Pairs #19

Comings and goings. A general bustle of activity.

Big and small. Of varying sizes. (as Big & Small) A British children’s TV series (2008-2011).

Hills and valleys. (euphemistic) Female anatomy.

Rough and tumble. 1. Active, vigorous and rough, with the possibility of harm. 2. Highly competitive.

Piss and moan. (vulgar, idiomatic, derogatory) To complain, especially needlessly and loudly.

Black-and-white. Visual media that combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of gray. As “black and white”: (US, slang, law enforcement) A police patrol car. (figuratively, idiomatic) Easily divided into diametrically opposing camps or schools of thought. The idiomatic expression “in black and white” means “in writing or in print, and regarded as more reliable, credible, or formal than by word of mouth.”

Shoes and socks. Clothing items worn to protect the feet.

Short and stout. Vertically challenged but powerfully built.

Now and then. (idiomatic) Sometimes; occasionally; intermittently.

Wet and wild. (slang) Talking nonsense. (vulgar, slang) Sexually promiscuous and hedonistic. (as Wet 'n Wild, Wet'n'Wild, Wet N Wild and other variations) The name (in full or in part) of various US water parks. (as wet n wild®) A brand of budget cosmetics.

Shirt and tie. A men’s dress code requiring a dress shirt and a tie, but not necessarily a coat or jacket.

Mix and match. To vary elements to make compatible combinations.

Loud and clear. In a clear and easily understandable manner.

Heaven and earth. A pair usually found preceded by some form of the verb “move.” The idiomatic expression “move heaven and earth” means to do whatever is necessary, including extreme or unusual actions; to go to extremes.

High and dry. Left out of water, stranded on a beach, or in the stocks for repair, or in dry dock. (idiomatic, by extension ) Abandoned, stranded, helpless.

Shot and shell. Gunfire and cannon fire. (See stanza III of Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade.”

Noughts and crosses. The British English name for tic-tac-toe.

Footloose and fancy free. Able to do as one pleases, unconstrained by social ties or responsibilities.

Flesh and blood. One's family, or a member of one's family.

Come and go. 1. To alternately enter and exit, arrive and depart (either physically or figuratively). 2. To repeatedly appear and disappear; to be transient.

Fore and aft. (nautical) From the bow of a ship to the stern; lengthwise.

To have and to hold. (law) to possess (property) for life. Most commonly used today in the context of traditional wedding vows.

Milk and cereal. A popular breakfast or snack food pairing.

Cloak and dagger. A fighting style common in the Renaissance, involving a knife hidden beneath a cloak. (by extension, metaphorically) Situations involving intrigue, secrecy, espionage, or mystery.