Pairs #60

dreamers and doers. (cliché) Those who imagine or fantasize about what could be in contrast to those who take action.

there and back. Taking the distances or travel time to the end point and back to the beginning together as a single sum.

ten foot tall and bulletproof. Imposing, unstoppable, and invincible.

kiss and cry area. An area in an ice skating rink where figure skaters rest while awaiting their results after a competitive performance. So named because competitors typically celebrate or commiserate (depending on their performance) with coaches, friends, or family in this location.

all oak and iron bound. In good health.

one and only. 1. A phrase used when introducing someone to emphasize that they are famous and uniquely talented. 2. One's only true love.

curl up and die. Used hyperbolically or humorously to emphasize one's extreme embarrassment.

swings and roundabouts. (primarily UK) A situation in which certain gains, advantages, or other positive aspects or outcomes are offset or balanced by equally disadvantageous losses, setbacks, or negative outcomes (or vice versa).

board and lodging. Meals and accommodation, or the cost thereof.

trouble and strife. (Cockney rhyming slang) Wife.

what's yours is mine, and what's mine is mine. A (usually) humorous way of saying, "Everything belongs to me."

ask a stupid question and you get a stupid answer. If one asks a strange or nonsensical question, the listener will probably respond with a similarly strange or nonsensical answer.

honest and aboveboard. Fully visible to public scrutiny; completely and openly honest or legitimate.

neck and neck. Extremely close together; at or near an equal level. Usually said of competitors in a race or competition.

break down and cry. To cry after losing control of one's emotions, especially after trying not to or after an intense buildup.

make fish of one and fowl of the other. To favor one person or thing over another, often in a discriminatory fashion. The phrase refers to the now-outdated practice of categorizing meat as fish, flesh, or fowl.

alarms and excursions. Frantic activity that causes a clamor. Often seen in Elizabethan drama as a stage direction denoting military activity.

sit back and let (it) happen. To allow something to happen or unfold without interfering or taking part an active part in it.

roll over and play dead. To submit, acquiesce, or comply (to or with something) without any action, resistance, or protest. An allusion to a particular behavior in which certain animals feign death as a defense mechanism when faced with the threat of a predator.

prunes and prisms. Intentionally formal or prudish speech or action. The phrase originated in Charles Dickens' novel Little Dorrit as an example of proper speech.

tell the truth and shame the devil. (proverb) To tell the truth even though one has strong reasons for concealing it.

life is short and time is swift. (proverb) Our time in this life is very limited, so we should strive to enjoy it as much as we can.

on the up and up. Honest and respectable.

out of all scotch and notch. Immeasurable; limitless. "Scotches" and "notches" are boundaries drawn in the game of hopscotch.