Dictionary

can't live with them, can't live without them en · X

Meanings

1. There is a hopeless, ongoing conflict between annoyance with someone or something and need for that same person or thing.
   • My parents' relationship was very much, "can't live with them, can't live without them". They were a crazy old couple and it was one of those love/hate things. 2010 October 16, Nick McGrath, “Lulu: The singer talks about her family”, in Guardian, UK, retrieved 13 Aug 2015:
   • Can't live with them, can't live without them. Like tweezers, pagers and passport control, computers are essential for modern living. They're marvellous (the erotic e-mail is the new love letter) and totally rubbish (it takes three hours to turn the printer on). 1999 July 25, Cayte Williams, “Why won't my !@*!!@ machine work?”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 13 Aug 2015:
   • You've got to find the woman that works for you. Because, after all, we can't live with them, can't live without them. 1996 July 7, A. J. Benza, “Is Sly using his muscle to stop tell-all?”, in New York Daily News, retrieved 13 Aug 2015:
   • “Men, Can’t Live With Them, Can’t Live Without Them.” Actor Cam Magee and singer Beverly Cosham explore the age-old theme in sonnets and speeches by Shakespeare and songs by Johnny Mercer and Cole Porter. 2012 June 7, Carrie Donovan, “Going Out Guide for the District of Columbia, June 7-13”, in Washington Post, retrieved 13 Aug 2015:

Forms