Binomial pairs: a unique kind of idiom using pairs & groups of words

Playing cat and mouse (Warner Bros. Animation)

Binomial pairs are a special kind of idiom in English made of pairs or groups of words.

Binomial pairs are pairs of words that cannot be reversed. They always come in the same order and are often joined by and, or or to. These are phrases like "cat and mouse" or "fish and chips". The order of the words cannot be changed — native speakers will always say "rich and poor", but never "poor and rich". Learning these phrases will not only make your English natural, but it will also put this kind of idiom on your radar — the next time you hear a phrase like this, you will notice the order and remember them!

Pair	Meaning	Example
alive and kicking	living and healthy	Stay until your love is alive and kicking.
alive and well	living and healthy	A: How's old man Burns? B: He's pushing 80, but he's alive and well.
all or nothing	no compromise	With the scores tied and just three minutes left in the match, it was all or nothing.
an arm and a leg	a very expensive price	His new car cost him an arm and a leg.
back and forth	backwards and forwards to and fro	I have been going back and forth between school and home all day.
back to front	the opposite way round	"Less or more" is back to front. You should say "more or less".
be all and end all	the most important part	Gavin thinks he is the be all and end all of Sales.
bells and whistles	extra features	How much is it with all the bells and whistles?
for better or worse	good or bad, no matter what the result	For better or worse, he was reelected for another four years.
the birds and the bees	sex education	It's time you told the children about the birds and the bees.
bitter and twisted	resentful or cynical	After being passed over for promotion again, he became bitter and twisted.
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.
by and large	generally	By and large, Rambo was all blood and guts and bad acting.
cat and mouse	use strategy chase	Hackers have been playing cat and mouse with internet security firms.
clean and tidy	clean	Is the house clean and tidy after the party?
cool, calm and collected	without stress or nervousness	She looked cool, calm and collected as she presented to the board, but said afterward she was having kittens.
crash and burn	total failure	I'm gonna crash and burn, if I don't get some study done.
down and out	really poor	Down and Out In Paris and London.
far and wide	a large area	His fame spread far and wide.
first and foremost	first	First and foremost, let me thank you all for coming today.
give and take	compromise	There should be a certain amount of give and take, but don't let them push you around.
give or take	about, approximately	I'll be 15 minutes, give or take.
grin and bear it	endure	You will just have to grin and bear it.
hammer and tongs	with great effort	He's been going hammer and tongs to finish the report by Friday.
hard-and-fast	fixed and unchangeable	The boss is a hard-and-fast slave driver.
here and there	a variety of places	They looked here and there, but couldn't find her.
high and dry	stranded	They left me high and dry.
hit and miss	unreliable, inconsistent	The team's performance this season was hit and miss.
hook, line and sinker	completely	He was taken in hook, line and sinker.
a hop, skip and a jump	a short way	The station is just a hop, skip and a jump from there.
hot and humid	about the weather	Summer in Tokyo is hot and humid.
intents and purposes	practical ways	They were, for all intents and purposes, trapped.
kill or be killed	live or die	Life in those days was kill or be killed: only the strong survived.
law and order	controlling crime	A complete breakdown in law and order followed the crisis.
leaps and bounds	fast, rapidly	Your son has improved in leaps and bounds this year.
life and death	live or die	In a life-and-death situation, there isn't time to think.
live and let live	be tolerant	It's none of your business: live and let live.
lost and found	a place to leave or collect lost items	I turned the wallet in at lost and found.
loud and clear	easy to hear and understand	A: Did you hear what I said? B: Loud and clear!
for love or money	impossible	I wouldn't eat that for love nor money
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.
meet and greet	to welcome	When the guest arrives, I'll do the meet and greet in the lobby.
mice and men	-	The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
milk and honey	great wealth and riches	And I am come down to deliver them ... unto a land flowing with milk and honey.
more or less	about, approximately	Alligators and crocodiles are more or less the same.
nuts and bolts	basic parts or details	So by and large we agree. We can discuss the nuts and bolts of the deal later.
odds and ends	miscellaneous things	I need to get a few odds and ends from the shops.
once and for all	forever	I will stop him once and for all!
one way or another	somehow	We'll beat them one way or another!
part and parcel	an important part	Part and parcel of being an effective journalist is a hunger for the truth.
peace and quiet	peace	After the kids left, we finally got some peace and quiet.
P's and Q's	manners pleases and thank yous	Mind your P's and Q's.
pros and cons	points for and against	We'll weigh the pros and cons of your proposal and get back to you.
rain or shine	in any weather	Rain or shine, I am going to the game.
rant and rave	talk angrily or crazily	He left ranting and raving about how they had mistreated him.
sick and tired	totally lose interest in	I'm sick and tired of your complaining.
sink or swim	succeed or fail: a turning point	When you are in a tough market, it is sink or swim.
sixes and sevens	disorganised	Without effective leadership, the department was at sixes and sevens.
song and dance	an overly complicated explanantion	After he was caught, he made a big song and dance about why he did it.
sooner or later	eventually, inevitably	Sooner or later he will get what he deserves.
spick and span	perfectly clean and tidy	After a couple of hours of cleaning, the house was spick and span.
sweetness and light	too friendly and pleasant	She is all sweetness and light when you first meet her.
take it or leave it	yes or no but there will be no negotiation	$20 - take it or leave it.
tall, dark and handsome	good-looking	Clooney plays his typical tall, dark and handsome ladies' man.
then and there	at that time and place	They hired him then and there.
thick and thin	in good and bad times	They were together through thick and thin.
time and (time) again	often or repeatedly	I rang time and time again, but couldn't get through.
to and fro	back and forth	The birds flew to and fro in the garden.
Tom, Dick and Harry	anyone	Every Tom, Dick and Harry has a website these days.
tooth and nail	with all your power	The activists fought tooth and nail to close the factory.
touch and go	uncertain and risky	It was touch and go after the company first launched, and we thought we would go under.
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.
up and about	out of bed and healthy again	A couple of days after the operation, she was up and about.
up and coming	promising	The up and coming Michael Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984.
up and down	good and bad	Sales were up and down for the two years leading up to the takeover.
warts and all	in all parts - even the bad ones	She loved him, warts and all.
wear and tear	damage coming from use	The deterioration was a result of ordinary wear and tear.
yes and no	in part yes, but otherwise no.	A: Are you enjoying your new job? B: Yes and no. The people are interesting, but the work is really mindless.
yes or no	what's your answer?	Are you coming? Yes or no?

Notes:

The only way to learn these is to memorise them.
Making mistakes here will not stop people understanding you, but people will know you are a non-native speaker of English. In other words, don't get too stressed about them.
There are many examples, like "husband and wife", "table and chairs", "fish and chips" or "bacon and eggs", of things which usually come in pairs. They are not on this list. This is a list of more useful examples.
Binomial pairs go by many names and are also known as "freezes" or "irreversible binomials".
There is a very big list of binomial pairs on Wikipedia.

Idiom