To come to the scratch

Come Come, v. i. [imp. {Came}; p. p. {Come}; p. pr & vb. n. {Coming}.] [OE. cumen, comen, AS. cuman; akin to OS.kuman, D. komen, OHG. queman, G. kommen, Icel. koma, Sw. komma, Dan. komme, Goth. giman, L. venire (gvenire), Gr. ? to go, Skr. gam. [root]23. Cf. {Base}, n., {Convene}, {Adventure}.] 1. To move hitherward; to draw near; to approach the speaker, or some place or person indicated; -- opposed to go. [1913 Webster]

Look, who comes yonder? --Shak. [1913 Webster]

I did not come to curse thee. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]

2. To complete a movement toward a place; to arrive. [1913 Webster]

When we came to Rome. --Acts xxviii. 16. [1913 Webster]

Lately come from Italy. --Acts xviii. 2. [1913 Webster]

3. To approach or arrive, as if by a journey or from a distance. ``Thy kingdom come.'' --Matt. vi. 10. [1913 Webster]

The hour is coming, and now is. --John. v. 25. [1913 Webster]

So quick bright things come to confusion. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

4. To approach or arrive, as the result of a cause, or of the act of another. [1913 Webster]

From whence come wars? --James iv. 1. [1913 Webster]

Both riches and honor come of thee ! --1 Chron. xxix. 12. [1913 Webster]

5. To arrive in sight; to be manifest; to appear. [1913 Webster]

Then butter does refuse to come. --Hudibras. [1913 Webster]

6. To get to be, as the result of change or progress; -- with a predicate; as, to come untied. [1913 Webster]

How come you thus estranged? --Shak. [1913 Webster]

How come her eyes so bright? --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Note: Am come, is come, etc., are frequently used instead of have come, has come, etc., esp. in poetry. The verb to be gives a clearer adjectival significance to the participle as expressing a state or condition of the subject, while the auxiliary have expresses simply the completion of the action signified by the verb. [1913 Webster]

Think not that I am come to destroy. --Matt. v. 17. [1913 Webster]

We are come off like Romans. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year. --Bryant. [1913 Webster]

Note: Come may properly be used (instead of go) in speaking of a movement hence, or away, when there is reference to an approach to the person addressed; as, I shall come home next week; he will come to your house to-day. It is used with other verbs almost as an auxiliary, indicative of approach to the action or state expressed by the verb; as, how came you to do it? Come is used colloquially, with reference to a definite future time approaching, without an auxiliary; as, it will be two years, come next Christmas; i. e., when Christmas shall come. [1913 Webster]

They were cried In meeting, come next Sunday. --Lowell. Come, in the imperative, is used to excite attention, or to invite to motion or joint action; come, let us go. ``This is the heir; come, let us kill him.'' --Matt. xxi. 38. When repeated, it sometimes expresses haste, or impatience, and sometimes rebuke. ``Come, come, no time for lamentation now.'' --Milton. [1913 Webster]

{To come}, yet to arrive, future. ``In times to come.'' --Dryden. ``There's pippins and cheese to come.'' --Shak.

{To come about}. (a) To come to pass; to arrive; to happen; to result; as, how did these things come about? (b) To change; to come round; as, the ship comes about. ``The wind is come about.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]

On better thoughts, and my urged reasons, They are come about, and won to the true side. --B. Jonson.

{To come abroad}. (a) To move or be away from one's home or country. ``Am come abroad to see the world.'' --Shak. (b) To become public or known. [Obs.] ``Neither was anything kept secret, but that it should come abroad.'' --Mark. iv. 22.

{To come across}, to meet; to find, esp. by chance or suddenly. ``We come across more than one incidental mention of those wars.'' --E. A. Freeman. ``Wagner's was certainly one of the strongest and most independent natures I ever came across.'' --H. R. Haweis.

{To come after}. (a) To follow. (b) To come to take or to obtain; as, to come after a book.

{To come again}, to return. ``His spirit came again and he revived.'' --Judges. xv. 19. -

{To come and go}. (a) To appear and disappear; to change; to alternate. ``The color of the king doth come and go.'' --Shak. (b) (Mech.) To play backward and forward.

{To come at}. (a) To reach; to arrive within reach of; to gain; as, to come at a true knowledge of ourselves. (b) To come toward; to attack; as, he came at me with fury.

{To come away}, to part or depart.

{To come between}, to intervene; to separate; hence, to cause estrangement.

{To come by}. (a) To obtain, gain, acquire. ``Examine how you came by all your state.'' --Dryden. (b) To pass near or by way of.

{To come down}. (a) To descend. (b) To be humbled.

{To come down upon}, to call to account, to reprimand. [Colloq.] --Dickens.

{To come home}. (a) To return to one's house or family. (b) To come close; to press closely; to touch the feelings, interest, or reason. (c) (Naut.) To be loosened from the ground; -- said of an anchor.

{To come in}. (a) To enter, as a town, house, etc. ``The thief cometh in.'' --Hos. vii. 1. (b) To arrive; as, when my ship comes in. (c) To assume official station or duties; as, when Lincoln came in. (d) To comply; to yield; to surrender. ``We need not fear his coming in'' --Massinger. (e) To be brought into use. ``Silken garments did not come in till late.'' --Arbuthnot. (f) To be added or inserted; to be or become a part of. (g) To accrue as gain from any business or investment. (h) To mature and yield a harvest; as, the crops come in well. (i) To have sexual intercourse; -- with to or unto. --Gen. xxxviii. 16. (j) To have young; to bring forth; as, the cow will come in next May. [U. S.]

{To come in for}, to claim or receive. ``The rest came in for subsidies.'' --Swift.

{To come into}, to join with; to take part in; to agree to; to comply with; as, to come into a party or scheme.

{To come it over}, to hoodwink; to get the advantage of. [Colloq.]

{To come near} or {To come nigh}, to approach in place or quality; to be equal to. ``Nothing ancient or modern seems to come near it.'' --Sir W. Temple.

{To come of}. (a) To descend or spring from. ``Of Priam's royal race my mother came.'' --Dryden. (b) To result or follow from. ``This comes of judging by the eye.'' --L'Estrange.

{To come off}. (a) To depart or pass off from. (b) To get free; to get away; to escape. (c) To be carried through; to pass off; as, it came off well. (d) To acquit one's self; to issue from (a contest, etc.); as, he came off with honor; hence, substantively, a come-off, an escape; an excuse; an evasion. [Colloq.] (e) To pay over; to give. [Obs.] (f) To take place; to happen; as, when does the race come off? (g) To be or become after some delay; as, the weather came off very fine. (h) To slip off or be taken off, as a garment; to separate. (i) To hurry away; to get through. --Chaucer.

{To come off by}, to suffer. [Obs.] ``To come off by the worst.'' --Calamy.

{To come off from}, to leave. ``To come off from these grave disquisitions.'' --Felton.

{To come on}. (a) To advance; to make progress; to thrive. (b) To move forward; to approach; to supervene.

{To come out}. (a) To pass out or depart, as from a country, room, company, etc. ``They shall come out with great substance.'' --Gen. xv. 14. (b) To become public; to appear; to be published. ``It is indeed come out at last.'' --Bp. Stillingfleet. (c) To end; to result; to turn out; as, how will this affair come out? he has come out well at last. (d) To be introduced into society; as, she came out two seasons ago. (e) To appear; to show itself; as, the sun came out. (f) To take sides; to announce a position publicly; as, he came out against the tariff. (g) To publicly admit oneself to be homosexual.

{To come out with}, to give publicity to; to disclose.

{To come over}. (a) To pass from one side or place to another. ``Perpetually teasing their friends to come over to them.'' --Addison. (b) To rise and pass over, in distillation.

{To come over to}, to join.

{To come round}. (a) To recur in regular course. (b) To recover. [Colloq.] (c) To change, as the wind. (d) To relent. --J. H. Newman. (e) To circumvent; to wheedle. [Colloq.]

{To come short}, to be deficient; to fail of attaining. ``All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.'' --Rom. iii. 23.

{To come to}. (a) To consent or yield. --Swift. (b) (Naut.) (with the accent on to) To luff; to bring the ship's head nearer the wind; to anchor. (c) (with the accent on to) To recover, as from a swoon. (d) To arrive at; to reach. (e) To amount to; as, the taxes come to a large sum. (f) To fall to; to be received by, as an inheritance. --Shak.

{To come to blows}. See under {Blow}.

{To come to grief}. See under {Grief}.

{To come to a head}. (a) To suppurate, as a boil. (b) To mature; to culminate; as a plot.

{To come to one's self}, to recover one's senses.

{To come to pass}, to happen; to fall out.

{To come to the scratch}. (a) (Prize Fighting) To step up to the scratch or mark made in the ring to be toed by the combatants in beginning a contest; hence: (b) To meet an antagonist or a difficulty bravely. [Colloq.]

{To come to time}. (a) (Prize Fighting) To come forward in order to resume the contest when the interval allowed for rest is over and ``time'' is called; hence: (b) To keep an appointment; to meet expectations. [Colloq.]

{To come together}. (a) To meet for business, worship, etc.; to assemble. --Acts i. 6. (b) To live together as man and wife. --Matt. i. 18.

{To come true}, to happen as predicted or expected.

{To come under}, to belong to, as an individual to a class.

{To come up} (a) to ascend; to rise. (b) To be brought up; to arise, as a question. (c) To spring; to shoot or rise above the earth, as a plant. (d) To come into use, as a fashion.

{To come up the capstan} (Naut.), to turn it the contrary way, so as to slacken the rope about it.

{To come up the tackle fall} (Naut.), to slacken the tackle gently. --Totten.

{To come up to}, to rise to; to equal.

{To come up with}, to overtake or reach by pursuit.

{To come upon}. (a) To befall. (b) To attack or invade. (c) To have a claim upon; to become dependent upon for support; as, to come upon the town. (d) To light or chance upon; to find; as, to come upon hid treasure. [1913 Webster]