Vocabs – fixed pairs

- idiomatic expression or collocation

- word order is usually fixed (as its name suggest)
- often involve the use of alliteration and/or rhyming
- usually joined by and/or
- the use of fixed pairs in your composition can showcase your proficiency in
vocabularies and collocation(i.e. L)
- some fixed pairs can be used as connectives (i.e. all in all, by and large)

neat and tidy

- clean, organised, tidy – not messy or untidy (also clean and tidy)
 Her house is always very neat and tidy: there’s never anything out of place.

sick and tired

- annoyed or frustrated with something / someone and at the point of getting
angry or losing your patience
 I’m sick and tired of our neighbours making such a noise – I’m gonna call the
police.

short and sweet

- when something is very quick and to-the-point; of minimum length and no
longer than it needs to be
 His speech was short and sweet – he just said what he needed to say and he was
very quick about it.

wine and dine

- wine and dine someone – entertain someone with a good quality meal
 The bosses of the advertising agency always wine and dine their top clients.

up and down
- moving between the same two points repeatedly
 We drove up and down the same street ten times looking for the restaurant.

odds and ends

- various items of different types, usually small, often of little value and
importance
 There’s nothing important in those cupboards, just a few odds and ends.

skin and bone

- to be very thin; to look underfed
 That dog is all skin and bone. I don’t think anyone ever feeds it.
loud and clear
- very clear and very easy to understand
 You don’t have to shout – I can hear you loud and clear.
 The two pilots could hear each other loud and clear.

back and forth

- moving first in one direction then in another
 The taxi driver’s job consists mainly of going back and forth between the hotel
and the airport all day.
 We rocked the baby back and forth in the chair until she fell asleep.

by and large
- on the whole
 Not all the food in that restaurant is fantastic, but by and large it’s very good.

far and wide

- a large number of places, across a large geographical area; often used with from
 People travel from far and wide to see the birthplaces of the Beatles.

make or break
- the result will be either success or failure, nothing between
 The next match is make or break for us. If we lose we’ll have no chance of
winning the league.

take it or leave it
- (of a negotiation) your last offer: you are not going to negotiation further or
allow the other person to negotiate
 Eight hundred dollars is my final offer for your car – take it or leave it!

sooner or later
- that something will definitely happen, although it is not known when
 We’re all going to die sooner or later.
 If you lie, people will find you out sooner or later.

more or less
- approximately; almost
 The repairs to the car will take a week, more or less.

part and parcel

- that something is always an essential part of something and is never missing
from it
 Long hours of training and a lot of travelling are part and parcel of being a
professional footballer.
 For some old people loneliness is part and parcel of everyday life.
safe and sound
- not in danger and not injured in any way
 The missing boy returned to his family safe and sound.
 The soldier—thought to be dead—was found safe and sound in the forest.

rules and regulations

- laws, rules, legislation
 The rules and regulations in prisons are very strict.
 There are different rules and regulations for commercial vehicles than for
ordinary passenger cars.

live and learn

- to learn from the experiences that life gives us (often you live and learn), said
when you hear or discover something which is surprising
 You mean I can get a discount because I’m under 26? Well, you live and learn – I
never knew that!

hustle and bustle

- a lot of noisy activity caused by people, usually in cities
 There’s always lots of hustle and bustle at the market on Wednesdays.

wear and tear

- the decrease in value and/or quality of something because of its age and a lot of
use
 The wear and tear on his knees means he can no longer play football at the top
level.
 I paid 3000 euros for my car, but because of wear and tear I sold it for just 1500
a year later.

step by step
- to do something methodically, one step at a time
 Follow the course and step by step ad you will learn how to create modern and
attractive web pages.

bits and pieces

- small objects or items of various kinds (phrase)
 She stuffed all her bits and piecesinto a bag and left.

bread and butter

- slices of ____ that have been spread with ____ (noun)
 a piece of bread and butter

fun and games

 - (informal) activities that are not serious and that other people may disapprove
of (phrase)

give and take

- to be willing, in a relationship, to accept what somebody else wants and to give
up some of what you want
 You're going to have to learn to give and take.

law and order

- safe and peaceful conditions in society that result when people obey the law

now and then

- from time to time; occasionally
 Every now and thenshe checked to see if he was still asleep. (phrase)

peace and quiet

- the state of being calm or quiet (phrase)
 I would work better if I had some peace and quiet.

pick and choose

- to choose only those things that you like or want very much (phrase)
 You have to take any job you can get—you can't _______.

ups and downs

- the mixture of good and bad things in life or in a particular situation or
relationship (phrase)
 Every business has its ups and downs.

wait and see

- used to tell somebody that they must be patient and wait to find out about
something later (phrase)
 We'll just have to wait and see - there's nothing we can do at the moment.

plain and simple

- used for emphasizing that something is completely true and cannot be described
as anything else
 It was cheating, plain and simple.
 The project has been beset by plain and simple managerial incompetence.

by/in leaps and bounds

- If someone or something gets better by/in leaps and bounds, he, she, or it
improves very quickly:
 Her Spanish has come on (= improved) in leaps and bounds this year.
over and done with
- Completely finished.
 If I have to testify I ask that it be done as soon as possible, because I just want to
get this over and done with and get on with my life.

in this day and age

- at the present time:
 You can't afford to run businesses inefficiently in this day and age.

brick-and-mortar
- existing as a physical building, especially a shop, rather than doing business only
on the internet:
 a brick-and-mortar retailer // brick-and-mortar bookstores

from start to finish

- entirely; throughout.
 I disliked the whole business from start to finish.
 Mary caused problems from start to finish.

on and off
- If something happens on and off during a period of time, it happens sometimes:
 I've had toothache on and off for a couple of months.

rain or shine
- if you say you will do something come rain or shine, you mean you will do it
whatever happens
 Come rain or shine, I'll be there, I promise.

fight-or-flight
- used to describe the reaction that people have to a dangerous situation, that
makes them either stay and deal with it, or run away:
 a fight-or-flight response

for better or (for) worse

- If you do something for better or (for) worse, you accept the bad results of the
action as well as the good ones:
 Anyway, for better or for worse, I followed her advice.

do or die
- said when you are in a situation in which you must take a big risk in order to
avoid failure:
 On Tuesday, it's do or die in the final game.

all or nothing
 - relates to doing something either completely or not at all:
 The government has rejected the all-or-nothing approach in favour of a
compromise solution.

slow and steady wins the race

- Prov. If you work slowly but constantly, you will succeed better than if you work
fast for a short while and do not continue. (Associated with Aesop's fable of
"The Tortoise and the Hare.")
 Joy only had a little bit of time to spend sewing every day, but she worked
steadily and soon had finished a beautiful quilt. Slow and steady wins the race.

to and fro
- in one direction and then in the opposite direction, a number of times:
 She was gazing out the window, rocking rhythmically to and fro.

loud and clear

- very clear and easy to understand:
 I can hear you loud and clear.
 The message from management came through loud and clear: things would
have to change.

fast and furious

- full of rapid action; lively and exciting.
 the game was fast and furious

nose-to-nose
- Direct, confrontational
 Almost indistinguishable from the earlier 115-horse airplane, the new model is
designed from the ground up to go nose-to-nose with big-engine, high-
performance kit planes.

dog-eat-dog
- used to describe a situation in which people will do anything to be successful,
even if what they do harms other people:
 It's a dog-eat-dog world out there.

through and through

- completely:
 My mother is Irish through and through.

day by day
- gradually over many days:
 Day by day my father grew stronger.
day-to-day
- happening every day as a regular part of your job or life:
 day-to-day problems/responsibilities

day in day out

- (especially of something boring) done or happening every day for a long period
of time:
 I have to do the same boring jobs day in day out.

bit by bit
- Incrementally; slowly.
 You don't have to overhaul your diet overnight—just start making healthier
choices bit by bit.

hand in hand
- In cooperation, jointly
 Industrial growth and urbanization often go hand in hand.

all in all
- You use all in all to introduce a summary or general statement.
 We both thought that all in all it might not be a bad idea.
 All in all, it appeared that a pretty depressing summer awaited Jones.

again and again

- many times:
 I’ve told you again and again that I don’t know anything about it.

time and tide wait for no man

- said to emphasize that people cannot stop the passing of time, and therefore
should not delay doing things

last but not least

- importantly, despite being mentioned after everyone else:
 I would like to thank my publisher, my editor, and, last but not least, my
husband.

you live and learn

- said when you hear or discover something that is surprising:
 I had no idea they were related. Oh well, you live and learn.

black and blue

- Bruised
 They beat him black and blue.
blood-and-guts
- Violent
  There was more blood-and-guts than anything else in the last Rambo.

blood, sweat and tears

- great effort
 It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to become a pro.

crash and burn

- total failure
 I'm gonna crash and burn, if I don't get some study done.

give or take
- about, approximately
 I'll be 15 minutes, give or take.

intents and purposes

- practical ways
 They were, for all intents and purposes, trapped.

live and let live

- be tolerant
 It's none of your business: live and let live.

make or break
- a point when you might succeed or fail
 With all their cash invested in the new business, it was make or break.

nuts and bolts

- basic parts or details
 So by and large we agree. We can discuss the nuts and bolts of the deal later.

once and for all

- Forever
 I will stop him once and for all!

part and parcel

- an important part
 Part and parcel of being an effective journalist is a hunger for the truth.

pros and cons

- points for and against
 We'll weigh the pros and cons of your proposal and get back to you.

thick and thin

- in good and bad times
  They were together through thick and thin

trial and error

- trying and failing till the right one is found
 Without any good suggestions, we will have to resort to trial and error.