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Irreversible Binomials, Word Pairs

This mouthful is actually a relatively common and often used idiomatic expression, like ‘no rhyme or reason’. And I started researching this because September 1st is “No Rhyme or Reason Day“.

Most non-reversible word pairs are two words that are connected with ‘and’ or ‘or’, though other connectors are possible. The words can be nouns, verbs, adjectives etc. but in a pair they will always be the same kind of word. You won’t see a noun and verb as a word pair and you can’t change the order of the words. It is ‘macaroni and cheese’ and never ‘cheese and macaroni’, hence irreversible. Say it aloud and you can hear how wrong that is.

In some cases one of the words has lost its meaning and/or use outside of the idiom. Very seldomly would we say ‘caboodle’ by itself, we come across it in the pair ‘the whole kit and caboodle’. And I don’t think ‘spick’ or ‘span’ are being used by themselves, but always as one expression ‘spick and span.’ But correct me if I’m wrong.

Antonyms, Synonyms, Identical

The word pairs contain words that are a. opposites, b. have roughly the same meaning, or are c. the same. Here are some examples:

a. rags to riches, naughty or nice, catch and release

b. rough and tough, heart and soul, null and void

c. step by step, time after time

You can see from the examples that often the words either start with the same letter or rhyme which makes them catchy and easy to remember.

German Irreversible Word Pairs

At some point when learning a foreign language you will realize that not every word and especially expression can be literally translated. In the beginning it seems so easy: der Tisch is the table, essen means to eat, blau means blue (though there are meanings of blau that go beyond the color). But then you start learning idiomatic expressions and everything falls apart. So, let’s take a look at German Irreversible Word Pairs that were featured in my instagram stories.

Mit Kind und Kegel – With Child and Bowling Pin?

When somebody travels or arrives mit Kind und Kegel it means he or she is coming with the whole family or with everybody. Often it also includes the bags or luggage that all family members need when traveling. The English equivalent would be “with everything but the kitchen sink”, “with kit and caboodle (or kaboodle)”, “with bags and baggage”, though all these expressions refer to things rather than people. Often it is just translated with “with the whole family”.

But what does this all have to do with bowling pins? While Germans know what this expression means most of them don’t know where it came from and what Kegel used to mean. Kegel is a bowling pin or skittle or a cone (among others) but the word in this context means extramarital or illegitimate children. I found that in Southern Germany around 120 years ago people were still using Kegel to refer to children born out of wedlock but I don’t think this is still the case.

Kopf und Kragen – Head and Collar

While Kragen literally means collar now, it used to mean neck. So when somebody is risking Kopf und Kragen he is risking his head and neck. The expression you would probably use in English is “risking one’s neck” or “risking life and limb”. Just like in German it refers to the fact of being beheaded and literally losing your head (and part of your neck).

There is another expression in German: Sie redet sich um Kopf und Kragen. She is talking herself into trouble or danger (again with the reference of maybe losing your life). In German and in English, we use this idiom to express a great danger, in the physical but also the metaphorical sense.

In Hülle und Fülle – too hard to translate

Looking up Hülle generates an abundance of translations: cover, coating, sleeve, wrapper, case, envelope etc. So it makes sense that the German Hülle used to mean clothing because you cover and wrap yourself in clothes. Fülle is a little easier since the word is related to full or fullness. And here we are talking about food that fills your belly. When people in the 16th century or later talked about having Hülle und Fülle they meant they had clothes and food and their basic needs were taken care of. Throughout time the meaning changed from having the basics to having plenty of something or even more than necessary.

Saying that a bakery has cakes in Hülle und Fülle means that they have a lot of cakes. The idiomatic expression can be translated with “plenty of something”, “in abundance”, “enough and to spare”, or “up the yin-yang”. I didn’t know about the last one but now that I do I might try to incorporate next time I have too much of something.

Weit und breit – Far and Wide

This one is pretty self-explanatory, in German and in English. You can translate it with “far and wide” or with “in sight”. When you say Da war keine Menschenseele weit und breit you would say “There wasn’t a soul in sight” in English. Interesting that both languages use soul or a person’s soul in lieu of person. Anyway, the German weit und breit is a good example of a rhyming binomial and also one where the two words bascially mean the same, just like in English, and are being used for emphasis.

Rotz und Wasser heulen – To Cry/Howl Snot and Water

This one too is self-explanatory, you cry so hard that not only water or tears are running down your face but also snot. The verb heulen already implies really hard crying, in English you would say “to cry one’s eyes out.”

What other German idiomatic expression would you like to know more about?

Verwendete und weitere Quellen / Sources

• Karl Hugo Pruys: Bis in die Puppen. Die 100 populärsten Redearten, 2008.
• Karl Hugo Pruys: Perlen vor die Säue. Noch mehr populäre Redensarten, 2009.
• https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwillingsformel
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreversible_binomial
• https://ewnor.de/lexikon/index.php
• https://www.redensarten-index.de/suche.php?suchbegriff=~~Rotz%20und%20Wasser%20heulen&bool=relevanz&sp0=rart_ou
• https://www.redensarten-index.de/suche.php?suchbegriff=in+h%C3%BClle+und+f%C3%BClle&bool=relevanz&gawoe=an&sp0=rart_ou
• https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/