15 Reduplicative Doublets

15 Reduplicative Doublets 15 Reduplicative Doublets 15 Reduplicative Doublets By Mark Nichol Reduplicative doublets are a small class of idioms in which a word is repeated after the conjunction and; such repetition is intended to provide an emphatic boost to a statement. Here are fifteen such constructions with definitions and sample sentences. 1. Again and again: repeatedly (â€Å"I practiced the maneuver again and again so that I didn’t have to think about what I was doing†) 2. By and by (or by-and-by): later, or eventually (â€Å"I think he’ll come around to our way of thinking by and by†) 3. Done and done: done thoroughly and satisfactorily (â€Å"The team avenged its loss with a decisive victory done and done†) 4. Ever and ever: always, or seemingly so (â€Å"I had to wait for ever and ever for my car to get fixed†) 5. Half and half: in equal parts; also, a food or drink made of two often equal ingredients, or a mixture of cream and milk, or a person of dual nationality or mixed ethnicity (â€Å"She likes half and half in her coffee†) 6. Hot-and-hot: multiple courses of food served individually as soon as cooked (â€Å"The catered meal was served hot-and-hot†) 7. Less and less: increasingly less, progressively decreasing, or decreasingly true or prevalent (â€Å"I’m less and less confident of success as the days pass†) 8. More and more: increasingly more, progressively increasing, or increasingly true or prevalent (â€Å"It’s getting more and more difficult to find in stores†) 9. Neck and neck: very close in a contest or race, suggesting two horses whose necks are side by side (â€Å"The candidates are polling neck and neck lately†) 10. On and on: continuously (â€Å"The speaker droned on and on beyond her allotted time†) 11. Out-and-out: complete or utter (â€Å"That’s an out-and-out lie!†) 12. Over and over: repeatedly (â€Å"He said it over and over, to make sure I understood†) 13. So-and-so (or so and so): a placeholder name for a person (often initial-capped), a placeholder word for one or more things, or a euphemism for an offensive epithet (â€Å"I talked to So-and-so that guy over there†) 14. Such-and-such: a placeholder for a thing or action (â€Å"If you were to go to such-and-such a place, you’d find the building†) 15. Through and through: see out-and-out (â€Å"He’s a loser through and through†) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How Many Tenses in English?"Certified" and "Certificated"Sentence Adverbs