“Fish and chips”, “back and forth”, “give and take”, etc. These are words that go together well, actually so much so that they are inseparable from each other and the order is irreversible. In other words, we do not say “chips and fish”, nor do we utter “forth and back”, both of which would sound awkward to the native ear. These immutable idiomatic expressions are called binomials or linguistic Siamese twins. They always come in the same order and are often linked by “and”, “or”, or a preposition.

For non-native English speakers, these word pairs can be challenging to grasp, as they can be quite unpredictable. For example, why put on your “shoes and socks” when a normal person on a normal day usually puts on socks before shoes? Or why is it “born and bred” when the logic of it is “bred and born”? Interestingly, Cantonese has these seemingly preposterous binominals too, e.g. drinking oneself full and eating oneself drunk (飲飽食醉). One of the more plausible explanations for these illogically ordered phrases might be that the tongue seeks the easier path. Fortunately, there is logic behind a lot of other Siamese twins, e.g. cause and effect, crime and punishment. Learning binomial expressions makes one sound more natural and expressive in English. Let’s take a look at some of the most common binomial pairs.

By and large
Meaning: mostly, generally
e.g. It was, by and large, a good presentation.

An arm and a leg
Meaning: extremely expensive
e.g. It cost us an arm and a leg to buy a new car.

Part and parcel
Meaning: an integral or essential piece
e.g. Rude customers and long hours are part and parcel of the job.

High and dry
Meaning: without resources or help
e.g. Travellers were left high and dry waiting at the airport.

Cut and dried
Meaning: clear and definite or unchangeable
e.g. There are no cut and dried answers to this problem.

Done and dusted
Meaning: completely finished
e.g. The project is all done and dusted, so let’s go celebrate.