Brewer's: Thick

Through thick and thin (Dryden). Through evil and through good report; through stoggy mud and stones only thinly covered with dust.

Through perils both of wind and limb She followed him through thick and thin.

Butler: Hudibras.

“Thick and thin blocks” are pulley-blocks with two sheaves of different thickness, to accommodate different sizes of ropes.

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language