A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

come and go • coming and going
come and go —
1
. arrivals and departures: It was a perpetual
come and go in this particular studio between four and six in
the afternoon. 2. (attrib.) imprecise or variable: There’s a scene
where they talk about the come and go nature of their jobs
and lives that’s emotionally vibrant.
coming and going —(also: comings and goings) 
1
. = come and
go 
1
: That little boy was … inured to the coming and going of
“nannies.” 2. busy activities: With all the coming and going,
things are always changing, nothing and nobody stays the same.
come apart • go apart
come apart—
1
. fall into pieces; disintegrate: I swear I didn’t
drop the plate: it just came apart in my hands! 2. become de-
tached from smth.: All pages are intact, except for the outside
cover which has come apart from the binding. 3. separate; di-
verge: Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams record “Kids” to-
gether. After that their roads come apart again. 4. (of a plan,
scheme, etc.) prove deficient: When we were sitting at the mar-
ble-topped table my plans began to come apart.
go apart—
1
. = come apart 2: Middleton Hall has now gone
apart from the servant’s block, while other buildings and yards
survive. 2. = come apart 3: In the 
1
6th century the forms pike
and peak appear to have gone apart in sense, pike being
confined more to a sharp piercing.
come around • go around
come around —(also: come round) 
1
. pay a (short) visit: Well,
come around and see us once in a while when you get lone-
some. 2. take place; happen regularly: These questions come
around quite often; I get numerous mails on a regular basis
from people. 3. regain consciousness: I must have blacked out
again because when I came around this time, I found myself
outside. 4. agree to smth. in the end: Having a mind of her
own made Nina a challenge to live with … but she finally
came around to see my point of view.
go around—(also: go round) 
1
. be publicly noticed doing smth.:
You can’t go around saying nasty things like that about him
in public. 2. (of news, rumors, etc.) be passed on from person
to person: There was a weird story going around that James
had been virtually forced out of the house. 3. (of food, etc.) be
distributed to everybody: If there is not enough to go around
let the dictum “children first” be the guiding principle.