left and right

left and right (uncountable)

1. (shooting, literal) Two rapid successful shots from a double-barrelled gun.

   Alternative form: right and left

   • 1956, Gerald Durrell, chapter 12, in My Family and Other Animals, London: Penguin, pages 180-81:

     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.

left and right (not comparable)

1. (figurative, chiefly Canada, US) All over the place; indiscriminately; frequently or excessively.

   Alternative forms: left, right and center; left, right and centre; right, left and center; right, left and centre; left, right, and center; left, right, and centre; right, left, and center; right, left, and centre; right and left

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

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

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

• right and left