Chrysti The Wordsmith: Reduplications - 1

Greetings This is Christie the wordsmith. Harem scarum higgledy piggledy helter skelter when was the last time you heard these jingling rhyming terms though they're not that common they're unforgettable. Even if you've heard them only wants terms like these are called reduce cations or expressions formed by the repetition of a sound syllable or word the reed duplications I mentioned a moment ago are worth investigating because they share an important element. Each of them is a vocal representation of disorder or confusion higgledy piggledy helter skelter harem scare em. Let's dismantle the most familiar term in this lineup for duplications Helter Skelter. This expression got a lot of attention in 1968 as the name of a song on the Beatles famous White Album. But the term helter skelter preceded the White Album by at least four centuries. William Shakespeare used it in his 15 97 play Henry the Fourth part too to describe the sound of a clatter of horses hooves. The writer says Helter-Skelter have I rowed to the end tidings do I bring

so helter skelter becomes an English speakers way to vocally represent the sound of hurried confusion such as the rapid clatter of feet Helter Skelter. Next time I'm Christie the wordsmith will put the strangely delightful re duplications higgledy piggledy under the etymological spotlight. This is Christy the wordsmith from Montana State University in Bozeman at f m Christie the wordsmith a sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry Web dot com.