odds and ends

What it means

Odds and ends are the small, varied items that are left over after the main things have been dealt with — random objects, loose ends of tasks, or minor purchases. The phrase suggests a mixed collection that doesn't fit any tidy category.

Examples

• I just need to pick up a few odds and ends at the shop.
• The drawer was full of odds and ends — buttons, batteries, old keys.
• She spent the afternoon tying up odds and ends before the holiday.
• There are still some odds and ends to sort out before we move in.

Where it comes from

Originally 'odd ends' in the 1500s, referring to the leftover scraps from cloth or other materials; the phrase doubled into its current rhyming form by the 1700s.

Related idioms