the ebb and flow

ebb and flow

1. verb To consistently increase and decrease. I wouldn't worry too much about losing money this quarter because we'll earn it back later in the year. That's just how business ebbs and flows.
2. noun A period of consistent increase and decrease. I wouldn't worry too much because we always lose money this quarter and then earn it back later in the year. It's just the natural ebb and flow of business.
See also: and, ebb, flow
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

ebb and flow

to decrease and then increase, as with tides; a decrease followed by an increase, as with tides. The fortunes of the major political parties tend to ebb and flow over time. The ebb and flow of democracy through history is a fascinating subject.
See also: and, ebb, flow
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

ebb and flow

A decline and increase, constant fluctuations. For example, He was fascinated by the ebb and flow of the Church's influence over the centuries. This expression alludes to the inward and outward movement of ocean tides. [Late 1500s]
See also: and, ebb, flow
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

ebb and flow

COMMON The ebb and flow of something is the way that it continuously changes, especially in its amount or level. The advantage to the employer is flexibility to cope with the commercial ebb and flow. The vineyards are tucked into small clearings formed by the natural ebb and flow of the hills and the trees. Note: Ebb and flow is also used as a verb meaning to change continuously, especially in amount or level. During those thirty years the fortunes of the British film industry ebbed and flowed. Note: This expression comes from the idea of the tide ebbing and flowing (= going in and out).
See also: and, ebb, flow
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

ebb and flow

a recurrent or rhythmical pattern of coming and going or decline and regrowth.
This expression makes reference to the regular movement of the tides, where ebb means move away from the land and flow move back towards it.
See also: and, ebb, flow
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

the ˌebb and ˈflow (of somebody/something)

the repeated, often regular, movement from one state to another; the repeated change in level, numbers or amount: the ebb and flow of money/seasons She sat quietly, enjoying the ebb and flow of conversation.
This expression refers to the movement of the sea away from and towards the land.
See also: and, ebb, flow
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • cross over
  • face off
  • face-off
  • answer to
  • bag it
  • bag someone
  • bagged
  • bagging
  • going to
  • break out
References in periodicals archive
'Do not let Anwar be lied to twice by the ebb and flow of politics,'' he said.
Don't let Anwar be foiled a second time, DAP leader tells PD
Flying the flag The Ebb and Flow banner at Arthurlie House, with John West, Joan Oliphant and Gill West, who worked on the project
Proud residents unveil banner of area's history
But I do love Doha's cold weather which ebbs and flows with the ebb and flow of the chilly air.
Cold weather in Doha
As We Go AS we go and we so come, Life to us is on the run, Our numbers get bigger as we live, To us all is the take and give, Life is like a whirlwind, But around it other things are rimmed, So fast that time just ebbs away, With our thoughts and minds to play, Others join in the game, Some can make it very plain, Never being alone, someone always there, Even if, in apprehension, they do stare, We are all different, given from our past, In a formula of time being cast, In theory I am different from you, But with many things in common to do, To be a soul in the ebb and flow, Constant learning there to know, A spirit of life in many a form, In this of its trials to be known, To bloom in knowledge of what is there, With others around our lives to share.
Poets' corner
If the wetlands were functioning properly, bacterial counts would be reduced during ebb tide and that there would be a significant difference between the ebb and flow tide samples, however they were nearly identical.
Determining and profiling the prevelence of antibiotics--resistant bacteria (ARBs) in the waters of the Ballona watershed
The heavens guide us, show us the ebb and flow, along with the patterns and cycles we are likely to encounter.
YOUR STARS FOR 2013
THE ebb and flow of a city's traffic is the driving force behind a new artwork.
Making an art of our traffic jams; New works show city's ebb and flow
GALLERY Savour the win over Boro We have put together a comprehensive picture gallery of City's fine win at the Riverside Stadium GALLERY Follow the ebb and flow of all the cup action The Heineken Cup games involving all the Welsh regions produced a mixed bag of results, we have captured all the drama of the big cup weekend in our photo gallery RUGBY GAME Can you predict all the scores?
CLICK ON
Unmoored from the ebb and flow of the script, jostling one another side by side, the dances that were pure genius on Broadway lose their context and the emotional punch that they carry in the theater.
Riffing on Broadway: shows find new life as choreographers' inspiration
"Presumably, the dynamics can change rather quickly with the ebb and flow of events occurring far from home," he added.
Distant events impacting senior housing borrowing costs
But due to distance and gravitational pulls, and the ebb and flow of the cosmos, and the invention of Tivo, and the multiverse and doppelgangers, and time travel--well--shit gets complicated.
Valient Thorr
But in all these works, a rivulet runs through it, a perpetual bathing and cleansing that signifies baptism and absolution, a gradual immersion in the ebb and flow of time and memory.
Bruce Nauman: Donald Young Gallery
Instead, men of similar political conviction or party increasingly dominated the ebb and flow of discussion, though there were legitimist salons in which the old forms were still respected.
French Salons: High Society and Political Sociability From the Old Regime to the Revolution of 1848
The ebb and flow of certain grades of ferrous scrap is certainly one indicator, especially if one concludes that most material being shredded comes from the obsolete stream.
Obsolete but still wanted
The usual sensibility used in the production of her songs was notably absent: the structure and story line, the ebb and flow of her sound.
The Moments, the Minutes, the Hours: The Poetry of Jill Scott