come by
phr. v..phr. v.. to find or get something that is hard to find or rare.
phr. v.. to obtain or acquire something, especially when the item is scarce or the process requires effort or chance.
Good jobs are hard to come by these days.
How did you come by such a rare first edition of that book?
In a market saturated with cheap imitations, authentic handcrafted furniture is increasingly difficult to come by for the average consumer.
usually used in the passive-like 'hard to come by' or as a transitive verb meaning 'to obtain'.
focus on the 'rarity' aspect; we don't 'come by' milk at the supermarket, but we might 'come by' a vintage watch at a flea market.
Where did you come by to that money?Where did you come by that money?the verb is transitive and takes a direct object without the preposition 'to'.