Compound words like wishy-washy or mumbo-jumbo, or any words that contain two separate rhyming words are called tautonyms (from the Greek tauto, meaning “the same” and -onym, meaning “name”). In many cases, the first word of a tautonym is a real word while the second part, often nonsensical, is invented to create a rhyme and to create emphasis. In linguistics another term for a word made up of two identical or similar parts (a segment, syllable, or morpheme) is a rhyming compound, a subclass of a larger class of words known as reduplicatives. A reduplicative is a word created by reduplication, defined as the process in which the entire word or the stem or root of the word is repeated exactly or with a small change. There are four types of reduplication:
ABLAUT REDUPLICATIVES: Partial reduplication of the base word, with only a change in the first vowel (e.g., chit-chat, hip-hop, knick-knack). In general, the order of the vowel sounds in these words follow a rule: they move from the front of the mouth to the back — short “i” to “a” to “o” (e.g., we say tick-tock, not tock-tick; or we say ding-dong, not dong-ding.”) Note how the vowel sounds move from the back to the front of your mouth when you say these words out loud: bit, bet, bat, bot, but.
EXACT (OR SIMPLE) REDUPLICATION: Full reduplication of the base word (e.g., bye-bye, choo-choo, da-da, ma-ma, night-night, no-no, pee-pee, poo-poo). Linguists refer to these words as “motherese,” “caregiver speech,” “child talk,” or “child-directed speech.”
RHYMING REDUPLICATION: Partial reduplication of the base word, with only a change in the first consonant (e.g, hokey-pokey, razzle-dazzle, super-duper). A variety of rhyming reduplication is SHM REDUPLICATION (or ECHOIC DISMISSIVE SHM): Originating in American English Yiddish, the word base is repeated with a copy that begins with “shm-” or “schm-” (e.g., fancy-shmancy, sale-schmale).
CONTRASTIVE FOCUS REDUPLICATION (OR LEXICAL CLONING): Repetition of the word with stress to distinguish its literal meaning from its intended meaning (e.g., John is rich, but he’s not RICH-rich” or “I don’t need a safety pin, I need a PIN pin”).
Speaking of reduplicatives, linguists differentiate between REAL DUPLICATIVES — compound rhyming words that contain one or two nonsensical base words (e.g., dilly-dally, hoity-toity, or mumbo-jumbo) — and FALSE DUPLICATIVES — compound rhyming words that contain two meaningful word bases (e.g., claptrap, cookbook, copshop, or payday).
Most rhyming compounds begin as hyphenated words and through common usage eventually drop the hyphen to become single words. Regardless of their hyphenation, they underscore the playfulness of the English language. Below are some common tautonyms (many function as nouns and verbs) in addition to some rare or obsolete tautonyms from two fascinating archaic word reference books: Suffolk Words and Phrases (1823) by Edward Moor and A Collection of English Words Not Generally Used (1768) by John Ray. Please contact me if you know of any rhyming compounds that should be added to this list.
airy-fairy: foolishly idealistic; impractical
argle-bargle: nonsense; heated argument
argy-bargy: heated argument
arsy-varsy: head over heels
boob-tube: television
boogie-woogie: blues-style music with a strong, fast beat; a dance to pop or rock music
chick flick: a movie primary for women
chiller-killer: a refrigerated heat exchange system
chit-chat: conversation about trivial matters
clip-clop: the sound of horse hoofs on a hard surface
crawly-mauly (rare): to stir or move about
crincum-crankum (rare): full of twists and turns; excessively elaborate or intricate
crinkle-crankle (rare): winding in and out, zigzag; a serpentine wall
crisscross: intersecting straight paths or lines
dibber-dobber: a tattle-tale; a snitch
dilly-dally: to waste time through indecision or loitering
dimber-damber (rare): leader of a group of vagrants or thieves
ding-dong: the noise made by a bell; in the UK, slang for a woman’s breast; a noisy argument; an idiot
easy-peasy: simple, achieved without difficulty
fancy-schmancy: elaborately decorated to impress
fiddle-faddle: trivial matters; nonsense; a trademarked name for popcorn; as a verb: to fuss
fingle-fangle (rare): trifle; something whimsical or unimportant
flimflam: nonsense; to swindle
flip-flop: a light sandal; backward handspring; abrupt reversal of a position or policy
fuddy-duddy: a fussy or old-fashioned person
gewgaw: cheap, showy jewelry or thing
gibble-gabble (rare): meaningless talk; nonsense
hab-nab (rare): hit or miss, succeed or fail; however it turns out, anyhow; at random
handy-dandy: convenient and useful
hanky-panky: improper behavior, typically sexual in nature
harum-scarum (rare): impetuous, reckless person
heebie-jeebies: a state of nervous fear, anxiety
hee-haw: the loud cry of a mule or donkey
helter-skelter: disorder or confusion; in disorderly haste
higgledy-piggledy: in a disorderly manner
hinchy-pinchy (rare): a child’s game (1890s) where children pinch one another with increasing force
hip-hop: a style of popular music featuring rape with electronic backing
hobnob: to mix socially, particularly with those of high social status
hocus-pocus: meaningless activity or talk, often to draw attention away from something
hodgepodge: a motley assortment of things
hoity-toity: snobbish
hokey-pokey: trickery; a song that describes the movements of a dance performed in a circle
hootchy-koochy (or hootchie-kootchie, hoochy-koochy): a dance featuring suggestive twisting and shaking of the torso performed by women who worked in carnivals.
hotchpotch (rare): a motley assortment of things; a mutton stew with vegetables
hubba-hubba: a phrase to express enthusiasm or approval
hubble-bubble: a hookah, an oriental tobacco pipe with a long flexible tube connected to a container where the smoke is cooled by passing through water
hubbub: chaotic noise created by a crowd of people; a busy, noisy situation
hugger-mugger (rare): disorderly; secret
hullabaloo: a commotion
humdrum: routine, monotonous
hum-strum (rare): music badly played; an instrument out of tune
humpty-dumpty: a rotund person; a thing or person that once overthrown cannot be restored
hurdy-gurdy: a musical instrument that makes music by rotation of a cylinder that is studded with pegs
hurly-burly: busy or noisy activity
hurry-scurry (rare): to hasten along hurriedly
I-Spy: a game in which player names the first letter of an object that he or she can see, and the other player tries to guess it
itty-bitty: very small
jibber-jabber: worthless or foolish talk; nonsense
jingle-jangle: the sound that metallic items make
joe Shmoe (or joe Schmo): an average person; no one in particular
kim-kam (rare): crooked
King Kong: a giant ape
Kit Kat: trademarked name of a chocolate-covered wafer bar
knickknack: a small object, often a household ornament, of little or no value
lovey-dovey: extremely affectionate or romantic
matchy-matchy: clothes, patterns, colors, or decorations that are the same color or very similar
mingle-mangle (rare): a confused mixture; hodgepodge
mishmash: a random assortment of things
mumbo-jumbo: language or ritual causing, or intending to cause, confusion
namby-pamby: weak in willpower, courage or vitality
niminy-piminy: very dainty or refined
nitty-gritty: the most important details about something
okey-dokey: OK
pall-mall: a 16th century game in which a wooden ball was drive through an iron ring suspended at the end of an alley
pell-mell: in a rushed or reckless manner
ping-pong: table tennis
pitter-patter: the sound of quick light steps; to move or make the sound of quick light steps
prime-time: the time period when most people watch television
prittle-prattle (rare): trivial or idle talk
ragtag: disorganized, untidy
rantrum-scantum (rare): disorderly, careless
razzle-dazzle: showy, noisy activity designed to impress
riffraff: undesirable people
roly-poly: plump
sale-schmale: doubting that something is actually on sale
shilly-shally: failing to act decisively; to vacillate
singsong: the repeated rising and falling of a person’s voice as they speak
skimper-skamper (rare): to hurry in a state of confusion
skimple-skamble: senseless, gibberish, rambled and confused
so-so: neither very good nor very bad
splash-splash: to make a splashing sound
super-duper: very good
teeny-weeny: very small, tiny
teeter-totter: a seesaw
Tic Tac: trademarked name of a hard, rounded mint
tick-tock: the sound of a clock ticking; making a ticking sound
tighty-whities: snug white briefs worn by males (variant: tight-whiteys)
TikTok: a popular social media app that allows users to create, watch and share 15-second videos
tip-top (or tiptop): excellent, of the very best quality; the highest point
tittle-tattle (rare): light informal conversation for social occasions
tohubohu: utter confusion, chaos
tootsie-wootsie (also toots-wootsy): a term of endearment
topsy-turvy: upside down; in a state of confusion
ugly-pugly: extremely unattractive
voodoo: followers of a religion that involves witchcraft and animistic deities
walkie-talkie: portable two-way radio
wibble-wobble: to move unsteadily from side to side, to tremble lightly, to quiver,
wiggle-waggle: to move jerkily back and forth; shilly-shally
wigwag: to move to and fro
willy-nilly: whether one likes it or not; without any order
wingding: a lively party or event
wishy-washy: weak, feeble, lacking character
yada-yada (or yadda yadda): used as a substitute for a longer predictable story; boring language
zigzag: a line or course with abrupt right and left turns; veering alternatively to right and left
zoot suit: a men’s suit popularized by jazz and jump blues singers in the 1930s, characterized by high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers and a long coat with padded shoulders and wide lapels
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Read related posts: What is the Longest Word in English Language?
Word Oddities: Fun with Vowels
What is an Abecedarian Insult?
Difficult Tongue Twisters
Rare Anatomy Words
What Rhymes with Orange?
For further reading:
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/254220098_Just_a_Load_of_Hibber-Gibber_Making_Sense_of_English_Rhyming_Compounds
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/4079596.bit-reduplication-chuck/
https://owad.de/word-show/higgledy-piggledy
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Another one I’ve heard and used is matchy-matchy. Per Wikipedia: Matchy-Matchy is an adjective used to describe something or someone that is very or excessively colour coordinated. It is a term that is commonly used in fashion blogs to describe an outfit that is too coordinated and consists of too many of the same types of colors, patterns, fabrics, accessories, etc.
Given the hyphen, and according to you write-up, it must be fairly new!
Hi Charlotte: Thanks so much for sharing this fascinating word. Yes, it is a new coinage for sure, because it didn’t show up in any of my reference books or research. This is a great addition to the list! Cheers. Alex
An interesting post and particularly the reference to American English Yiddish, suggesting that such formations exist in more than just the English language.
Teaching English in a classroom in Spain many years ago, I mentioned in passing that English speakers liked the sound of words such as shilly-shally and hoity-toity. The students, without exception, found the rhyming effect very ugly, and certainly not something that would be favoured in Spanish.
I wonder if this is true. Maybe some of your native-speaker-Spanish readers could illuminate this.
Hi Isabella: Thanks so much for your note. How interesting that Spanish speakers found the rhyming effect unattractive. Rhyming and alliteration is very common in American English. I suppose that isn’t the case in Spain? Cheers. Alex