come in handy

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Be useful or convenient, as in This check will really come in handy. [Mid-1800s] Also see come in, def. 4.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

Words nearby come in handy

Meanwhile, in Florida, Bush was flooded with questions about whether gay marriage could possibly come to the Sunshine State.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
These generally come from the outside, from cultural pressures and messages.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But there is an underlying feeling that the worst is yet to come.
Europe’s Islam Haters Say We Told You So|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
My agent at the time sent that tape to SNL and then they asked me to come in for an audition.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

And suddenly, we were able to come up with all these scenes for it.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In their shelter, Brion and Ulv crouched low and wondered why the attack didn't come.
Sense of Obligation|Henry Maxwell Dempsey (AKA Harry Harrison)
Babylas raised his pale face; he knew what was coming; it had come so many times before.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
He reached forward and took her hands, and if Mrs. Vivian had come in she would have seen him kneeling at her daughter's feet.
Confidence|Henry James
Vicars' wives had come and gone, but all had submitted, some after a brief struggle, to old Mrs. Wurzel's sway.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
This wasn't at all what he meant to say, and it sounded very ridiculous; but somehow the words wouldn't come straight.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl