list of proverbial pairs

This is a list of proverbial or idiomatic pairs or pairs employed in common spoken or written usage. For a complete listing of pairs see Lists of pairs. For a list sorted by name see List of pairs by name.

Apples and oranges (conceptual; opposing; food)
Bacon & eggs (complementary; food)
Bathroom & W.C. (complementary) (British usage) The two essential hygienic plumbing facilities.
Bed and breakfast (
Black & white (conceptual; opposing)
Bread & butter (complementary; food)
Bread & Roses (Proverbial of women's labor issues, from slogan of the 1912 Lawrence, Massachusetts strikers)
Bread & water (complementary; food)
Breaking & entering (legal term)
Bubble & Squeak (complementary; food) (dish made from leftover potatoes and cabbage)
Cats & dogs (rivals/opponents)
Cause and effect
Cease & desist (Legal idiom)
Chalk & cheese (rivals/opponents) British phrase, "as different as chalk and cheese"
Cloak & dagger (idiom) refers to secretive acts
Coat & tie (equipment; complementary) (The two required articles constituting formal dress)
Corned beef & cabbage (complementary; food) Proverbial lower-class Irish main course
Death & taxes (complementary) (proverbial pairing of two inevitabilities)
Divide & conquer (complementary)
Fight or flight (opposing)
Fish & chips (complementary; food)
Flotsam & Jetsam (complementary; legal)
Friend or foe (opposing)
Gin & tonic (complementary; beverages)
Gin & Vermouth (complementary; beverages)
ham and eggs (complementary; food)
Heaven & Earth (opposing)
Heaven & Hell (opposing)
Jack & Jill (fictional; companions)
Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak (colleagues; commercial partners) The proverbial "two Steves in a garage" who founded Apple Computer, Inc.. (with assistance from Mike Markkula)
King & Country (complementary)
Mad dogs & Englishmen (complementary; title) Noel Coward song title, referring to creatures that "go out in the mid-day sun" in tropical climes; also motion picture title, name of singing group, name of advertising agency.
Motherhood & apple pie (complementary) The two primary undisputed American values
Mutt & Jeff (fictional; companions; comic strip) Creations of Harry Conway "Bud" Fisher; it was the first well-known daily comic strip. Hence also proverbial for any tall-short pair of men.
Nature or nurture (opposing)
nuts & bolts (complementary)
Oranges and lemons (complementary) (Nursery rhyme)
Peaches & cream (complementary)
Salt & pepper (complementary; food)
Salt & vinegar (complementary; food)
Shave & a haircut (complementary)
Skull & Bones (complementary) Name of Yale secret society.
Skull & Crossbones (complementary) Symbol of death, piracy, and poison.
Silk & Satin (proverbial pairing of two lustrous, luxurious fabrics)
Smoke & mirrors (The illusionist's elements
Sticks & stones (complementary) Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me
Thunder & lightning (complementary)
Tom & Jerry (fictional; rivals/opponents; animated cartoon); also (
Tweedledum & Tweedledee (complementary) Proverbial for an trivial difference; originally creations of John Byrom, referring to musical controversy; also (fictional; twins) creations of Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass

List Of Proverbial Pairs

See also