Meaning & use
odd and ends
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Meaning
nounplural
Small, unimportant things of different kinds that are left over or collected together.
Grammar: Always plural in this form; the usual idiom is 'odds and ends', which is far more common than 'odd and ends'.
Patterns
- a few odd and ends
- odd and ends of something
I spent the morning sorting out the odd and ends in the kitchen drawer.
She keeps a box of odd and ends that might be useful one day.
After the move, only a few odd and ends were left in the old flat.
Common combinations
- odds and ends
- The shop sells odds and ends like buttons, string and old keys.
- a box of odd and ends
- There is a box of odd and ends in the attic.
- bits and pieces
- He packed his bits and pieces into two bags.
- leftover odd and ends
- We gave the leftover odd and ends to a charity shop.
Synonyms and how they differ
- odds and ends
- This is the standard, much more frequent form of the same idiom; 'odd and ends' sounds like a slip of the tongue.
- bits and pieces
- Very similar and equally informal, but it often suggests small personal belongings rather than random leftovers.
- miscellany
- A formal, rather literary word for a mixed collection; too grand for everyday talk about a drawer of junk.
Commonly confused: odd and ends or odds and ends? odd and ends or end?
odd and ends vs odds and ends
This is the normal spelling; 'odd and ends' drops the -s and is usually treated as a mistake, though people will understand it.
odd and ends vs end
'End' alone means the final part of something, not a small leftover object.
Practice
Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Choose one answer.
The fixed idiom is 'odds and ends', with -s on both words. Option 0 is close but not the standard form, and options 2 and 3 break the fixed plural pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “odd and ends”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.