Pairs #28

Fun and games. (idiomatic, often used ironically) Recreation; nothing serious; easy, enjoyable activities.

Chips and cheese. A snack consisting of a bed of tortilla chips topped with melted cheese; nachos with only two ingredients.

Smash and grab. A robbery where a window of a shop or other premises or a display case inside a shop is smashed and items are grabbed as quickly as possible.

Chip and PIN. A system for verifying that the bearer of a debit card or credit card is the owner, involving cards that contain a silicon chip storing the PIN of the card; the bearer confirms ownership of the card by inserting it into a machine and entering the PIN, which is compared with the one stored on the chip.

Horse and carriage. (Britain, US) A light, simple, two-person carriage of the late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, drawn usually by one or sometimes by two horses.

Snakes and Ladders. A children's luck-based board game, played on a numbered grid, the aim of which is to proceed to the end, and in which ladders aid progress and snakes impede it. Introduced in the US as “Chutes and Ladders,” the game originated in ancient India as Moksha Patam.

House and home. One’s home (used for emphasis).

Command and control. (military, law enforcement) The management and logistics of a military or paramilitary force.

Big enough and ugly enough. (informal) Mature, grown-up, old enough (with the implication that one can look after oneself and make one's own decisions).

Soap and water. Materials used for household and personal cleaning.

Horseshoes and hand grenades. A truncation of the idiom “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,” used to imply that being close to meeting an objective is not sufficient in the current situation.

Words and phrases. Building blocks of grammar.

Blood and guts. (idiomatic) Gore; gruesome images.

Bob and weave. (boxing) A defensive technique that moves the head both beneath and to the side of an incoming punch.

Block and tackle. 1. A system in which a rope, cable, or chain (the tackle) is passed over pulleys enclosed in two (or rarely more) blocks, one fixed and one attached to a load, which is used to gain mechanical advantage to lift or pull heavy loads. 2. (euphemistic) The underwear combination of stockings worn with a suspender belt.

Chop and drop. (horticulture) The practice of removing plants by cutting them down to the soil level, without removing the roots.

Tried and true. Well-established and tested; known to work or succeed based on extensive experience.

Black and tan. Any of various breeds of dog having black and tan colouring. (as Black and Tan) A member of the RIC British paramilitary force, operating against Irish republicans in the War of Independence 1920/21.

Hoot-n-holler. A type of telecommunications system where there is a permanent open circuit between two or more parties. Also known as a squawk box system, holler down, shout down or junkyard circuit.

Smoke and joke. 1. To waste time chatting. 2. To waste time chatting while ingesting cannabis.

Bits and bats. (informal) Miscellaneous items.

Slow and steady. Part of the proverb “Slow and steady wins the race,” i.e., patient work will eventually conquer any problem.

Hot and heavy (idiomatic) Passionate.

Tuck and roll. 1. To attempt to minimize the impact of a fall by tucking the head between the legs, grabbing the knees and rolling out of it. 2. (by extension) To quickly and safely get out of a dangerous or complicated situation.