# sugar and spice

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/sugar-and-spice
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Two things that are fundamentally different from each other.

## Examples

- My two cats are sugar and spice.
- The two business partners are sugar and spice, yet they work together perfectly.
- Although the two siblings share a home, their personalities are sugar and spice, leading to constant but affectionate disagreement.

## Origin

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

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.