Binomials

Binomials
There are many phrases in English that use two words connected with 'and'. For example, peace and quiet, fish and chips. These expressions are known as binomials. In these phrases the word order is usually fixed; we say 'peace and quiet', we don't say 'quiet and peace'.

Binomial pairs joined by ‘and’
neat and tidy
definition: clean, organised, tidy – not messy or untidy (also clean and tidy)
example: Her house is always very neat and tidy: there’s never anything out of place.

Binomial pairs joined by ‘and’
sick and tired
definition: annoyed or frustrated with something / someone and at the point of getting angry or losing your patience
example: I’m sick and tired of our neighbours making such a noise – I’m gonna call the police.

Binomial pairs joined by ‘and’
short and sweet
definition: when something is very quick and to-the-point; of minimum length and no longer than it needs to be
example: His speech was short and sweet – he just said what he needed to say and he was very quick about it.

Binomial pairs joined by ‘and’
wine and dine
definition: wine and dine someone – entertain someone with a good quality meal
example: The bosses of the advertising agency always wine and dine their top clients.

Binomial pairs joined by ‘and’
up and down
definition: moving between the same two points repeatedly
example: We drove up and down the same street ten times looking for the restaurant.

Binomial pairs joined by ‘and’
odds and ends
definition: various items of different types, usually small, often of little value and importance
example: There’s nothing important in those cupboards, just a few odds and ends.

Binomial pairs joined by ‘and’
skin and bone
definition: to be very thin; to look underfed
example: That dog’s all skin and bone. I don’t think anyone every feeds it.

Binomial pairs joined by ‘and’
loud and clear
definition: very clear and very easy to understand
examples: You don’t have to shout – I can hear you loud and clear.
The two pilots could hear each other loud and clear.

Binomial pairs joined by ‘or’
make or break
definition: the result will be either success or failure, nothing between
example: The next match is make or break for us. If we lose we’ll have no chance of winning the league.

Binomial pairs joined by ‘or’
take it or leave it
definition: (of a negotiation) your last offer: you are not going to negotiation further or allow the other person to negotiate
example: Eight hundred dollars is my final offer for your car – take it or leave it!

Binomial pairs joined by ‘or’
more or less
definition: approximately; almost
examples: The repairs to the car will take a week, more or less.
Just give me another minute – I’ve more or less finished.

Rhyming binomial pairs
hustle and bustle
definition: a lot of noisy activity caused by people, usually in cities
example: There’s always lots of hustle and bustle at the market on Wednesdays.
Hustle&bustle

Rhyming binomial pairs
wear and tear
definition: the decrease in value and/or quality of something because of its age and a lot of use
example: 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.

Rhyming binomial pairs
willy-nilly
definition: haphazardly, randomly, and without much planning and organisation; without order
example: The product sold badly because the salesmen travelled to customers will-nilly without any strategy or plan.

Binomial pairs joined by other words
back to front
definition: when the back of something faces the front, and vice-versa
example: You’ve got your t-shirt on back to front! Take it off and turn it around.

Binomial pairs joined by other words
step by step
definition: to do something methodically, one step at a time
example: Follow the course and step by step you will learn how to create modern and attractive web pages.