Pairs #24

Tick and toy. (obsolete) To waste time; to dally or idle.

Blood and ashes. (rare) Expression of frustration.

Be-all and end-all. (idiomatic) Something considered to be of the utmost importance; something essential or ultimate.

Skin and bones. Emaciated or very thin, as from lack of nutrition.

Pump and dump. (finance) A form of financial fraud where the fraudster buys stocks cheaply, generates excitement about those stocks to create a temporary price increase, then sells the stocks before the price goes back down.

Cap and trade. A market-based approach to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in emissions, participating companies being assigned an emissions quota that can be traded with others if not used.

Time and material. (idiomatic, business) A form of contractual compensation involving payment for materials used and at agreed rates for those involved in performing the services.

Ball and stick. 1. (education) A style of handwriting in which the letters are not joined and feature straight lines and circular arcs; block letters. 2. (chemistry) The representation of chemical substances in a three-dimensional way using ball-and-stick models.

Fortnum & Mason. An upmarket London department store.

Signs and wonders. (religion) Especially in Pentecostalism and some charismatic movements, the belief that experiences thought to be miraculous are normative.

Forgive and forget. (idiomatic) To absolve somebody completely for a past wrongdoing; to pardon with neither resentment nor a view to retribution.

Hire and fire. To exercise the authority to add or dismiss staff.

Pure and simple. Plain and unadorned.

Wild and woolly. 1. Uncouth in appearance or behaviour. 2. (of theories, plans, etc) Not fully thought out.

Top and tail. 1. To add to the beginning and end of (something), such as the salutation and valediction added to a letter. 2. To remove the top and bottom of (an item), for example when preparing carrots for cooking. 3. (colloquial) To bathe (a small child) in a minimal way by wiping its face and bottom.

Chip and gather. (rugby) A maneuver in which a player gains ground by kicking the ball high and forward, runs forward, and catches the ball as it drops back down.

Arms and legs. The upper and lower limbs of certain mammals.

Care and feeding. Maintenance and sustenance (of something, organic or otherwise).

Boom and zoom. A fighter aircraft maneuver used when the attacker has a significant altitude advantage over the defender.

Rum and Coke. A cocktail (also called a Cuba Libre) made with rum, cola, ice, and sometimes lime juice.

Run and gun. 1. (basketball) To move the ball quickly and shoot often. 2. (idiomatic) To do something hastily and with great energy.

Arts and letters. The fine arts and literature, considered together.

Hither and thither. To one place after another; in different directions.

Bow and arrow. A weapon made of a curved piece of wood or other flexible material whose ends are connected by a string and a projectile consisting of a shaft, a point and a tail with stabilizing fins.