Pairs #21

For all intents and purposes. For every functional purpose; in every practical sense; in every important respect.

Sword-and-sandal. A subgenre of largely Italian-made historical, mythological, or biblical epic films mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages.

Back and fore. Back and forth; from one place to another and back again.

Smoke and mirrors. A deceptive, fraudulent, or unconvincing explanation or description.

Born and raised. Having lived in one's birthplace through one's adolescence.

Signs and symptoms. Indications of an illness, injury, or condition. Signs are objective and externally observable; symptoms are a person's reported subjective experiences.

Whooping and hollering. Shouting loudly and wildly.

Heart and hand. With enthusiastic cooperation.

Home and hosed. 1. (Australia, New Zealand, horseracing, figurative) Assured of winning. 2. (Australia, New Zealand, figurative) Having safely reached one's target.

Thick and fast. Occurring in large numbers and rapidly.

Tick and flick. (Australia, banking, informal) A process that allows an accountholder to sign up to another financial institution, with the new bank taking care of all transfers, fees, and paperwork.

Stop-and-go. 1. (US) A description of traffic characterized by short periods of movement alternating with interruptions in traffic flow. 2. (poker) A combination of moves in which, before the flop is dealt, the player calls on an opponent's raise, and then after the flop is dealt, goes all in, regardless of whether the flop works with their hand.

Piss and whine. To complain in a constant or annoying way.

Time and again. Often; repeatedly.

Cut and run. 1. (nautical) To cut the anchor cable and not wait to weigh it. 2. (by extension) To hurry away; to escape. 3. (military) To abandon a position as quickly as possible.

Spic and span. (idiomatic) Clean, spotless.

Hot and spicy. A description of the taste of certain foods. “Spicy” refers to the combination and amounts of spices used. “Hot” refers to the types and amounts of peppers used, especially as regards the amount of capsaicin present in those peppers.

Love and hate. Opposing, although related states of mind that can be directed outward or inward. Some research indicates that they are not truly emotions as is popularly thought.

Hither and yon. (literary, dated) In, at or to various places.

Aces and eights. (poker) A pair of aces and a pair of eights (especially, the black aces and eights), in a player's hand.

Tried and tested. Well-established and tested; known to work or succeed based on extensive experience.

Shower and shave. Steps in many men’s routines to prepare for leaving the house.

Sweet’N Low. A brand of artificial sweetener.

Bread and roses. A political slogan that originated in a speech given by U.S. women's suffrage activist Helen Todd: “bread for all, and roses too.”