry when I miss a few days.
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