There are many phrases in English that use two words connected with ‘and’. For example, wine and dine, home and hosed. These expressions are known as binomials or binomial pairs. In these phrases the word order is usually fixed; we always say ‘wine and dine’, we never say ‘dine and wine’.
Home and hosed
Meaning: safe and successful.
Ex: I’ve passed the test so I’m home and hosed for the time being.
Time and again
Meaning: repeatedly.
Ex: He was asking himself the same question time and again.
Wine and dine
Meaning: eat and drink well.
Ex: We used to wine and dine in expensive restaurants every night during our holiday in Greece
Alive and well
Meaning: healthy and active.
Ex: I came down with flu last week but I’m alive and well now.
Divide and rule
Meaning: the policy intended to keep someone in the position of disagreement for easier manipulation.
Ex: The government’s policy of divide and rule caused great disorder in the country.
Binomials
Up and down
Meaning: move repeatedly forwards and backwards along the given path.
Ex: We were walking up and down the beach every evening.
There and then
Meaning: happens immediately.
Ex: Ashley felt that she should tell him the truth there and then.
More and more
Meaning: increasingly.
Ex: As the time went by, Stephen was becoming more and more calm and stable.
Give and take
Meaning; people should cooperate and compromise in order to be successful.
Ex: Every relationship requires lots of give and take.
Home and dry
Meaning: to have finished something successfully.
Ex: Bob and Lucy have signed the contract so they’re home and dry now.
Dribs and drabs
Meaning: small, negligible amounts
Ex: I haven’t eaten anything properly today. Just dribs and drabs here and there.
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