to come knocking
22
5.2
- phrasal verb
:
llamar a la puerta
- The unknown doesn't just come knocking on your door.
- come knocking on your door
- police came knocking
- love comes knocking
And that's when Outlander came knocking.
- And that's when Outlander came knocking.
- And when did the police come knocking at your door for that murder?
- You see it when it comes knocking at your door, you say yeah to it.
- And when I say should be living the life that is truly best for them, the life that will come knocking at your door at some point.
- So the NFL didn't come knocking at my door.
- So I'm, I'm almost just, I'm, I'm accustomed to it now for the trouble, the trouble that you just can't seem to avoid that they seem to come knocking on your doorstep.
- That and that, Yeah, how people go soft, pretend that the the big I am, but then the coppers come knocking.
- Those who fell into this class did so at the point of a spear, having neither been assimilated nor exterminated when the oppressors came knocking.
- They're they're, they're doing the questioning and asking these strategic questions to themselves before crisis comes knocking on the door.
- And lo and behold, I had a friend of a friend of a friend come knocking on the door saying, Hey, we have a baby we want for adoption.
- And you probably need an investment bank, you know, that's going to assist you and speak to speak of the people that are come knocking because it's a different world, right?
- So when somebody comes knock, knock, knocking, she is able to say no, you cannot come in.
Examples
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If anybody comes knocking for Barry, tell them you used to know him...
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When she found herself struggling with the project, help came knocking at her door unexpectedly.
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You see it when it comes knocking at your door, you say yeah to it.
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Until that no one comes knocking on our door to take her away.
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No one is going to come knocking at your door with all the answers.
Blog text (5) -
And about a year and some change later, the FBI came knocking at his door.
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They're gonna come knocking at my door!
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Opportunities like this, they don't come knocking often.
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So the NFL didn't come knocking at my door.
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Faircloth says when opportunity came knocking for him, a thunderstorm roared outside, and he was watching television.
Blog text (29)
Synonyms
825
1.0
To hit a surface to make a short sound to get attention
183
3.0
To appear or arrive when you do not expect it
177
2.0
To appear after being lost or when not expected
73
1.0
To hit a door with your hand to get people inside to notice
14
6.3
To arrive without warning and often bring good or bad results
To appear as a good chance for you
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to appear or present oneself seeking attention or help' is directly built from 'come' (to arrive) plus 'knock' (to signal at a door): together they literally evoke someone arriving and knocking for attention. The figurative extension to requesting help or opportunity is a predictable, cross-linguistic pragmatic use of knocking as signalling, so a B1 learner who knows both words would likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Come knocking comes from the simple image of someone at your door, with come meaning 'to arrive' and knocking meaning 'to knock on the door to get attention'. So when opportunity or trouble 'comes knocking' it appears and asks for your attention or help, meaning 'to appear or ask for attention'.