every now and then
137
2.0
- idiom
:
de vez en cuando
- I mean, you know, I go to church every now and then.
I watch it every now and then, right.
- I watch it every now and then, right.
- And every now and then you jump into a speed build.
- I'm sure every now and then there's going to be some butt head.
- So every now and then you fill all the slots like this.
- And so every now and then she'd get one cooking, and then she'd lose it.
- Or worse, you run plays in your business that work every now and then.
- I was like, let's drink every now and then, but I was drinking a lot then.
- But it is true that every now and then someone will come in and they'll talk the whole time.
Examples
-
I treat myself to a nice meal at my favorite restaurant every now and then.
-
Every now and then, an occasional long shot pays off.
-
I watch it every now and then, right.
-
And it's nice to every now and then just say thank you.
-
And every now and then you jump into a speed build.
-
You might wanna clean the water every now and then.
-
You think you too good to spend a little time with your family every now and then?
-
Reality is every now and then we're going to have accidents.
-
Even thieves need to get lucky every now and then.
-
Every now and then I feel his presence.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
On some occasions but not always
451
1.0
Happens sometimes but not often
438
2.0
Happens sometimes but not often
427
1.6
Sometimes, but not very often
285
1.0
Happens sometimes but not very often
267
1.4
Happens sometimes but not regularly
79
1.7
It happens sometimes but not very often
73
2.0
Happens sometimes but not regularly
54
2.3
Happens sometimes but not very often
41
2.4
Happens sometimes, but not very often
30
2.5
Happens sometimes but not regularly
15
6.0
In a way that stops and starts at irregular times
13
6.5
Happening only sometimes and not regularly
Antonyms
How Often
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'occasionally' is directly derivable from the temporal constituents: 'now' + 'then' (points in time) combined with 'every' (repeated occurrence) yields the sense of repeated but infrequent intervals. This simple compositional temporal logic is common cross-linguistically and follows standard English adverbial patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the words should understand it.
Etymology
Every now and then comes from putting together the words now and then, which point to different times. The picture is of something happening at one time and then again later, so it means 'from time to time' or 'occasionally'.