Top 57 Pairs of Things That Go Together
There are some things you can’t hear or think of without something else also coming to mind. When many of us hear “peanut butter,” we immediately think “jelly!”
Some pairs even date back hundreds of years. For example, people have been eating mashed potatoes with gravy since the 18th century.1
Learning to pair things together is also an important part of our earliest development. A child figuring out how to pair objects is the first step to associating letters with one another and eventually learning to read.2
If you’re on the hunt for a classic duo, you’ve come to the right place. Below, we have the list of 57 pairs of things that go together.
You’ll also find a few fun activities beneath the list to help you come up with more pairs.
Pairs of Things That Go Together
Cookies and Milk
Salt and Pepper
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Bow and Arrow3
Sweet and Sour4
Nuts and Bolts5
Thunder and Lightning
Me and You
Hugs and Kisses5
Needle and Thread5
Bread and Butter
Pros and Cons6
Spaghetti and Meatballs3
Macaroni and Cheese3
Green Eggs and Ham
Flint and Steel
Cat and Mouse
Fish and Chips3
Hammer and Nails3
Prince and Princess
Shoes and Socks
Hot and Spicy
Peaches and Cream
War and Peace6
Cat and Dog
Ketchup and Mustard5
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy5
Lock and Key
Black and White3
Cloak and Dagger6
Give and Take
King and Queen
Left and Right
Bacon and Eggs
Pots and Pans6
Crime and Punishment6
Pencil and Paper
Bed and Breakfast4
Surf and Turf3
Chicken and Rice
Horse and Carriage5
Fork and Knife3
Brother and Sister
Apples and Oranges
Love and Marriage5
Stars and Stripes4
Nickel and Dime5
Smoke and Mirrors4
Meat and Potatoes4
Peanut Butter and Chocolate
Fun and Games
Mom and Dad
Cream and Sugar
Pins and Needles5
Cup and Saucer
Bricks and Mortar6
Coat and Tie
Helpful Activities for Finding Common Pairs
We’ve listed some of the most well-known pairs that go together, but plenty of other things come in twos as well.
Complete these activities to find your own expanded list of pairs!
- Random Pairs: Grab a sheet of paper and have someone call out random, everyday things, such as “pen,” “fork,” “book,” and “bottle.” Write down each word the person says, then the first thing that comes to mind when you think of that word. You’re bound to come across at least a couple of great ideas for pairs!
- Favorite Pairs: Make a list of your favorite things in the world. These might be your favorite possessions, gear related to your hobbies, or items you collect. Then, figure out what goes best with each one. This may prompt a few useful ideas for pairs. For example, if you collect cute mugs, you might come up with “mugs and bowls.”
- Matching/Themed Pairs: Another idea is to think of things that are the same color, items that share a common theme, or rhyming words. Among some fun, silly answers, you’ll also find great pairs, such as “surf and turf” (which rhyme) or “sapphires and rubies” (which are both gemstones).
- https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/the-history-behind-10-classic-food-pairings[↩]
- https://toysoldier.fun/blogs/just-sharing/benefits-of-playing-matching-games-activities[↩]
- "Matching Game," National Federation of the Blind[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- "Famous and Common Duos Vocabulary Word List," Enchanted Learning[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- "Things that go Together Quiz," Golden Carers[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- "Word Pairs - list of nonreversible word pairs," sightwordsgame[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
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