Duplication
Sometimes new words are formed in English by repeating an item with a change in the initial consonant or with a change in the medial vowel.
Change in the initial consonant
Hanky-panky
Helter-skelter
Hotch-potch
Hocus-pocus
Hob-nob
Higgledy-piggledy
Georgy-porgy
Mumbo-jumbo
Teeny-weeny
Nitty-gritty
Bauer (1938:212) describes such words as rhyme- motivated compounds.
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Change in the medial vowel
Flip-flap
Wishy-washy
Dilly-dally
Tick-tock
Riff-raff
Zig-zag
Tittle-tattle
Ping-pong
Bauer (1938:213) describes such words as ablaut- motivated compounds.
...... It may be pointed out here that examples of rhyme-motivated compounds or ablaut-motivated compounds are different from compounds like bye-bye, fiffty-fifty, goody-goody and pooh-pooh in which the first contituent is repeated without any change in ist initial consonant or its medial vowel.