crop up

[Esredux]

What's the connotation of 'crop up'?

Judging by COCA it collocates with problems, obstacles, gimmick, etc.
On the other hand, Cambridge dictionary give as an example:
Her name keeps cropping up in conversation.
Does it mean that the conversation wasn't in her favour?

What about the following:
He was in black despair when the news of a £ 100 Christmas bonus cropped up.
New people crop up in the company every now and then
Let me know if it crops up again

Also, would 'crop up' sound naturally in speech or is it typical of written English only?

Thanks in advance.

 

[emsr2d2]

What's the connotation of 'crop up'?

Judging by COCA it collocates with problems, obstacles, gimmick, etc.
On the other hand, Cambridge dictionary give as an example:
Her name keeps cropping up in conversation.
Does it mean that the conversation wasn't in her favour?

What about the following:
He was in black despair when the news of a £ 100 Christmas bonus cropped up.
New people crop up in the company every now and then
Let me know if it crops up again

Also, would 'crop up' sound naturally in speech or is it typical of written English only?

Thanks in advance.

In BrE it's used quite a lot, although I would say more in spoken English than in written.

"Let me know if it crops up again" is fine if you're talking about a problem or something occurring.

- I have fixed the problem with your computer but let me know if it crops up again.
Here, it means "if the problem happens again".

We don't usually use it to talk about people in the way you used it for "people cropping up in the company". I would say "turn up", "appear" or "join".

The most common usage would be when referring to a subject being discussed occasionally.

Her name crops up once in a while.
The topic of the £100 Christmas bonus cropped up at just the right time, because he was in despair about his financial situation.