off and on

[off and on] also [on and off] {adv.}

Not regularly; occasionally; sometimes.

* /Joan wrote to a pen pal in England off and on for several years./

* /It rained off and on all day./

- Sometimes used with hyphens like an adjective.

* /A worn-out cord may make a hearing aid work in an off-and-on way./

Compare: BY FITS AND STARTS, FROM TIME TO TIME, NOW AND THEN.

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Source: A Dictionary of American Idioms


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