September 10, 2022

SEP 10, binomial phrases: "high and dry"





Authors' Note: In deciding on their wedding vows, brides and grooms often pick binomial expressions owing to their aura of tradition and their musicality. Such phrases, bordering on clichés, include:
for better or for worseto have and to holdricher or poorer, and in sickness and in health. The ultimate cliché in this formulaic construct (that protagonist Cliff felt pressured to recite) is usually "til death do us part" (not a binomial).

Generally,  following recitation of the vows, the co-opted man and wife get photographed, and then the whole wedding-party goes off to celebrate. In the case described above, the mandatory recitation was distorted, and the guests were left high and dry


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