What it means
A slightly old-school term for a family with two kids, one boy and one girl, the full one-of-each box ticked. You’ll hear it from older relatives, neighbours, or anyone getting weirdly invested in somebody else’s baby maths. It can sound warm, smug, nosy, or all three at once.
Usage examples
"Sue’s buzzing, she’s got her pigeon pair now, one of each. Dave’s acting like he’s won the bloody lottery, pushing the pram round Tesco."
"They've got a pigeon pair now, a boy and a girl, so granny's over the moon."
"After two sons, the new baby girl finally made it a pigeon pair."
"Her mum keeps saying they’ve got a pigeon pair now, like the family album’s finally been completed and laminated."
"Two kids in and apparently that’s them done because it’s a pigeon pair, according to every nosy auntie within a five-mile radius."
Where it comes from
It comes from older British usage, where a matched male-and-female pair of pigeons was used as a neat little image for having one son and one daughter. The phrase carries that tidy completed-set feeling, which is exactly why it can sound sweet to some people and a bit meddly to others.
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