this and that
Also, this, that, and the other. Various miscellaneous items, one thing and another, as in He said this and that about the budget, but nothing new or of great substance, or We spent all evening chatting about this, that, and the other. The first idiom was first recorded in 1581; the variant dates from the early 1900s.
RELATED CONTENT
This week is the “harvest moon.” What does this mean exactly, and what is the “hunter moon” that comes next?The gigantic, orange globe sitting on the horizon may look like a celestial pumpkin, but it will actually be the harvest moon. (It is also known as the wine moon, the singing moon, or the elk call moon.) The harvest moon happens once a year. It is the full moon nearest to the autumnal equinox. This lunar phenomenon is often mistaken for the hunter’s moon. …
This, It, and the Power of PronounsEarlier this year, bloggers at Gawker left behind internet slang for a formal style more in line with the New York Times than gossip blogs. As Gawker attempts to redefine itself as a publishing authority, its new editorial guidelines have adapted to explicitly forbid the language that Gawker’s readers recognize as an identifying component of its brand. One banned term stood out amid the roster …
RELATED WORDS
rest, melee, litter, debris, jumble, remains, remainder, motley, potpourri, rummage, leavings, hodgepodge, etcetera, rubbish, assortment, mishmash, refuse, patchwork, sundries, medley
Nearby words
- thirty-three,
- thirty-two,
- thirty-twomo,
- thiruvananthapuram,
- this,
- this is where i came in,
- this side of,
- this'll,
- this-worldliness,
- thisaway
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Examples from the Web for this and that
At home the Chief says rapidly, "Send a wire to So-and-so telling him this-and-that."
Mademoiselle So-and-so, Miss This-and-that,—we'll arrange all that.
A Noble Name|Claire Von GlmerAnd there were some this-and-that and be-damned-to-em people who would never get this inventionthe dirty, thieving rats!