Pairs #17

Duck and cover. An alleged method of personal protection against the affects of a nuclear explosion. (as Duck and Cover) A 1952 US Federal Civil Defense Administration film distributed broadly to US schools in which the animated Bert the Turtle teaches the children in his audience how to duck and cover if they see the flash of an atomic bomb.

All shapes and sizes. To say that things or people of a certain type come in all shapes and sizes means there are a great number of them and they are often different from one another.

Pins and needles. A common type of paresthesia (abnormal skin sensation). The idiomatic phrase on pins and needles means “feeling sharp anticipation or anxiety; in a state of suspense.”

AT & T. A US multinational telecommunications holding company.

Cliques and clans. Friends and relatives.

Rock and roll. (or rock & roll, rock-n-roll, rock 'n' roll, rock 'n roll, rock n' roll) A genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Hearts and minds. Private feelings and emotions. To “win hearts and minds” is to persuade, or to at least minimize resistance.

Time and tide. A shortening of the maxim “Time and tide wait/tarry/stay for no man,” meaning that opportunities will not wait; action should be undertaken without delay.

Dungeons & Dragons. A fantasy tabletop role-playing game.

Rise and shine. (idiomatic, imperative) Used to wish someone happiness upon waking up.

Flora and fauna. Plants and animals of a given locale, in a given time frame, or both.

Weed and feed. A preparation that acts as both an herbicide (to kill weeds) and a fertilizer (usually for lawns).

Ticks and chiggers. Two critters to avoid in warmer weather.

Pickles and ice cream. Shorthand for pregnancy cravings, generally.

Shake ‘N Bake. A brand of seasoned bread crumb coating for meat and vegetables, marketed as a healthier alternative to frying (since 1965).

Hem and haw. To mumble and procrastinate in one's speech, especially with a reply to a hard question or with voicing a decision on a topical matter; to evade a question, giving vague answers; to equivocate or temporize.

Weep and wail. Cockney rhyming slang for “tale,” used to refer to a fanciful hard luck story intended to elicit sympathy.

Clean and tidy. Clean and organized.

Nip and tuck. 1. Closely contested or very near to failing or ending. 2. Slang for a rhytidectomy, commonly known as a facelift.

Bench and bar. Judges and lawyers in aggregate.

Milk and cookies. At one time, a typical after-school snack. (as Milk and Cookies) A song from Melanie Martinez’s 2015 album Cry Baby. (as Milk ‘N’ Cookies) A US power pop band (1973-1977, 2005-2008).

Flint and steel. A method of fire starting requiring a flint (or similar rock) and a piece of carbon steel.

Ben & Jerry’s. A US company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet.

Lost and Found. (US) An office in a public building or area where people can go to retrieve lost articles that may have been found by others.