HSK 6 grammar · pattern
东一A，西一A
东一…西一… — scattered here and there
Pattern
+ +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
东一…西一… scatters "one A here, one A there" to describe things spread about or done in a disorganized, piecemeal way — 东一句西一句 (a word here, a word there), 东一件西一件.
Examples
他说话东一句西一句，让人听不懂。
Tā shuōhuà dōng yí jù xī yí jù, ràng rén tīng bu dǒng.
He talks in bits and pieces, so it's hard to follow.
房间里东一件西一件，乱得很。
Fángjiān lǐ dōng yí jiàn xī yí jiàn, luàn de hěn.
Things lay scattered all over the room; it was a mess.
别东一下西一下，专心做一件事。
Bié dōng yí xià xī yí xià, zhuānxīn zuò yí jiàn shì.
Don't dart about doing this and that — focus on one thing.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 东一A，西一A is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.