High and low vs ups and downs

Question

Which is the best answer?

(a) Susan searched __________ for her purse but she could not find it.

(i)high and low

(ii) ups and downs

Are they same in meaning? Although answer is (i), why don't we say "ups and downs"?

Yoong Liat · Accepted Answer

Vincent TeoWhich is the best answer?

(a) Susan searched __ for her purse but she could not find it.

(i)high and low

(ii) ups and downs

Are they same in meaning? Although answer is (i), why don't we say "ups and downs"?

If you say that you looked high and low for something, you are emphasizing that you looked for it in every place that you could think of.

The phrase 'high and low' is a fixed expression.

Why do we say "Raining cats and dogs", NOT "Raining dogs and cats"?

Vincent Teo · Answer

Thanks, I know the expression for "high and low", but how about "ups and downs"? it's same meaning with "high and low"?

Avangi · Answer

"Highs and lows" in the plural is a different fixed expression than "high and low."

For example, from the song Desperado (Eagles) (if memory serves me), "You're losin' all your highs and lows; funny how the feeling goes away." I don't pretend to know what this means, but "highs and lows" can mean "ups and downs."
We don't look "up and down" for something.

Oh well, sometimes we look up and down the street.

I suppose we have to include "here and there" and "left and right."

High and low vs ups and downs

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