Irreversible binomial


In linguistics and stylistics, an irreversible binomial, frozen binomial, binomial freeze, binomial expression, binomial pair, or nonreversible word pair is a pair of words, used together, in fixed order, as an idiomatic expression or collocation. The words typically have a semantic relationship, usually involving the word and or or. They also belong to the same part of speech: for example: nouns ; adjectives ; or verbs. Usually the order of such word elements will not be reversed.
The term "irreversible binomial" was introduced by Yakov Malkiel in 1954, though various aspects of the phenomenon had been discussed, since at least 1903, under different names: a "terminological imbroglio". Ernest Gowers used the name Siamese twins in the 1965 edition of Fowler's Modern English Usage. The 2015 edition reverts to the scholarly name, "irreversible binomials", as "Siamese twins" had become "politically incorrect".
Many irreversible binomials are catchy due to alliteration, rhyming, or ablaut reduplication, so becoming clichés or catchphrases. Idioms like rock and roll, the birds and the bees, and collocations like mix and match, and wear and tear have particular meanings apart from or beyond those of their constituent words. Ubiquitous collocations like loud and clear and life or death are fixed expressions, making them a standard part of the vocabulary of native English speakers.
Some English words have become obsolete in general but are still found in an irreversible binomial. For example, spick is a fossil word that never appears outside the phrase spick and span. Some other words, like vim in vim and vigor or abet in aid and abet, have become rare and archaic outside the collocation.
Numerous irreversible binomials are used in legalese. Due to the use of precedent in common law, many lawyers use the same collocations found in legal documents centuries old. Many of these legal doublets contain two synonyms, often one of Old English origin and the other of Latin origin: deposes and says, ways and means.
While many irreversible binomials are literal expressions, some are entirely figurative or mostly so. Somewhat in between are more subtle figures of speech, synecdoches, metaphors, or hyperboles. The terms are often the targets of eggcorns, malapropisms, mondegreens, and folk etymology.
Some irreversible binomials can have minor variations without loss of understanding: time and time again is frequently shortened to time and again; a person who is tarred and feathered can be said to be covered in tar and feathers.
However, in some cases small changes to wording change the meaning. The accommodating attitude of an activity's participants would be called give and take, while give or take means "approximately". Undertaking some act whether it is right or wrong excludes the insight from knowing the difference between right and wrong; each pair has a subtly differing meaning. And while five and dime is a noun phrase for a low-priced variety store, nickel and dime is a verb phrase for penny-pinching.

Structure

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 subtractionassets and liabilitiesback and forthballs and strikesbeginning to endblack and whitebig and smalla blessing and a curseboom or bustbride and groombrother and sisterbutt and passbuy and sellcatch and releasecause and effectchurch and statecops and robberscome and gocoming and goingcowboys and Indiansdays and nightsdeep and widedos and don'tsebb and flowfire and icefirst and lastfloor to ceilingfood and drinkfore and aftforeign and domesticforward and backwardfriend or foefront to backfruits and vegetablesgive and takegood and evilhail and farewellhand and foothead over heelsHeaven and Hellhere and therehide and seekhill and dalehim and herhigh and lowhills and valleyshis and hershither and thitherhither and yonhot and coldhurry up and waithusband and wifein and outin the place at the timeladies and gentlemenland and sealife or deathlong and shortlost and foundlove and hatelove and warman and wifemind over mattermom and popnaughty or nicenear and farnight and day nip and tucknorth to southnow and thennow and lateropen and shutover and underpark and rideport and starboardpros and conspush and pullrank and filerise and fallsavings and loanin sickness and in healthsoap and waterstart to finish stem to sternstop and gostrike and dipsweet and sourthe quick and the deadthick and thin a time and a placetip and ringto and frotop to bottomtown and countryup and downups and downsuptown and downtownwar and peacewasher and dryerwax and waneweal and woeyes and no

With related words and synonyms

ages and generationsaid and comfortalas and alackbits and piecesbody and soulborn and raised/bredbright and earlybrick and mortarby hook or by crookcheek by jowlclean and tidychapter and versecup and saucer(it was a) dark and stormy (night) day and agedollars and centsdot the i's and cross the t'sfear and loathingfish and chipsfirst and foremosthail and farewellhand over fisthaughty and high mindedhead and shouldersheart and soulherbs and spiceshighest and best (use)house and homehunger and thirstknife and forkleaps and boundslike mother, like daughterlo and beholdneat and tidynickel and dimenook and crannynull and voidnuts and boltsover and done withpain and sufferingpeace and quietpen and inkpick and choose pins and needlesplain and simpleprim and properrant and raverocks and shoalsshock and awesigns and wonderssix of one,
half a dozen of the otherskull and bonesskull and crossbonesstrait and narrowstraight and narrowstress and strainswings and roundaboutsticks and chiggerswhine and complainwind and rain 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 baggagebaubles and beadsbeams and balancebed and breakfastbelt and bracesbench and barbig and badthe birds and the beesblack and bluebold and beautifulbootleggers and Baptistsboxers or briefsbread and butterbull and boarcash and carrychalk and cheesecliques and clanscommand and controlcookies and creamdeaf and dumb devil and the deep blue seadine and dashdown and dirtydribs and drabsdrink and drivedrunk and disorderlyfast and furiousfeast or faminefire and forgetfire and furyfit in or fuck offflip-flopflora and faunafootloose and fancy-freeforgive and forgetform and functionfriend or foefun and frolicsfur and feathersghosts and goblinsgrins and gigglesto have and to holdhearth and homehem and hawhoot and hollerhorseshoes and handgrenadesJew and Gentilejuking and jivingking and countrykit and caboodlekith and kinlast but not leastlatitude and longitudelife and limblive and learnlock and loadlove 'em and leave 'emlove it or leave itmix and matchmeek and mildname and numberpart and parcelpeas in a podpen and pencilpen and paperpig in a pokepillar to postpots and panspublish or perishrags to richesranting and ravingread and writeready to rumblerest and relaxation rhyme or reasonright and wrongrock and rollrough and readyrules and regulationssafe and securesafe and soundshot and shellshower and shavesigns and symptomsslip and slidespick and spanspit and shineStars and Stripessticks and stonessugar and spicethis or thattit for tattop and tailtoss and turntrick or treattrials and tribulationstried and testedtried and truetruck and trailerwash and wearwatching and waitingweep and wailwet and wildwhooping and holleringwild and woollywise and wonderfulwitches and warlocks
  • ''wrack and ruin''

With rhymes and similar-sounding words

a wrap and a slapbreak and take
  • boom and zoombox and coxchalk and talkcharts and dartschips and dipdive and drivefair and squarefender benderfive and dimeflotsam and jetsamhandy-dandyhanky-pankyhelter skelterhiggledy piggledyhigh and dryhire and fire
  • hit and splithit it and quithither and thitherhocus pocushoity-toityhot to trothotch-potchhuff and puffhurly-burlyhustle and bustleitty-bittylap and gaplatest and greatestlean, mean, fightin' machine lick 'em and stick 'emloud and proudmeet and greetmight makes rightmotor votermy way or the highwayname and shamename it and claim itnear and dearnever, evernitty grittyodds and sodsonwards and upwardsout and aboutout and proudpell-mellpump and dumprough and toughrun and gunshout and cloutsaggy baggyshake and bakeslowly but surelysmoke and jokeson of a gunstash and dashstitch and bitchstop and dropso far, so goodsurf and turfteeny-weenytime and tidetown and gownuse it or lose itwake and bakewear and tearweed and feedwheeling and dealingwilly nillywine and dineyea or nay
  • '' yeas and nays''

Legal terminology

In law and official documents, there are many irreversible binomials and triplets consisting of near synonyms, such as the oft-heard terms and conditions and cease and desist. See the Legal doublet article for a list.

Conjunction

The most common conjunctions in an irreversible binomial are and or ''or.''

With "and" as the conjunction

above and beyondairs and gracesalarm and musteralive and kickingalive and wellan arm and a legarmed and dangerousapples and orangesback and fillback and forthbacon and eggsbangers and mashbait and switchbait and tackle ball and chainbarefoot and pregnantbargain and salebed and breakfastbeck and callbells and whistlesbelt and suspendersbig and boldbig and tallbigger and betterbinge and purgebit and bridlebits and bobsbits and piecesblack and blue block and tackleblood and gutsblood and gorebob and weavebow and arrowbound and determinedbound and gaggedbow and scrapebrace and bitbread and waterbread and circusesbread and rosesbrown and servebucket and spadebump and grindbump and runby and largeby guess and by gollycap and gowncar and drivercat and mousechecks and balanceschicken and dumplingschop and changeclean and sobercloak and daggercoat and tiecoffee and doughnutscock-and-bullcome and gocrash and burncream and sugarcrime and punishmentcup and saucercut and dried cut and pastecut and rundandelion and burdockday and ageday and nightdead and burieddead and gonedeath and taxesdine and dashdivide and conquerdog and pony showdown and outduck and coverduck and diveeach and everyeyes and earsfacts and figuresfar and widefast and furiousfast and loosefine and dandyfingers and thumbsfire and brimstonefirst and foremostfish and chips fits and startsflesh and bloodflesh and boneforever and a dayforever and everfront and centerfun and gamesfuss and bothergive and takegoals and aspirationsgood and plentygoodness and lightgrin and bear itground and poundhack and slashhale and heartyhard and fastham and eggshammer and nailhammer and sicklehammer and tongshearts and minds heaven and earthhere and nowhide and seekhide and watchhigh and mightyhigh and dryhigh and tighthit and misshit and runhit it and quit ithither and yonhither and thitherhome and hosedhome and dryhook and eyehook and loophorse and buggyhorse and carriagehot and heavyhot and highhot and botheredhuff and puffhugs and kisses if and when intents and purposeskiss and tellkiss and make upkith and kinknife and forkkicking and screaminglakes and streamslast will and testamentlaw and orderlo and beholdlock and damlock and keylook and feelloud and clearmake do and mendman and boymeat and potatoesmen and womenmilk and cookiesmilk and honeymortise and tenon

With "or" or "nor" as the conjunction

all or nothingbetter or worsebig or smallblack or whitebusiness or pleasurethe chicken or the eggday or nightdead or alivedo or diefight or flight fish nor fowlgive or takegood or badgentle or simplehe or sheheads or tails hell or high water here nor there hide nor hairhis or herhit or miss jot or tittlekill or curekill or be killed love nor moneymake or breakmore or lessnow or neverput up or shut uprain or shinerhyme or reasonright or wrongsink or swimsooner or latertake it or leave ittwo or moreup or down use nor ornamentvictory or deathwin or lose

With no conjunction

hoity toityhunter-gatherer
  • ''corn cheese''

People and fictional characters

Rhyming slang

Adam and Eveapples and pearsbottle and glassBrahms and Lisztdog and bonefrog and toadhand and blisternorth and southrabbit and porktrouble and strifetwo and eight
  • ''whistle and flute''

Variants

Irreversible binomials are sometimes isocolons which have become set phrases.
They may also be called simply binomials.
With three words, they may be called trinomials, and may satisfy the rule of three in writing.

Common trinomials

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacobanimal, vegetable, or mineralback, sack, and crackbeans, bullets, and bandagesbeg, borrow, or stealbell, book, and candleblood, sweat, and tearscalm, cool, and collectedCoffee, tea, or me?could've, would've, should'veculturally, historically, or aesthetically significantEagle, Globe, and Anchor

Quadrinomials

blood, toil, tears, and sweatCreate, Read, Update, DeleteEmmy, Grammy, Oscar, TonyJohn, Paul, George, and RingoMatthew, Mark, Luke, and Johnnorth, south, east and westparsley, sage, rosemary, and thymesigned, sealed, published, and declaredsoprano, alto, tenor, bassspectacles, testicles, wallet, and watchsuck, squeeze, bang, blowtime, destiny, fate, eternity