Pairs #50

Hell's bells and buckets of blood! An exclamation of frustration or surprise. Often shortened to "hell's bells."

Sweet and sour. Cooked in or with a sauce containing blended sugar and vinegar. Usually in reference to Chinese and Chinese-style cuisine.

It's raining pitchforks (and hammer handles) (dated). It's raining extremely heavily.

Roman hands and Russian fingers. A pun of "roaming hands and rushing fingers," referring to a tendency to make unwanted or unsolicited sexual contact.

Between dog and wolf. Between dusk and daylight.

Keep your shop and your shop will keep you (proverb). If you work hard at running your business, then your business will always make enough of a profit to support you.

Ever and anon (archaic). Occasionally; now and then.

All present and accounted for. All people or things being tallied are present, or their location or status is known or has been considered.

Over the hills and far away. To or at some distant, remote point or location.

Escape the bear and fall to the lion. To avoid a frightening or problematic situation, only to end up in a worse one later.

Damn and blast! (primarily UK). An expression of anger.

Children should be seen and not heard (proverb). Children should not speak among adults unless they are addressed; children should be quiet and well-behaved.

To hell and back. Through a difficult, trying, or perilous situation and having overcome it.

In weal and woe. Both in times of happiness and success and in times of sadness and difficulty.

A nod and a wink. A sly, subtle signal used to communicate a piece of information that one doesn't want to state aloud, publicly, or directly.

Me and my big mouth. An expression of regret after realizing that one has said something inappropriate, hurtful, or meant to be kept a secret.

Dry up and blow away (dated). Go away and leave me alone.

Give her the bells and let her fly. To release someone from something, often a job. The phrase comes from hawking—when an owner no longer needed a particular hawk, its bells would be removed, and it would be set free.

All hands and the cook. Everyone available, even people who might not usually be involved.

Better to let it out and bear the shame. Part of the humorous phrase “Better to let it out and bear the shame than hold it in and bear the pain,” advice encouraging one to pass gas (break wind), rather than resisting the urge and causing oneself discomfort.

Weighed (in the balance) and found wanting. Judged deficient or substandard after being tested or reviewed.

Sword and sorcery. A subgenre of fantasy fiction — also known as heroic fantasy — characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures, often involving romance, magic and the supernatural.

Less and less. A phrase indicating that something is dwindling or becoming less frequent.

First deserve and then desire (proverb). You must prove yourself worthy of success by working hard and conscientiously, as desire alone will not make it happen.