悠闲英语(五十七)

Coming in Pairs―成双成对

There are many expressions in English that are paired with two of the same words. What are they? Well, you don’t need to look any further than your own body! Counting from one’s head to toe, we’ll see quite a few of these expressions. Let’s try, and it should be fun.

Each person has two ears. Although our two ears never have a chance to meet each other, they sometimes get close by a smile: When the girl saw the pretty dress, she smiled from “ear to ear” ― a very big smile, indeed.

Yes, we also have two eyes. Even though our eyes are close together, they cannot see each other; otherwise, you’d be “cross?鄄eyed”. But sometimes two people see things “eye to eye” and sometimes they don’t, depending on whether or not they are in agreement with each other.

You only have one nose. So when you want to do something “nose to nose”, it has to involve another person. In some cultures, such as the Eskimos1, people touch nose with one another to show affection. Yeah, right, it’s kind of kissing with the nose.

There’s the mouth under the nose. I know what you would say: “mouth to mouth” that is a kiss. Well, “mouth to mouth” does not always have to be a kiss. Have you heard of “mouth to mouth resuscitation2”?

Each of us has two cheeks, left and right. When you do something “cheek to cheek”, you need to press your cheek against someone else’s. Right, you can certainly dance cheek to cheek with a boy or girl friend.

No, you can’t dance with someone “face to face”, because, if you do so, neither of you would be able to see where you are going. You can talk to your friend face to face or have a face?鄄to?鄄face job interview, meaning you are there in person, not on the phone or through your QQ’s webcam.

We have covered just about everything on the head. Now how about the head itself? “Head to head” does not mean knocking someone’s head with your own, but it describes the intensity of competition: Last night’s English debate tournament was head to head from the beginning to the end.

Your neck is an awfully important body part, since your head sits on it.“Neck and neck” also indicates that the competition is so intense that it is hard to announce a winner: The Democrats and Republicans are neck and neck in this year’s election.

Now let’s go to your shoulders. Although you have two shoulders, they are separated by your neck. So, when we say “shoulder to shoulder”, it means being together with someone else: The two brothers stood there shoulder to shoulder; the soldiers marched shoulder to shoulder in the parade.

Arms are the natural extensions of one’s shoulders. You can fold your own arms together, but, when you are “arm in arm” with someone, it shows friendship and intimacy: There are young couples walking arm in arm in the park.

The next, of course, we will talk about the hands. “Hand in hand” also means intimacy: There are young couples walking hand in hand in the park. But, when it comes to “hand to hand”, it indicates very fierce fighting in which people try to kill one another with their bare hands: The battle became hand to hand when soldiers ran out of ammunition.

There are two sides of a hand, the palm and the back of the hand. A “palm to palm” handshake is strong and firm, showing your frankness, honesty, and readiness to do business. There are also other types of handshakes, some of which are called “dead fish” .

Now, let’s skip most other body parts and go right down to the toe. When something goes “toe to toe”, it means there’s close and direct confrontation: Jim and John fought toe to toe for the nomination of the best student of the year.

How about we go inside the body? Yes, there’s the heart. When you have a “heart to heart” talk with someone, both you and your partner are trying to be frank, honest, and straight forward, and you want to get to the bottom of the subject.

It may sound a bit strange, but “back to back” actually means one after another: After back to back tournaments, all the players on the basketball team felt tired. (Wouldn’t“back to front” make more sense here? I give up ...)

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts3.” Now that we have counted through the parts of our body, let’s talk about the person as a whole. When you have a “man to man” conversation with someone, you are forthright and honest and what you say, perhaps, may not be that pleasant for the other party to take. Then, you may ask, what’s the difference between “heart to heart” and “man to man”? The former, I think, is more emotional, the latter more serious.

Finally, let’s pick up a few expressions about our behaviors. When facing a big task, you may want to go about it one step at a time or do it “step by step”.And when you can “talk the talk”, you’d better also be able to “walk the walk”, that is, to put what you know in practice.

If you come across other paired expressions, send me an email to . Take good care and keep in touch.

解释

1. Eskimo爱斯基摩(人)

2. mouth to mouth resuscitation 口对口人工呼吸

3. the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

总体大于部分之和