The words in an irreversible binomial belong to the same
part of speech, have some semantic relationship, and are usually connected by
and or
or. They are often near-
synonyms or
antonyms,
alliterate, or
rhyme. Examples below are split into various tables; some may belong in more than one table but are listed only once.
With opposites and antonyms •
addition and subtraction •
assets and liabilities •
back and forth •
balls and strikes •
beginning to end •
black and white •
big and small •
a blessing and a curse •
boom or bust •
bride and groom •
brother and sister •
butt and pass •
buy and sell •
catch and release •
cause and effect •
church and state •
cops and robbers •
come and go •
coming and going •
cowboys and Indians •
days and nights •
deep and wide • ''dos and don'ts'' •
ebb and flow •
fire and ice •
first and last •
floor to ceiling •
food and drink •
fore and aft •
foreign and domestic •
forward and backward •
friend or foe •
front to back •
fruits and vegetables •
give and take •
good and evil •
hail and farewell •
hand and foot •
head over heels •
Heaven and Hell •
here and there •
hide and seek •
hill and dale •
him and her •
high and low •
hills and valleys •
his and hers •
hither and thither •
hither and yon •
hot and cold •
hurry up and wait •
husband and wife •
in and out •
in the (right/wrong) place at the (right/wrong) time •
ladies and gentlemen •
land and sea •
life or death •
long and short •
lost and found •
love and hate •
love and war •
man and wife •
mind over matter •
mom and pop •
naughty or nice •
near and far •
night and day (difference) •
nip and tuck •
north to south •
now and then •
now and later •
open and shut •
over and under •
park and ride •
port and starboard •
pros and cons •
push and pull •
rank and file •
rise and fall •
savings and loan •
in sickness and in health •
soap and water •
start to finish •
(from) stem to stern •
stop and go •
strike and dip •
sweet and sour •
the quick and the dead •
thick and thin • ''(there's) a time and a place'' •
tip and ring •
to and fro •
top to bottom •
town and country •
up and down •
ups and downs •
uptown and downtown •
war and peace •
washer and dryer •
wax and wane •
weal and woe •
yes and no •
yin and yang With related words and synonyms •
ages and generations •
aid and comfort •
alas and alack •
bits and pieces •
body and soul •
born and raised/bred •
bright and early •
brick and mortar •
by hook or by crook •
cheek by jowl •
clean and tidy •
chapter and verse •
cup and saucer •
(it was a) dark and stormy (night) •
(this) day and age •
dollars and cents • ''dot the i's and cross the t's'' •
fear and loathing •
fish and chips •
first and foremost •
hail and farewell •
hand over fist •
haughty and high minded •
head and shoulders •
heart and soul •
herbs and spices •
highest and best (use) •
house and home •
hunger and thirst •
knife and fork •
leaps and bounds •
like mother, like daughter •
lo and behold •
neat and tidy •
nickel and dime •
nook and cranny •
null and void •
nuts and bolts •
over and done with •
pain and suffering •
peace and quiet •
pen and ink •
pick and choose •
(on) pins and needles •
plain and simple •
prim and proper •
rant and rave •
rocks and shoals •
shock and awe •
signs and wonders •
six of one,half a dozen of the other •
skull and bones •
skull and crossbones •
strait and narrow •
straight and narrow •
stress and strain •
swings and roundabouts •
ticks and chiggers •
whine and complain •
wind and rain •
(up) close and personal •
yea and amen With alliteration Also see
the English section of the Reduplication article for cases like
walkie-talkie,
ragtag,
chit-chat,
hip-hop,
bing-bang-boom,
etc. •
bag and baggage •
baubles and beads •
beams and balance •
bed and breakfast •
belt and braces •
bench and bar •
big and bad •
the birds and the bees •
black and blue •
bold and beautiful •
bootleggers and Baptists •
boxers or briefs •
bread and butter •
bull and boar •
cash and carry •
chalk and cheese •
cliques and clans •
command and control •
cookies and cream •
deaf and dumb •
(between the) devil and the deep blue sea •
dine and dash •
down and dirty •
dribs and drabs •
drink and drive •
drunk and disorderly •
fast and furious •
feast or famine •
fire and forget •
fire and fury •
fit in or fuck off •
flip-flop •
flora and fauna •
footloose and fancy-free •
forgive and forget •
form and function •
friend or foe •
fun and frolics •
fur and feathers •
ghosts and goblins •
grins and giggles •
to have and to hold •
hearth and home •
hem and haw •
hoot and holler •
horseshoes and handgrenades •
Jew and Gentile •
juking and jiving •
king and country •
kit and caboodle •
kith and kin •
last but not least •
latitude and longitude •
life and limb •
live and learn •
lock and load • ''love 'em and leave 'em'' •
love it or leave it •
mix and match •
meek and mild •
name and number •
part and parcel •
peas in a pod •
pen and pencil •
pen(cil) and paper •
pig in a poke •
pillar to post •
pots and pans •
publish or perish •
rags to riches •
ranting and raving •
read and write •
rest and relaxation (
R&R/R'n'R) •
(without) rhyme or reason •
right and wrong •
rock and roll •
rough and ready •
rules and regulations •
safe and secure •
safe and sound •
shot and shell •
shower and shave •
signs and symptoms •
slip and slide •
spick and span •
spit and shine •
Stars and Stripes •
sticks and stones •
sugar and spice •
this or that •
tit for tat •
top and tail •
toss and turn •
trick or treat •
trials and tribulations •
tried and tested •
tried and true •
truck and trailer •
wash and wear •
watching and waiting •
weep and wail •
wet and wild •
whooping and hollering •
wild and woolly •
wise and wonderful •
witches and warlocks •
wrack and ruin With rhymes and similar-sounding words •
a wrap and a slap •
break and take •
boom and zoom •
box and cox •
chalk and talk •
charts and darts •
chips and dip •
dive and drive •
fair and square •
fender bender •
five and dime •
flotsam and jetsam •
handy-dandy •
hanky-panky •
helter skelter •
higgledy piggledy •
high and dry •
hire and fire •
hit and split •
hit it and quit •
hither and thither •
hocus pocus •
hoity-toity •
hot to trot •
hotch-potch •
huff and puff •
hurly-burly •
hustle and bustle •
itty-bitty •
lap and gap •
latest and greatest • ''lean, mean, fightin' machine'' (also: mean, green) • ''lick 'em and stick 'em'' •
loud and proud •
meet and greet •
might makes right •
motor voter •
my way or the highway •
name and shame •
name it and claim it •
near and dear •
never, ever •
nitty gritty •
odds and sods •
onwards and upwards •
out and about •
out and proud •
pell-mell •
pump and dump •
rough and tough •
run and gun •
shout and clout •
saggy baggy •
shake and bake •
slowly but surely •
smoke and joke •
son of a gun •
stash and dash •
stitch and bitch •
stop and drop •
so far, so good •
surf and turf •
teeny-weeny •
time and tide •
town and gown •
use it or lose it •
wake and bake •
wear and tear •
weed and feed •
wheeling and dealing •
willy nilly •
wine and dine •
yea or nay •
(the) yeas and (the) nays == Legal terminology ==