come useful vs come in useful

Become useful, and come in handy are the only phrases I've heard, among the several you've listed.

Hi,

I've heard both 'become useful' and 'come in handy'. However, 'come in useful' is also used - Ref: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/come%20in%20useful

Regarding 'come useful' and 'come handy', I think people either mistakenly or deli

Like Avangi, I've only heard "become useful" and "come in handy".

I would not consider "come in useful" to be a typically used collocation in American English. However, a search on the BNC indicates British usage.

I would consider both "come useful" and "come handy" to be incorrect.

Thanks,for all of you......cheers

The usual North American idioms are "come in handy" and "turn out to be useful." "Come in useful," a perfectly correct British idiom that expresses the same thing, is immediately comprehensible though slightly off-sounding to many American and Canadian ears, although it has probably become more familiar even there, as it is frequently used by J.K Rowling.