bedfellow

Of a pair of people, things, or groups paired together in a certain situation or activity, to be extremely different in overall characteristics, opinions, ideologies, lifestyles, behaviors, etc. The liberal comedian and the conservative pundit may be strange bedfellows, but the two are coming together all this month to bring a spotlight to suicide awareness. I thought that the two writers would be strange bedfellows, given the drastically different nature of their writing, but their books actually have a lot of parallels in terms of themes and constructs.

Of a pair of people, things, or groups, to be connected in a certain situation or activity but to be extremely different in overall characteristics, opinions, ideologies, lifestyles, behaviors, etc. A notorious playboy musician and a buttoned-up media pundit may make odd bedfellows, but the two are coming together this month to bring a spotlight to suicide awareness. I thought that the two writers would make odd bedfellows for this class, given the drastically different nature of their writing, but their books actually have a lot of parallels in terms of themes and constructs.

Of a pair of people, things, or groups paired together in a certain situation or activity, to be extremely different in overall characteristics, opinions, ideologies, lifestyles, behaviors, etc. The liberal comedian and the conservative pundit may make strange bedfellows, but the two are coming together all this month to bring a spotlight to suicide awareness. I thought that the two writers would make strange bedfellows, given the drastically different nature of their writing, but their books actually have a lot of parallels in terms of themes and constructs.

A pair of people, things, or groups connected in a certain situation or activity but extremely different in overall characteristics, opinions, ideologies, lifestyles, behaviors, etc. A notorious playboy musician and an ultra-conservative media pundit may be odd bedfellows, but the two are coming together all this month to bring a spotlight to suicide awareness. I thought that the two writers would make odd bedfellows, given the drastically different nature of their writing, but the books they've co-written actually work really well.

proverb The pursuit of a political agenda or advantage often results in people working together who would not otherwise normally socialize with one another. A prominent gun-rights advocate and a famous animal welfare activist have come together to champion the new legislation. Politics makes strange bedfellows.

A pair of people, things, or groups connected in a certain situation or activity but extremely different in overall characteristics, opinions, ideologies, lifestyles, behaviors, etc. A notorious playboy musician and an ultra-conservative media pundit may be strange bedfellows, but the two are coming together all this month to bring a spotlight to suicide awareness. I thought that the two writers would make strange bedfellows, given the drastically different nature of their writing, but the books they've co-written actually work really well.

Prov. People who would normally dislike and avoid one another will work together if they think it is politically useful to do so. Jill: I never would have thought that genteel, aristocratic candidate would pick such a rabble-rousing, rough-mannered running mate. Jane: Politics makes strange bedfellows.

A peculiar alliance or combination, as in George and Arthur really are strange bedfellows, sharing the same job but totally different in their views . Although strictly speaking bedfellows are persons who share a bed, like husband and wife, the term has been used figuratively since the late 1400s. This particular idiom may have been invented by Shakespeare in The Tempest (2:2), "Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows." Today a common extension is politics makes strange bedfellows, meaning that politicians form peculiar associations so as to win more votes. A similar term is odd couple, a pair who share either housing or a business but are very different in most ways. This term gained currency with Neil Simon's Broadway play The Odd Couple and, even more, with the motion picture (1968) and subsequent television series based on it, contrasting housemates Felix and Oscar, one meticulously neat and obsessively punctual, the other extremely messy and casual.

An odd couple; a peculiar combination. Shakespeare appears to have originated the term, with his “Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows” (The Tempest, 2.2). Several centuries later, Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote (The Caxtons, 1849), “Poverty has strange bedfellows.” Today we often say that politics makes strange bedfellows, meaning that politicians form odd associations in order to win more support or votes.