freezes

Why is a rhyming word beginning with “h” put before another word to create a new term?

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I recently learned a new phrase: “herby-kerby,” which is regionalism from the Kalamazoo, MI area for a wheeled trash bin placed at the curb for trash collection. I’ve found several uses of the phrase: In planning commission minutes for a nearby township: “Mr. Hill also said the Best Way Disposal was going to supply one … Read more

Reversing Binomials

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Siamese twins or binomials are pairs of expressions which are often conjoined. For example: back and forth ebb and flow near and far better or worse do or die Is there is a name for the rhetorical device of swapping their order? For example: forth and back flow and ebb far and near worse or … Read more

“pros and cons”, “black and white”, “ups and downs”. Always in a fixed sequence, is there a word or phrase for these?

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Is there a word or phrase for two nouns or adjectives joined by a conjunction (usually “and”) in a fixed sequence? alive and well fast and furious hat and gloves pen and pencil law and order wit and wisdom salt and pepper bacon and eggs horse and carriage Adam and Eve ladies and gentlemen loud … Read more

crisscross, dillydally, riffraff, etc

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Some English words only differ in their vowels: crisscross, dillydally, riffraff, etc. Is there a name for them? Answer Frozen reduplicative phrases like these, especially ones made of nonsense or phonosemantic roots like riffraff or hocus-pocus, are simply called Freezes in the literature, following Cooper and Ross 1975*, the first study to investigate them thoroughly. … Read more

Is “forth and back” more proper than “back and forth”?

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I think the term “back and forth” gets thrown around a lot without much thought. From Dictionary.com: forth    [fawrth, fohrth] adverb 1. onward or outward in place or space; forward: to come forth; go forth. Wouldn’t the term be more meaningful if “forth” was used first since you have to have a starting place … Read more