Mutt and Jeff

American  

noun

1. a very short and a very tall person who are paired as companions, teammates, or associates.

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Etymology

Origin of Mutt and Jeff

First recorded in 1915–20; after the characters in a cartoon strip of the same name created by U.S. cartoonist Harry C. “Bud” Fisher (1885–1954)

Example Sentences

They’re a regular Mutt and Jeff duo, except that they’re not funny or charismatic or much of anything at all.

From New York Times • Feb. 2, 2017

The artist explained that the name alludes in part to "Mutt and Jeff," the first daily newspaper comic strip, created by Bud Fisher in 1907.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2015

It is also said to be a reference to the daily comic strip Mutt and Jeff, which had first been published in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1907 with just a single character, A Mutt.

From The Guardian • Aug. 24, 2012

For advertising, he managed to get Donald Duck and the Big Bad Wolf cast as Fuller Brush men in cartoons, and the icon appeared in the comic strips Blondie and Mutt and Jeff.

From BusinessWeek • Feb. 22, 2012

We were Mutt and Jeff in the war.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut