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FORMATION
The pair of adjectives coordinated by "and"
can be defined as the combination of two simple adjectives of identical or close meaning that reinforce and complement each other: - a true and accurate translation: une traduction fidèle et exacte, - full and complete acceptance: acceptation pleine et entière. These adjectives stay in the same order in accordance with established practices.
The pair of adjectives is also known as an "adjectival pair", or "adjectival doublet".
In some instances, one of the two items can be a past participle or a verbal adjective: - (to be) dead and buried: (être) mort(e) et enterré(e), - (to be) dead and gone: (être) disparu(e), s'être évanoui(e), être définitivement révolu(e), n'(être) plus de ce monde, n'(être) plus, - (to be) ready and willing: (être) très enthousiaste, - (to be) over and done with: (être) bel et bien terminé(e), réglé(e) et terminé(e), fini(e) et bien fini(e), terminé(e), fini(e) (over is an adjective here).
In other instances, both items can be past participles: - (to be) bought and paid for: (être) acheté(e) et payé(e) (the order in which one past participle precedes the other derives from that participle being logically anterior).
A pair of adjectives can be used - either as a determiner (before a noun): - sincere and earnest efforts: des efforts sincères et véritables, - or as a predicate (after the auxiliary "be"): - I will leave when I am good and ready: Je partirai quand je serai fin prêt. However, some pairs are used only as predicates.
As a rule, paired adjectives are not hyphenated but hyphenation may occur when a pair is used as a determiner (as in the lean-and-mean workplace: l’entreprise dégraissée et aggressive).
Typically, adjectives that make up a pair are - either one-syllable words (e.g. null and void, safe and sound, tried and true), - or two-syllable words (e.g. many and various, ready and willing, etc.), - and rarely three-syllable words (e.g. true and accurate, weird and wonderful).
FIELDS
Although scarce, adjectival pairs are found, above all, in jargons specific to various fields, as shown by the following catch-all list: - a fit and healthy body: un corps apte et sain, - (to be) hale and hearty: (être) en pleine forme, être dispos(e), - (to be) armed and ready, être prêt(e) au combat, - a lean-and-mean production plant: une unité de production dégraissée et agressive, - (to be) courteous and polite: (être) courtois(e) et poli(e), - sincere and earnest efforts: des efforts sincères et véritables, - various and sundry items: des éléments divers et variés, - many and various types of plant: des types de plantes nombreux et variés, - weird and wonderful: étrange et merveilleux/-euse, bizarre et merveilleux/-euse, curieux/-euse et merveilleux/-euse, étrange et extraordinaire, merveilleux/-euse, fantastique (a pair used mainly in titles of books and articles: The Weird and Wonderful World of Mathematical Mysteries: Le Monde étrange et merveilleux des énigmes mathématiques).
Unsurprisingly, the largest contingent of adjectival pairs pertain to legal terminology: - (to be) null and void: (être) nul(le) et non avenu(e) (about an agreement, proceedings, etc.) or caduc/-uque (about a contract, a guarantee, etc.), - (to be) final and conclusive: (être) définitif/-ive et sans appel, (être) irrévocable (àbout findings, a verdict, a diagnosis, etc.), - (to be) due and payable: (être) exigible et payable (about a debt, a rent, etc.), - (to be) arbitrary and capricious: (être) arbitraire et capricieux/-euse, arbitraire et erratique (about the exercise of power, a form of use, etc.), - joint and several liability: responsabilité solidaire, obligation solidaire.
A number of indefinite adjectives can be used to make up adjectival pairs, such as in * any and all: tout le / toute la … sans exception, tous les … quels qu’ils soient, toutes les … quelles qu’elles soient, - any and all objections: toutes les objections quelles qu’elles soient, - any and all available means: tous les moyens disponibles sans exception,
* any and every: tout... quel qu'il soit, toute... quelle qu'elle soit, n'importe quel, n'importe quelle, - any and every issue: tout problème quel qu'il soit, - any and every book (in the list): n'importe quel livre (de la liste)
* each and every: chaque... sans exception, - each and every created being: chacune des créatures sans exception, - each and every one: chacun sans exception, absolument tout le monde,
* the one and only: le seul et unique, la seule et unique, l’unique, le seul, la seule, l’inégalable, l’incomparable (+ name), - the one and only solution: la seule et unique solution, - the one and only Lucille Ball: l’incomparable Lucielle Ball.
Some adjectival pairs sport alliterations: - safe and sound (sain(e) et sauf/-ve), - tried and true (qui a fait ses preuves), - rough and ready (approximatif/-ive).
TRANSLATION INTO FRENCH
English pairs of coordinated adjectives have a set translation in French * either in the form of two adjectives coordinated by « et »: - courteous and polite staff: un personnel courtois et poli, * or in the form of a single adjective, especially when both English adjectives are synonymous: - a complete and utter cave-in: un effondrement total, - joint and several liability: obligation solidaire.
When an adjectival pair has several meanings depending on the context, its French translation will vary too, as for example, bought and paid for: a/ (properly) my house is bought and paid for, ma maison est payée intégralement, b/ (figuratvely) a bought and paid for witness, un témoin corrompu.
There exist other ways of translating a pair of adjectives: * a circumlocution - The old barn is dead and gone: la vieille grange n'est plus, - The information contained therein is true and accurate: les informations contenues dans ce rapport sont conformes à la réalité, - The tribunal's decisions are final and conclusive: les décisions du tribunal sont sans appel, - This story is complete and utter bullshit: Cette histoire est un tissu de conneries du début à la fin / de bout en bout ; * a set phrase: - I will leave when I am good and ready: Je partirai lorsque je serai fin prêt(e) (« fin » being here an adverb meaning « entièrement »), - She wants to see me dead and buried: Elle me verrait bien six pieds sous terre.
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