left and right

noun

Two rapid successful shots from a double-barrelled gun.

“You can't expect to eat desserts left and right and not gain weight.”

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Meanings

nounleft and right (uncountable)
  1. uncountableshooting; literal; shooting; literalTwo rapid successful shots from a double-barrelled gun.

    Apparently a left-and-a-right in hunting parlance meant to shoot and kill two birds or animals in quick succession, first with your left barrel and then with your right.

    1956, Gerald Durrell, chapter 12, in My Family and Other Animals, London: Penguin, pages 180-81
adverbleft and right (not comparable)
  1. CanadaUSfigurativelynot comparableAll over the place; indiscriminately; frequently or excessively.

    You can't expect to eat desserts left and right and not gain weight.

    1 more example

    And then all the distributions come in and they screw it all up. Because they break binary compatibility left and right

    2014, Linus Torvalds, DebConf: Q&A with Linus Torvalds

Translations

Catalan a tort i a dret
  • a tort i a dretall over the place
Finnish kaksin käsin
  • kaksin käsinall over the place
French à tout-va, à droite et à gauche
  • à tout-vaall over the place
  • à droite et à gaucheall over the place
  • à tort et à traversall over the place
  • à dêtre et à senêtreall over the place
  • à dextre et à senestreall over the place
Hebrew על ימין ועל שמאל
  • על ימין ועל שמאל ('al yamín v'al smol)all over the place
Icelandic hægri vinstri
  • hægri vinstriall over the place
Polish na prawo i lewo, na prawo i na lewo
  • na prawo i lewoall over the place
  • na prawo i na lewoall over the place
Portuguese a torto e a direito
  • a torto e a direitoall over the place
Russian направо и налево
  • направо и налево (napravo i nalevo)all over the place
Spanish a diestro y siniestro, a diestra y siniestra
  • a diestro y siniestroall over the place
  • a diestra y siniestraall over the place
Swedish till höger och vänster
  • till höger och vänsterall over the place
Tagalog kaliwa't kanan
  • kaliwa't kananall over the place
Turkish önüne gelen
  • önüne gelenall over the place
Cite this entry
APA

left and right. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/left%20and%20right

MLA

“left and right.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/left%20and%20right. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “left and right,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/left%20and%20right.

Source: left and right on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.