come and go

present singular third person comes and goes · participle present coming and going · past came and went · participle past come and gone

1. To alternately enter and exit, arrive and depart (either physically or figuratively).

   He comes and goes as he pleases.

   2 more examples

   Shepard: This isn't a station; it's a city. Kaidan: There must be millions here. It can't be possible to track everyone coming and going.

   2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel

   Moorgate itself was another story. Here, the area was humming with activity. The entire street had been cordoned off. Fire engines, police vehicles, and ambulances were coming and going, and emergency personnel were hurrying around.

   2025 February 19, Mike Lewis, “Tragedy at Moorgate”, in RAIL, number 1029, page 57, about the Moorgate tube crash

2. idiomaticTo repeatedly appear and disappear; to be transient.

   My headaches come and go, but the pain in my neck is constant.

   4 more examples

   So many people have come and gone Their faces fade as the years go by

   1976 August 25, Tom Scholz, “More Than a Feeling”, in Boston, performed by Boston

   Opportunities came and went as Kuyt's deflected shot from an angle cannoned back off the woodwork and Carroll twice fired over after right-wing crosses from Kuyt and Johnson picked him out.

   2012 April 22, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0-1 West Brom”, in BBC Sport

   He had discussed joining Atlanta United in MLS and following his retirement, there was an outside chance that Hugo Lloris’ current injury at Tottenham Hotspur would create an opening there. Other offers came and went, but it was YouTubing and podcasting that filled [Ben] Foster’s time, not football, albeit with the door to a comeback left slightly ajar.

   2023 March 24, Adam Leventhal, “Ben Foster’s move to Wrexham: How a business and football deal was done”, in The Athletic

   Another chance came and went as Ryan Christie’s direct running allowed him to advance right to the edge of the Spanish box before toe-poking just wide, but as the half wore on, the Scottish midfield were more often than not playing the part of destroyers.

   2023 March 28, Graeme McGarry, “Scott McTominay earns place in history as Scotland stun Spain”, in The Herald

3. to elapse, pass by; to occur

   THIRTY years have come and gone, / Melting away like Southern Snows, / Since, in the light of a summer's night, / I went to the garden to seek my Rose.

   1875, Horatio Alger, Jr, “Rose in the Garden”, in Ballads

   1 more example

   An eighth European final came and went for Benfica, leaving one of the world's most storied clubs still without a continental title since their twin European Cup triumphs in 1961 and 1962.

   2014 May 14, Mark Lomas, “Three Things: Sevilla vs. Benfica”, in ESPN