Binomials in English Language

Binomials in English Language

7th June 2019 CHALLA 30 Comments

BINOMIALS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Binomials in the English Language are the expressions containing two words usually joined by the conjunctions and or or.

For example

Black and white

Hot and cold

Ups and downs

Give or take

Make or break

Most of the binomials in English are irreversible and fixed and they happen to appear only in one order.

These binomials are also sometimes called Siamese twins named after Chang and Eng Bunker, the conjoined twins from Siam.

For example

By and large

Pros and cons

Short and sweet

Sick and tired

Do or die

More or less

There are many binomials in English which I do not intend to include in the following list. But here, an effort has been made to provide you the binomials which are regularly used in our day to day life.

These binomials have been classified into five categories as:

Binomials with opposite words (antonyms)

Binomials with related words (synonyms)

Binomials with alliteration (similar sound)

Binomials with rhyming words

Binomials with repetitive words (reduplication)

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Binomials in English Language

Binomials in English Language with opposite words (antonyms)
Words joined by the conjunction ‘and’ Binomial Pair Meaning
Assets and liabilities		the two main elements of balance sheet
Back and forth		moving backward and forward; to-and-fro
Black and white		sharply defined; clear-cut
Bride and groom		woman and man getting married
By and large		on the whole; everything considered
Cause and effect		a combination of action and reaction
Cops and robbers		police trying to catch criminals (in movies)
Come and go		arrive and then depart again; move around freely
Cowboys and Indians		A game in which the players assume the traditional roles of cowboys and Indians
Day and night		all the time; continuously
Dos and don’ts		rules and regulations; detailed instructions
Ebb and flow		the situation that changes frequently
First and last		in all respects; fundamentally; on the whole
Forward and backward		in both directions alternately; to and fro
Give and take		the practice of making mutual concessions : compromise
The great and small		people of all ranks
The haves and have-nots		rich and poor people in the society
Here and there		in one place and another; in various places
Hide and seek		a children’s game
High and low		in many different places; everywhere
Hither and thither		in various directions
Hot and cold		to change the mind a lot about whether to like someone or something
In and out		to the last detail; exhaustively; thoroughly
Ladies and gentlemen		used to address the audience
Long and short		The main idea or facts of something
Lost and found		a place where lost items are stored to await retrieval by their owners; a lost property
Loud and clear		clearly expressed and easy to understand
Near and far		from a very wide area
Night and day		all the time; constantly
Now and then		from time to time
On and off		intermittently
Park and ride		A transport system for reducing urban traffic congestion
Pros and cons		arguments for and against
Rise and fall		go to the top and down to the bottom, fluctuate
Stop and go		involving frequent stops
Thick and thin		every difficulty and obstacle – used especially in the phrase through thick and thin
Ups and downs		alternating rise and fall especially in fortune
Yes and no		no definite answer
Young and old		of all ages
Binomials in the English Language Words joined by different conjunctions and prepositions
Beginning to end		the start of a series of events that leads to the end; throughout
Dusk till dawn		from sunset to sunrise; night time
Floor to ceiling		used for describing things such as windows or pieces of furniture that are the full height of a wall
Front to back		with the front where the back should be; backwards
Give or take		plus or minus a small specified amount
Life or death		very important and crucial
Make or break		the thing which decides whether something succeeds or fails
More or less		approximately; almost
North to south		extending between the north and the south
Rain or shine		whether it rains or not; whatever the weather
Start to finish		from the beginning to the end
Sooner or later		at some future time; eventually
Top to bottom		in a very thorough way
Binomials with related words (synonyms)
Words joined by the conjunction ‘and’
Bits and pieces	an assortment of small items
Body and soul	involving every aspect of a person; completely
Clean and tidy	Free from dirt or stain
Dot the i’s and cross the t’s	ensure that all details are correct
Far and wide	in every direction; everywhere
First and foremost	most importantly; more than anything else
Head and shoulders	beyond comparison; by far
Heart and soul	with complete sincerity and devotion
House and home	an emphatic form of home
Leaps and bounds	by very large degree; rapidly or in quick progress forward
Nook and cranny	Every possible place or part of something, down to the smallest ones
Null and void	having no legal force
Pain and suffering	mental or especially physical distress for which one may seek damages in a tort action
Peace and quiet	tranquility; freedom from stress or interruptions
Pick and choose	select only the best from a number of alternatives
Plain and simple	essentially or fundamentally so, without exaggeration or elaboration
Short and sweet	pleasantly brief; not lasting a long time or requiring a lot of time
Sick and tired	thoroughly fatigued or bored
Skin and bone	very thin in a way that is unattractive and unhealthy
Skull and crossbones	a symbol of a human skull with two long bones crossed below it
Words joined by different conjunctions and prepositions
By hook or by crook	by any possible means
Like father, like son	a son’s character or behaviour can be expected to resemble that of his father
Like mother, like daughter	daughters resemble their mothers
Binomials in the English Language Binomials with alliteration (similar sound in initial words)
Words joined by the conjunction ‘and’
Bag and baggage	with all one’s belongings
Black and blue	covered in livid bruises
Bread and butter	a person’s livelihood or main source of income
Cash and carry	sold for cash payment and no delivery service
Chalk and cheese	used for saying that two people or things are completely different from each other
Command and control	the running of an armed force or other organization
Deaf and dumb	(of a person) both deaf and unable to speak
(Between the) devil and the deep blue sea	in a difficult situation where there are two equally unpleasant choices
Dine and dash	eating at a restaurant and leaving without paying
Done and dusted	(of a project) be completely finished or ready
Down and dirty	highly competitive or unprincipled
Drink and drive	drive a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol
Fast and furious	full of rapid action; lively and exciting
Flora and fauna	Plant life and wildlife, collectively
Forgive and forget	both pardon and hold no resentment concerning a past event.
Kith and kin	one’s friends and relatives
Life and limb	life and all bodily faculties
Mix and match	to put different things (such as pieces of clothing) together in different ways
Part and parcel	An essential or fundamental part or aspect (of something)
Rock and roll	showing eagerness to do, or start something
Rough and ready	crude in nature, method, or manner but effective in action or use
Safe and sound	free from danger or injury
Toss and turn	you keep moving around in bed and cannot sleep properly
Wash and wear	(of a garment or fabric) easily washed, drying quickly, and not needing to be ironed
Words joined by different conjunctions and prepositions
Feast or famine	either too much of something or too little
Flip-flop	move with a flapping sound or motion
Last but not least	last in order of mention or occurrence but not of importance
Pillar to post	moving from one place to another with a little purpose
Rags to riches	used to describe a person’s rise from a state of extreme poverty to one of great wealth
Ready to rumble	get ready to gang-fight
Tit for tat	an equivalent given in return (as for an injury); retaliation in kind
Slowly but surely	achieving the desired results gradually and reliably rather than quickly and spectacularly
So far, so good	progress has been satisfactory up to now
Binomials in English Language Binomials with rhyming words
Words joined by the conjunction ‘and’
Chalk and talk	the traditional method of teaching, consisting mainly of talking and writing on a chalkboard
Flotsam and jetsam	useless or unimportant items; odds and ends; homeless people
Huff and puff	to breathe loudly, usually after physical exercise
Hustle and bustle	a large amount of activity and work, usually in a noisy surrounding
Meet and greet	an occasion when people can meet each other
Near and dear	very close in relationship
Out and about	going to different places
Wear and tear	the damage that happens to an object in ordinary use during a period
Wine and dine	entertain someone with food and drink, esp. expensive food and drink
Words joined by different conjunctions and prepositions
Double trouble	a very troublesome thing or person
Even Steven	used in reference to fair and equal competition or distribution of resources
Fender bender	a road accident in which the vehicles involved are only slightly damaged
My way or the highway	used to say that people have to do what you say; otherwise, they will have to leave or quit the project
Use it or lose it	it means that if you don’t continue to practice or use an ability, you might lose that ability
Binomials in English Language Binomials with repetitive words (reduplication)
Words joined by the conjunction ‘and’
Again and again	repeatedly
By and by	after a short period; eventually
More and more	at a continually increasing rate
Neck and neck	level in a race or other competition
On and on	continually; at tedious length
Out and out	in every respect; absolute
Over and over	again and again
So and so	used instead of a particular name to refer to someone or something
Such and such	used for referring to something without saying exactly what it is
Words joined by different conjunctions and prepositions
All in all	on the whole
Arm in arm	(of two or more people) with arms linked
Back to back	facing in opposite directions, often with the backs touching
Bumper to bumper	very close together, as cars in a traffic jam
Let bygones be bygones	forget past offences or causes of conflict and be reconciled
Day to day	happening regularly every day
Day by day	on each successive day; gradually and steadily
Four-by-four	a vehicle equipped with four-wheel drive
End to end	in a row with the end of one object touching that of another
Face to face	(of two people) close together and facing each other
Hand in hand	closely associated or connected
Hand to hand	(of fighting) at close quarters
Horror of horrors	used to describe something as shocking or horrible
Little by little	by small degrees or amounts; gradually
Shoulder to shoulder	side by side
Side by side	together
Step by step	gradually
Time to time	at intervals; occasionally
Tooth for a tooth	the principle that a person who has injured another person is penalized to a similar degree; law of retaliation