odds and ends
various items of small value
TRANSLATION
odds and ends = Kleinkram, Krimskrams (woerterbuch.info) --- GOOGLE INDEX odds and ends: approximately 1,400,000 hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
We have some furniture and lots of ODDS AND ENDS that we would like to sell.
(from a classified ad on craiglist.com)
---
She had a trunk for her clothes and another for the various ODDS AND ENDS, cushions, lampshades, photograph frames, with which she had tried to give the apartments a home-like air…
- Of Human Bondage, by Somerset Maugham
(from a classified ad on craiglist.com)
---
She had a trunk for her clothes and another for the various ODDS AND ENDS, cushions, lampshades, photograph frames, with which she had tried to give the apartments a home-like air…
- Of Human Bondage, by Somerset Maugham
Did you
know?
odds and ends
noun phrase
- various items of different types, usually small and unimportant or of little value
Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
Note: The expression is also used in a figurative sense to mean lots of small tasks that have to be completed (sometimes also referred to as "loose ends").
---
WORD ORIGIN
Allen’s English Phrases suggests that odds and ends derived from the earlier expression "odd ends". In this context, end is used to mean a remnant or a piece of something that has been cut off. The British equivalent is "odds and sods", a military expression that originally referred to soldiers in a battalion who were relegated to performing miscellaneous duties (a sod being an offensive term for someone or something unpleasant or difficult).
In American slang, a person who is required to perform menial tasks is often called a gofer. This derives from the words "go for", which can be used when instructing someone to fetch something (go for coffee, go for sandwiches, etc…). In British English, a gofer is called a dogsbody.
Dogsbody is another expression that originated in the military, more specifically the Royal Navy (sailors are a wonderful source of colourful language). In the days of Admiral Nelson, British sailors were fed horrible food. One of the staple delicacies was dried peas boiled in a bag. The official name was pease pudding, but sailors liked to call it "dog’s body", perhaps because of the shape of the bag after the peas were boiled in it.
At some point, the expression began to be applied to junior officers who were required to perform lowly tasks for more senior officers. And like lots of military jargon, it eventually found its way into the day-to-day language to describe someone stuck doing jobs no one else wanted – or as we like to say, someone who has to do "the dirty work".
---
SYNONYMS
assortment, bits, debris, etceteras, hodgepodge, jumble, leavings, litter, medley, melee, miscellany, motley, mélange, oddments, olio, paraphernalia, potpourri, remnants, rest, rubbish, rummage, scraps, sundry items
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition)
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO A CONVERSATION TODAY
say something like:
"After attending the efficiency seminar, Bob got rid of all the odds and ends in his office."
noun phrase
- various items of different types, usually small and unimportant or of little value
Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
Note: The expression is also used in a figurative sense to mean lots of small tasks that have to be completed (sometimes also referred to as "loose ends").
---
WORD ORIGIN
Allen’s English Phrases suggests that odds and ends derived from the earlier expression "odd ends". In this context, end is used to mean a remnant or a piece of something that has been cut off. The British equivalent is "odds and sods", a military expression that originally referred to soldiers in a battalion who were relegated to performing miscellaneous duties (a sod being an offensive term for someone or something unpleasant or difficult).
In American slang, a person who is required to perform menial tasks is often called a gofer. This derives from the words "go for", which can be used when instructing someone to fetch something (go for coffee, go for sandwiches, etc…). In British English, a gofer is called a dogsbody.
Dogsbody is another expression that originated in the military, more specifically the Royal Navy (sailors are a wonderful source of colourful language). In the days of Admiral Nelson, British sailors were fed horrible food. One of the staple delicacies was dried peas boiled in a bag. The official name was pease pudding, but sailors liked to call it "dog’s body", perhaps because of the shape of the bag after the peas were boiled in it.
At some point, the expression began to be applied to junior officers who were required to perform lowly tasks for more senior officers. And like lots of military jargon, it eventually found its way into the day-to-day language to describe someone stuck doing jobs no one else wanted – or as we like to say, someone who has to do "the dirty work".
---
SYNONYMS
assortment, bits, debris, etceteras, hodgepodge, jumble, leavings, litter, medley, melee, miscellany, motley, mélange, oddments, olio, paraphernalia, potpourri, remnants, rest, rubbish, rummage, scraps, sundry items
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition)
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO A CONVERSATION TODAY
say something like:
"After attending the efficiency seminar, Bob got rid of all the odds and ends in his office."
