Nonreversible word pairs always appear in the same order, e.g., back and forth. It would sound awkward if we read forth and back. For many of us, certain words go together and we will automatically use the correct order. However, nonnative speakers will need to learn nonreversible word pairs.
Common Word Pairs
The following is a list of common word pairs. Collocations are also a good idea to learn if you are a nonnative speaker. These are words commonly used together, e.g., have a headache.
| Adam and Eve | life or death |
| back and forth | lock and key |
| bacon and eggs | lost and found |
| bed and breakfast | man and wife |
| birds and bees | name and address |
| black and white | nice and easy |
| body and soul | null and void |
| bread and butter | peaches and cream |
| bread and water | pen and pencil |
| bricks and mortar | pork and beans |
| bride and groom | pots and pans |
| business and pleasure | prim and proper |
| by and large | profit and/or loss |
| cause and effect | pros and cons |
| cloak and dagger | pure and simple |
| coat and tie | rain or shine |
| coffee and doughnuts | ranting and raving |
| cream and sugar | read and write |
| crime and punishment | right and/or wrong |
| cup and saucer | rise and fall |
| dead or alive | salt and pepper |
| down and out | shirt and tie |
| first and last | shoes and socks |
| fish and chips | short and fat |
| flesh and blood | signed and sealed |
| forgive and forget | slip and slide |
| front and center | soap and water |
| fun and games | sooner or later |
| give and take | stars and stripes |
| ham and eggs | suit and tie |
| hammer and nail | supply and demand |
| hemmed and hawed | sweet and sour |
| high and dry | tall and thin |
| high and low | thick and thin |
| hot and bothered | tossed and turned |
| huffing and puffing | touch and go |
| husband and wife | trial and error |
| in and out | trials and tribulations |
| Jack and Jill | up and/or down |
| knife and fork | wait and see |
| ladies and gentlemen | war and peace |
| law and order | wine and cheese |
If we forgot a word pair, please let us know via our comment form below.
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In linguistics, a collocation is a pair (or group) of words that always appear in the same order, for example we say “back and forth” not “forth and back,” or we say “lost and found” rather than “found and lost.” These are also referred to as nonreversible word pairs. Try reversing the order of these word pairs and see the reaction you will get — it is tantamount to mispronouncing or misspelling a word. Many other languages have word pairs or groups of words that when reversed do not make sense (or you end up sounding like Dr. Seuss or Yoda).
Native English speakers learn collocations through the gradual acquisition of language from a young age; after learning them, we speak them without even thinking about it. However, for individuals who are learning to speak English, collocations, along with idioms, can be challenging to learn because there is, ahem, no rhyme or reason why the words have to be in that particular order — the order was simply established by habitual usage. Below is a list of the most common English collocations.
Adam and Eve
back and forth
bacon and eggs
bed and breakfast
birds and bees
black and white
body and soul
bread and butter
bread and water
bricks and mortar
bride and groom
business and pleasure
by and large
cause and effect
cloak and dagger
coat and tie
coffee and doughnuts
cream and sugar
crime and punishment
cup and saucer
dead or alive
down and out
first and last
fish and chips
flesh and blood
forgive and forget
front and center
fun and games
give and take
ham and eggs
hammer and nail
hemmed and hawed
high and dry
high and low
hot and bothered
huffing and puffing
husband and wife
in and out
Jack and Jill
knife and fork
ladies and gentlemen
law and order
life or death
lock and key
lost and found
man and wife
name and address
nice and easy
null and void
peaches and cream
pen and pencil
pork and beans
pots and pans
prim and proper
profit and/or loss
pros and cons
pure and simple
rain or shine
ranting and raving
read and write
rhyme or reason
right and/or wrong
rise and fall
rock and roll
salt and pepper
shirt and tie
shoes and socks
short and fat
signed and sealed
slip and slide
soap and water
sooner or later
stars and stripes
suit and tie
supply and demand
sweet and sour
tall and thin
thick and thin
terms and conditions
to and fro
tossed and turned
touch and go
trial and error
trials and tribulations
up and/or down
wait and see
war and peace
wine and cheese
Wordplay: A Curious Dictionary of Language Oddities
Read related posts: What is the Longest Word in English Language?
Word Oddities: Fun with Vowels
What is an Abecedarian Insult?
Difficult Tongue Twisters
Rare Anatomy Words
What Rhymes with Orange?
For further reading: https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations.htm
http://www.sightwordsgame.com/vocabulary-words/word-pairs/
Englishbix will help you to learn about some of the non-reversible word pairs. These pair of words will appear in similar order and they go together that can be read in back and forth. These words can be used by English learners to improve their vocabulary.
Below are a few common examples of English word pairs that go together from a to z.
| Adam and Eve | life or death |
| back and forth | lock and key |
| bacon and eggs | lost and found |
| bed and breakfast | man and wife |
| birds and bees | name and address |
| black and white | nice and easy |
| body and soul | null and void |
| bread and butter | peaches and cream |
| bread and water | pen and pencil |
| bricks and mortar | pork and beans |
| bride and groom | pots and pans |
| business and pleasure | prim and proper |
| by and large | profit and/or loss |
| cause and effect | pros and cons |
| cloak and dagger | pure and simple |
| coat and tie | rain or shine |
| coffee and doughnuts | ranting and raving |
| cream and sugar | read and write |
| crime and punishment | right and/or wrong |
| cup and saucer | rise and fall |
| dead or alive | salt and pepper |
| down and out | shirt and tie |
| first and last | shoes and socks |
| fish and chips | short and fat |
| flesh and blood | signed and sealed |
| forgive and forget | slip and slide |
| front and center | soap and water |
| fun and games | sooner or later |
| give and take | stars and stripes |
| ham and eggs | suit and tie |
| hammer and nail | supply and demand |
| hemmed and hawed | sweet and sour |
| high and dry | tall and thin |
| high and low | thick and thin |
| hot and bothered | tossed and turned |
| huffing and puffing | touch and go |
| husband and wife | trial and error |
| in and out | trials and tribulations |
| Jack and Jill | up and/or down |
| knife and fork | wait and see |
| ladies and gentlemen | war and peace |
| law and order | wine and cheese |
Keep exploring Englishbix to learn about minimal pairs used in speech therapy and correlative conjunction pairs.
Quick Links
- Examples of Correlative Conjunctions Pairs
- Final Consonant Deletion Word Pairs
In English, there are certain word pairs that always go together. If you try to reverse their order it sounds weird to a native speaker.[1]https://www.sightwordsgame.com/vocabulary-words/word-pairs/
Below are a few popular examples of English word pairs.[2]https://www.thoughtco.com/nonreversible-word-pairs-1209931
Bacon and Eggs
Would you like some bacon
and eggs for breakfast?
Back and Forth
They kept on arguing back
and forth.
Bed and Breakfast
We stayed in a beautiful little bed and breakfast by the beach.
Brick and Mortar
It is an online only store. It doesn’t have any brick and mortar locations.
Bride and Groom
The bride and groom
looked so happy walking down the aisle together.
Business and Pleasure
I try to not mix business
and pleasure.
Cause and Effect
There is a clear cause
and effect to the situation that you find yourself in.
Coffee and Donuts
Would you like to get some coffee and donuts for breakfast?
Cream and Sugar
Do you take cream and
sugar with your coffee?
Dead or Alive
The wanted poster said that they wanted the criminal dead or alive.
Fun and Games
It is all fun and
games until someone gets hurt.
Front and Center
The teacher told me to stand front and center to give my presentation.
Hammer and Nail
This job requires a hammer
and nail to complete.
Knife and Fork
Can you set knives
and forks on the table?
Ladies and Gentlemen
Ladies and Gentlemen
can I have your attention please?
Law and Order
Law and order is
the rule of the land.
Life or Death
The people in the sinking boat are in a life or death situation.
Lost and Found
Check the lost and
found to see if you can find your lost cellphone.
Pots and Pans
I had to clean all the pots
and pans.
Rain or Shine
We will be there rain
or shine.
Salt and Pepper
Can you pass me the salt
and pepper please?
Sooner or Later
Sooner or later
you will need to study if you want to do well in the class.
Sweet and Sour
I really like sweet
and sour chicken.