to roll around
13
3.2
- phrasal verb
- /roʊl əˈraʊnd/
- Informal
:
llegar
- When spring rolls around, the flowers begin to bloom.
- year rolled around
I'm tired by that time that bedtime rolls around.
- I'm tired by that time that bedtime rolls around.
- Um, by the time senior year rolled around
- And I love having my iced coffee when the summertime rolls around.
- And it seems like when the next flashy object rolls around, it's like, oh, what about the paleo diet, right?
- I love the payoff in the end when the spring rolls around And you, because you know, like bulb planting for us, usually last a day or two.
- The next day rolls around and people witnessed that that slave was hurt, badly injured.
Examples
-
By the time the full moon rolls around, I'll have an army of animals ready.
-
But then the night shoot rolled around and, you know, Ben had the shot list planned.
-
...when this time of year rolls around.
-
Who knows what will happen by the time next Thursday rolls around?
Fiction book (1990) -
And when the State Fair rolls around, then it's really the end!
Blog text (13) -
Until Christmas rolls around it's their way or the highway.
-
When the next election rolls around, find candidates that represent your views and support them.
Blog text (16) -
Most everything will be forgiven once draft time rolls around again, though.
Blog text (8) -
By the time the convention rolled around, the New Moon was waxing full.
Fiction book (1990) -
When October and November roll around, meteor observers know to watch for the Orionid and Leonid showers.
Academic text (2005)
Synonyms
68
5.7
Happen again, often after some time
48
3.3
To come in steadily or in large numbers
35
2.7
To happen again at a usual time, for example every year
3
3.8
Happen again after some time
Surface Forms
Morphology
The temporal meaning is a metaphorical extension of the spatial-motion sense of 'roll' plus the cyclical sense of 'around', so a learner who knows both words can often infer that something 'comes around' or returns. However, the shift from physical motion to periodic arrival is figurative and not fully literal, so the connection is predictable but requires a metaphorical leap that not all B1 learners will make immediately.
Etymology
The phrasal verb roll around comes from the image of a wheel or a calendar that rolls and comes around again. So when a date or event 'arrives' it 'happens again' regularly, which is why we say something 'rolls around' when it comes back.