Pairs #19

Heaven and earth. A pair usually found preceded by some form of the verb “move.” The idiomatic expression “move heaven and earth” means to do whatever is necessary, including extreme or unusual actions; to go to extremes.

Rough and tumble. 1. Active, vigorous and rough, with the possibility of harm. 2. Highly competitive.

Shirt and tie. A men’s dress code requiring a dress shirt and a tie, but not necessarily a coat or jacket.

Flesh and blood. One's family, or a member of one's family.

To have and to hold. (law) to possess (property) for life. Most commonly used today in the context of traditional wedding vows.

Piss and moan. (vulgar, idiomatic, derogatory) To complain, especially needlessly and loudly.

Cloak and dagger. A fighting style common in the Renaissance, involving a knife hidden beneath a cloak. (by extension, metaphorically) Situations involving intrigue, secrecy, espionage, or mystery.

Too many chiefs and not enough Indians. A now politically incorrect idiom that originated c. 1879 and refers to a bureaucracy with too many managers and not enough people to do the work; or where too many people try to lead instead of cooperate.

Milk and cereal. A popular breakfast or snack food pairing.

Big and small. Of varying sizes. (as Big & Small) A British children’s TV series (2008-2011).

Noughts and crosses. The British English name for tic-tac-toe.

Mix and match. To vary elements to make compatible combinations.

Comings and goings. A general bustle of activity.

Bits and bobs. A random assortment of things; small remaining pieces and items.

Fore and aft. (nautical) From the bow of a ship to the stern; lengthwise.

High and dry. Left out of water, stranded on a beach, or in the stocks for repair, or in dry dock. (idiomatic, by extension ) Abandoned, stranded, helpless.

Short and stout. Vertically challenged but powerfully built.

Now and then. (idiomatic) Sometimes; occasionally; intermittently.

Black-and-white. Visual media that combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of gray. As “black and white”: (US, slang, law enforcement) A police patrol car. (figuratively, idiomatic) Easily divided into diametrically opposing camps or schools of thought. The idiomatic expression “in black and white” means “in writing or in print, and regarded as more reliable, credible, or formal than by word of mouth.”

Hills and valleys. (euphemistic) Female anatomy.

Loud and clear. In a clear and easily understandable manner.

Shoes and socks. Clothing items worn to protect the feet.

Come and go. 1. To alternately enter and exit, arrive and depart (either physically or figuratively). 2. To repeatedly appear and disappear; to be transient.

Shot and shell. Gunfire and cannon fire. (See stanza III of Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade.”