easy come, easy go

Idioms & Phrases

easy come, easy go

Readily won and readily lost, as in Easy come, easy gothat's how it is for Mark when he plays the stock market. This phrase states a truth known since ancient times and expressed in numerous proverbs with slightly different wording ( lightly come, lightly go; quickly come, ). The adverb easy was substituted in the early 1800s.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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