[General] check and check =?

[thedaffodils]

Scenario:

A woman was going to have an interview with a reporter about her cook book. She was very nervous. When her son came in, she said, "Andrew, you look sharp."

Her son said, "I won't tell the reporter I am a gay."

The woman reponded with a relieved expression, "Check and check."
...

Question:

What does "check and check" mean? Is it a very usual expression? Thanks!

[Reemy]

I read the expression once in an article and the meaning was just sheer stress on the checking process in the meaning that the person, in your scenario the mother needed to check on her son's behaviour before the arrival of the reporter so as if she was telling him, well I needed to check again. I have no idea if it could mean something else.

[teacherjulia]

I saw that episode of Desperate Housewives so I know exactly what you're referring to.

It meant that she was checking something off her list. Imagine you are packing with a friend to go on a trip. You have many items on your list and you are checking that all your things are packed. One of you reads from a list: Toothpaste? check (got it). Pants? check. Passport? check. Airline tickets? Check and check. The final "check and check" would imply the list is complete. We usually emphasize the final "check" in this case.

Here, Brie had a list of everything she needed to do to prepare for the reporter. When her son said "I won't tell them I'm gay" she said "check and check" to imply that that was an item on her "to do" list that is now crossed off, and to emphasize that her list is now done.

In this context it did not mean she needed to check again, but rather her checklist is now complete and she can relax.

[thedaffodils]

Hi Julia,

Welcome to the forums. Thank you very much for your interpretation. I've understood.

Check and check!