English Reference
Idiom idiom

sugar and spice

Meaning

Two things that are fundamentally different from each other.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Examples
SIMPLE

“My two cats are sugar and spice.”

CONTEXTUAL

“The two business partners are sugar and spice, yet they work together perfectly.”

COMPLEX

“Although the two siblings share a home, their personalities are sugar and spice, leading to constant but affectionate disagreement.”

Origin
disputed origin

Perhaps from sugar and spice and everything nice in the nursery rhyme What Are Little Boys Made Of?.

Anchors to
Related idioms3entries
  1. 01

    herbs and spices

    A variety or a diversity of elements which combine to make something more interesting, complex, or enjoyable.

  2. 02

    sugar and spice and everything nice

    Describing a person who is kind, friendly, pleasant, and generally good-natured.

  3. 03

    sugar coated

    Alternative form of sugarcoated.

Last updated August 10, 2026