In contracts and formal orders, certain word pairs are quoted as set formulas, and there the order really is fixed: these are lines lawyers copy, not phrases they build. Null and void means legally invalid. Cease and desist means stop immediately, and in front of a noun it hyphenates: a cease-and-desist letter. In force and effect means still legally active, and in contract drafting it usually appears in its longer form, in full force and effect ('the agreement shall remain in full force and effect').
Legal binomials
null and void /nʌl ənd vɔɪd/ — Because the signature was forged, the agreement was declared null and void.
cease and desist /sis ənd dɪˈzɪst/ — The company received a cease and desist letter after using the logo without permission.
in force and effect /ɪn fɔrs ənd ɪˈfɛkt/ — The terms remain in force and effect until replaced by a written agreement.
Not ""The contract was declared void and null." (the word order is reversed)" — say ""The contract was declared null and void."". Legal binomials are fixed. The order is always null and void, never the reverse, because these are legally precise expressions.
Try it: A lawyer wants a company to stop using a trademark immediately. Which binomial names the formal demand they send? (cease and desist / stop and cease / safe and sound) Answer: cease and desist — "Cease and desist" is the fixed legal binomial for a formal order to stop at once. "Stop and cease" is not a real expression, it just rearranges the idea with the wrong words. "Safe and sound" means unharmed after a risk, which has nothing to do with a legal demand.
Formal emphatic binomials
Not every binomial lives in a contract, and these three sit in three different places. Part and parcel means an essential, unavoidable component, and is general professional English. Safe and sound means unharmed after a risk, and it is warm, spoken and mostly used about people arriving ('the children got home safe and sound'). Sole and exclusive means belonging to one party alone and to no one else, and it belongs squarely to contract drafting, so it would sound absurd in conversation. Match the pair to the setting.
part and parcel /pɑrt ənd ˈpɑrsəl/ — Handling complaints is part and parcel of running a public service.
safe and sound /seɪf ənd saʊnd/ — Travel delays were frustrating, but the children arrived safe and sound.
sole and exclusive /soʊl ənd ɪkˈsklusɪv/ — The distributor received sole and exclusive rights to sell the product in the region.
Not ""Late nights are parcel and part of the job." (the word order is reversed)" — say ""Late nights are part and parcel of the job."". The order is fixed as part and parcel, and the phrase always takes "of + noun" to mark something as an essential, unavoidable feature.
Try it: Choose the sentence that uses a binomial to mean an essential, unavoidable component of a job. (Careful editing is part and parcel of the job. / Careful editing is null and void of the job. / Careful editing is safe and sound of the job.) Answer: Careful editing is part and parcel of the job. — "Part and parcel of" is the fixed phrase for something essential and unavoidable, and it takes the pattern "part and parcel of + noun." "Null and void" means legally invalid, so it makes no sense here, and "safe and sound" means unharmed after a risk, which does not describe a component of a job.
Everyday and commercial binomials
These are the binomials you will actually hear outside a contract. Pros and cons are the arguments for and against something, and it is the most ordinary of the set. Trial and error is finding out by trying and failing rather than by being taught. Wear and tear is the damage anything picks up from normal use, which is why leases and insurance policies exempt it. Cut and dried means settled and obvious, with nothing left to decide, and it is most often used in the negative to say a matter is messier than it looks: "the decision was not cut and dried." Compare by and between, which is the opposite extreme: it opens contracts ("this agreement is made by and between the parties") and appears nowhere else at all.
pros and cons /proʊz ənd kɑnz/ — We weighed the pros and cons before committing to the longer contract.
trial and error /ˈtraɪəl ənd ˈɛrər/ — She learned the software by trial and error rather than from a manual.
wear and tear /wɛr ənd tɛr/ — The lease covers structural repairs but not ordinary wear and tear.
cut and dried /kʌt ənd draɪd/ — The committee expected a quick vote, but the evidence was not cut and dried.
by and between /baɪ ənd bɪˈtwin/ — This agreement is made by and between Haffenville Media and its distributor.
Try it: The tenancy agreement makes the tenant liable for damage but excludes the scuffed floors and faded paint that come from simply living there. That exclusion covers ______. (wear and tear / trial and error / cut and dried) Answer: wear and tear — Scuffs and fading that come from ordinary use are exactly wear and tear, which is why leases carve it out. Trial and error is a way of LEARNING something, not a kind of damage, and cut and dried describes a matter that is settled beyond argument.
Try it: Everyone assumed the board would approve it in minutes, but the costings contradicted each other and two directors disagreed. The decision turned out not to be ______. (cut and dried / null and void / part and parcel) Answer: cut and dried — Contradictory figures and open disagreement are the opposite of a settled question, so the decision was not cut and dried — and this is the negative use the phrase most often takes. Null and void would mean legally invalid, and part and parcel would mean an unavoidable component of something; neither is about how settled a matter is.
Try it: The safety provisions are still ______ during the appeal, meaning legally active and valid. Which binomial fits? (in force and effect / cut and dried / wear and tear) Answer: in force and effect — "In force and effect" means currently valid and legally applying, which matches provisions that still stand during an appeal. "Cut and dried" means clear and settled with no doubt, and "wear and tear" means damage from ordinary use, so neither describes legal validity.