Sing-Song Words
Reduplicatives and Rhyming Words
Otherwise known as rhyming words or reduplicatives, sing-song words are playful, musical, and inventive. Below
are some of the common ones. Technically, reduplicatives are only those words or expressions that were originally formed
by the reduplicative process. Some of the words below are not strictly reduplicatives (puppy, baby, cookie, daddy) but
carry some of their word power from their reduplicative sounds (for example, puppy love). There are other
expressions that are like reduplicatives, such as topsy-turvy or whoopsie-daisy, but they are not duplicatives and are not listed here.
Esquire magazine: Rule No. 383: From least chaotic to most chaotic: willy-nilly, hugger-mugger, hurly-burly, pell-mell.
A
abracadabra A magical incantation.
AC/DC Bisexual.
aha Interjection of surprise.
all tease and no please Refers to a woman who doesn't put out. That's not a bad thing.
analysis paralysis Refers to anything that holds someone up from making a decision.
argy-bargy Spirit discussions or arguments.
artsy-fartsy Fancy-schmancy.
at bat Turn to hit the ball in baseball.
at it Arguing or fighting.
at that Besides.
B
babu Baby.
baby A young child.
back on track On schedule.
backpack A pack designed to be carried on a person's back.
bang clang A name for the early metal-clad warships.
battle rattle Military gear carried by the foot soldier.
bed head Hair that looks like you just got out of bed.
bebop Jazz music style.
big bang Describes a scientific theory that the universe began with a big explosion.
big rig 18 wheelers; big trucks.
bigwig Important person.
bingbong Heroin.
bippity boppity Fast.
birth dearth Lower population growth, especially lower than replacement level.
blab fab Fabulous thoughtless chatter. (Entertainment Weekly)
blame game Attempt to accuse a specific person or group for something.
bling-bling Jewelry; fancy; rich.
blue flu An unofficial walkout of police (from the blue of their uniforms).
boast post A place to brag about your accomplishments.
bobo Bourgeois bohemians, or information-age elites.
bodice goddess Romance novel cover model. (People magazine)
bon-bon Candy.
boob tube Slang for television.
boo-boo A blunder, a mistake.
booby A stupid person.
boobies A woman's knockers.
boocoo Southern variant of beaucoup, meaning much or many.
boogie woogie An up-tempo jazz piano style.
boohoo To weep noisily.
boot scoot To dance to country music.
bow wow The noise a dog makes; also slang for an ugly person.
boy toy Boyfriend.
bozo A fool; a guy.
bread spread Jam, butter, and other things to put on bread.
bubba Fellow, guy.
C
caca Shit; b.s.
careware Software that is given away freely as long the user stops whining for at least an hour, a day, or a week.
CB Citizen band radio.
CD Compact disc.
cell yell Talking loudly on a cell phone.
cha-cha A dance.
chalk talk Informal lecture with illustrations on a blackboard.
cheat sheet A crib sheet.
chichi or chi-chi Ostentatiously fashionable.
chick flick A movie that women love.
chicken pickin' A way of guitar picking used in country music.
chill pill Drug to calm someone down.
chiller thriller Scary movie.
chock-a-block Full of.
choo choo A railroad train.
chop shop A place where
they cut down cars or change them so they can resell the parts or the entire
car.
chugalug Drink down a beer without pausing for breath.
claim to fame Something that makes someone famous.
claptrap Pretentious language.
clippity clop The sound of a horse trotting.
cock blocker Friend of a potential sex mate who interferes with potential matings.
community immunity If a fraction of a population is vaccinated before an epidemic, the rest
of the community may be safe because each vaccination lowers the rate of transmission of a disease.
cook the books Finagle the accounts to show better profits or income.
cookbook Recipe book.
cookbook nook Section of bookstore featuring cookbooks.
cookie Delicious dessert.
cop shop Police
department.
copper chopper Police helicopter.
cowboys and plowboys Ranch and farm workers.
creature feature Scary movie.
crisscross To cross over each other.
crop top A short top for women.
crumb crunchers Teeth.
cuckoo Bird; silly person.
D
dada Dad; an European artistic form.
daddy Dad.
dads and grads Buying season around May and June.
dangle angle Straightness of penis.
deep sleep Sleep that is hard to wake up from; coma.
dik-dik Small African antelope.
dildo A penis substitute.
din-din Dinner.
ding dong Sound of a bell; silly person; euphemism for penis.
ding-a-ling Silly or foolish person; euphemism for penis.
dink-and-dunk A form of football offense relying on short passes.
dirty birdie Someone who doesn't
maintain clean pubic areas.
do or die Desperate; exert an ultimate effort.
dodo An idiot; also a flightless bird.
don't-care-ware Distributed computing.
doom and gloom Negative outlook.
do-si-dos Dance movement; also Girl Scout cookie
double trouble Serious trouble.
drama mama Housewife who makes
molehills into mountains with everything her husband does.
drop shop A place to drop off items that you want to sell on eBay. The shop does the work of setting up the auction on eBay.
dry fly Artificial fishing fly that floats on the surface of the water.
D.T.s delerium tremors.
D.T.s
Detectives.
dum-dum A stupid person.
DVD Music and movie delivery format.
dyke tyke A man
who hangs around with lesbians.
DZ Dropzone in parachuting.
E
eat treats Fast food selections.
eency-weency Very small.
eensy-weensy Very small.
E.T. An extraterrestrial.
evo-devo
The science of evolutionary developmental biology.
F
fab abs Great looking abdominal muscles.
fab lab A collection of computers and
hardware (PCs, software, networked laser-beam writers, saws, routers, or sewing
machines) which can be used to design and create models of things.
face lace Whiskers.
fag hag A woman
who hangs around with gay guys.
fam-dram Family drama on TV.
fancy-schmancy Something fancy yet not so fancy; something that appears fancy.
fast fact A quick short note featuring a useful or trivial fact.
fat cat Rich person.
Fen-Phen Dangerous diet drug.
fiddle-de-dee Expression of annoyance.
fiddle-faddle Nonsense; waste time.
fi-fi Financial fiction.
fine line A narrow distinction.
finger slinger A thief who uses his hand as a pretend gun in a robbery.
flimflam Trickery, a swindle, nonsense.
flip-the-flap A type of children's activity book.
flip-flop A turnabout.
flip-flops Cheap pair of sandals.
flobbergobber A person who talks unremitting senseless rubbish. 2. The rubbish spoken by such a person.
flower power Hippie love power.
fly tying Tying fish flies.
freebie or freebee Something that is free.
fright night Scary or monstrous movie, party, or other event.
frisk the whiskers Warm up a musical instrument.
froglog A blog about
France or the French.
fuck a duck Expression of exasperation or despair.
fun 'n' gun Football coaching style. (Jon Saraceno in USA Today)
fuzzy wuzzy Endearing comment. Someone who really cuddly.
G
gag bag Barf bag.
gal pal Friend that is a girl.
geek-speak Technical language used by serious computer users and programmers.
gender bender Someone who dresses or acts androgynously; a piece of entertainment that portrays gender roles in nontraditional ways.
go-go girl Female dancer in rock music nightclub.
goody goody Someone who acts overly good.
goof-proof Protected from making mistakes.
goo-goo Lovey-dovey.
grain drain The washing away of sand on coastal beaches.
gray jay A North American bird also known as a camp robber, moosebird, or Canada jay.
green weenie An unpleasant surprise discovered as part of a transaction or deal, generally discovered too late (sort of like a hot dog that has spoiled in the refrigerator).
ground-bound Cheerleader lingo for a program that prohibits pyramids or high-flying gymnastic stunts.
gummy dummies Phony fingers made from gelatin that can trick fingerprint identification systems.
gym-trim A fit thin person.
H
hack attack Outside attempt to get into someone else's computer files or programs.
hacker cracker Someone who cracks and/or prevents the work of hackers.
hall call Procedure in large office
buildings to direct workers to a particular elevator according to where they
want to go.
handy-dandy Useful and readily accessible.
hanky panky Sex; foolishness.
happy slapping A youth craze in which
groups of teenagers slap or mug strangers while filming the victims' reactions
on camera phones (and then posting the photos on the Internet to share with
others).
heart-smart Describes things and activities that are good for a person's heart.
hee-haw Sound of a donkey.
helter-skelter Confused or disorderly haste.
hi-fi A high fidelity stereo system.
higgledy-piggledy Topsy turvy.
highlight Emphasize.
hip-hop Rap music culture.
hippity-hoppity With fun and speed like a rabbit.
hits & hisses Section featuring good and bad reviews.
hobnob To associate with others.
hobo A homeless person or vagrant.
hocus pocus Sleight of hand.
hodgepodge A mishmash; a collection of unrelated things.
ho-ho-ho A jolly laugh.
ho-hum Boring; routine.
hoity-toity Pretentious; pompous.
hokey-pokey A corny dance.
homo-chromo Wall Street investment banker (Craig Winn).
honey bunny Someone you really like.
honky-tonk A cheap and noisy bar or dance hall.
hoochie coochie or hootchie cootchie Bootlegger.
hoodoo Bad luck.
hoo-ha A fuss; a to-do.
hoo-hah A fuss; a laugh.
hoo hoo Euphemism for vagina.
by hook or by crook By any means, fair or unfair.
hootchie cootchie Bootlegger.
hot spot A happening place; a location where someone can tap into Wi-Fi access to the Internet.
hotspot An environmentally sensitive area of the world.
house mouse A police detective on modified duty.
hubba-hubba Sign of approval.
hubble-bubble To-do.
hubbub Brouhaha; loud noise.
huff and puff Slang term for a steam-assisted means of getting oil out of oil sands.
humdrum Boring.
humpus bumpus Food dish served by natives of Pitcairn Island.
hunkachunker Sex act.
I
ill will Bad feelings.
ink drink What an octopus likes to sip (Pig Giggles and Rabbit Rhymes).
insider slider A type of storm which, in November 2004, resulted in up to 3 feet of snow in parts of southern California.
itsy-bitsy Tiny.
J
jelly-bellied Fat.
jet set Wealthy international travelers.
jim-jams Jitters.
jingle jangle Sound of coins.
jizz bizz Hardcore porn movie business.
jock doc Sports physician.
Joe Blow Common man.
Joe Schmoe Common man.
jug-jug A spicy Barbadian dish made with pork and beef that is served especially at Christmas.
juicy lucy A cheeseburger developed and popularized in Minneapolis, Minnesota where the cheese is placed inside the raw meat, and then cooked until the cheese melts.
juju African black magic; fetish.
K
kamikazi A suicide attack (from the Japanese word).
khaki-wackies Women who have sex with soldiers as part of their patriotic duty. Also known as amateur girls, good-time Charlottes, and victory girls.
kidvid Children's video or TV.
kissin' cousin A close cousin of the opposite sex who you may kiss but should not marry.
kissy-kissy Lovey-dovey.
knickknack A trinket.
knock-knock A type of children's joke.
koodoo A large African antelope.
kookie or kooky Crazy.
kudu A large African antelope.
L
lawn chair air To jump very high in snowboarding and then to collapse like a lawn chair upon impact.
lean and mean Trim; in fighting shape.
lean mean driving machine An incredible car or a superb driver.
legal beagle Low-rung lawyer or law student.
legal eagle Top-notch lawyer or law student.
lip tip Beauty and health tip for lips.
lit crit Literary criticism.
loosey goosey Limp; relaxed.
loser cruiser An office cubicle (according to the Dilbert cartoon by Scott Adams).
lovey-dovey Mushy.
low blow An insult.
M
ma and pa Mother and father.
mai tai Cocktail made of rum, fruit juices, and caracao.
make and take Craft classes where you make the item and then take it home with you.
mama Mom.
may day Distress signal.
mee-maw Grandmother.
meet and greet A party.
meeter greeter Person who welcomes others to party or other meeting.
merge/purge In mailing lists, to merge two or more lists and delete (purge) the duplicate names.
min pin Miniature pinscher dog breed.
Minnie Winnie A small motorhome
(Winnebago).
mishmash A mix of unrelated items.
mister sister A transsexual.
mo bro A sponsor of
Movember, the time to grow a mustache to raise money for prostate cancer
research. Mo is Australian slang for mustache.
moan zone Sexual hot spot.
mojo Luck.
mommy Mom.
mop top Shaggy long haircut.
mozo Southwestern term for a man who helps with a pack train.
muff muncher Lesbian.
mumbo jumbo Gobbledy gook; meaningless words.
N
nada Nothing.
nanu nanu Good-bye, in Orkian.
near beer A malted liquor with little or no alcohol content.
nerd herd Group of dorks.
nicknack A trinket.
nicky-picky Variant of
nit-picky.
nifty fifty Refers to the top hot investment stocks.
night light Light kept on all night too make it easy to see when you get up.
nite lite Light kept on all night too make it easy to see when you get up.
nitty-gritty Very detailed.
nitwit Idiot, blockhead.
no-go A suspension of a planned activity.
no mo Short for no
momentum.
noodle doodles Art made using leftover spaghetti.
nopenote Rejection letter (Marilyn Haight).
numb nuts No balls; scared.
nunga-nungas British slang for boobs.
O
oohs and ahs Expressions of appreciation or amazement.
ooh-some twosome Incredible romantic couple.
owl towel What a hooting bird uses to dry off (Pig Giggles and Rabbit Rhymes).
P
papa Dad.
party hearty Party full out.
pass gas Fart.
pawpaw America's largest native tree fruit.
pay to play To pay for higher Internet search engine listings.
payday The day workers get paid.
pee-paw Grandfather.
peepee Take a whiz; pass urine.
peeper A furtive peeker.
peetweet A spotted sandpiper.
peewee Small person.
peg leg A wooden leg.
pell-mell In a jumbled, confused manner.
peppy Exuberant.
peter meter A way to
test the length of a man's manhood.
pie-eyed Drunk.
pill mill A doctor's office that prescribes drugs indiscriminantly.
Pin-Tin-Tin Someone who likes to wear lots of pins.
pink think A set of ideas and attitudes about what constitutes proper female behavior.
pitapat A series of tap steps.
pitter-patter Sound of children's feet.
pity party A long-standing mind set
where one says over and over, Woe is me.
plain Jane A plain-looking person; basic.
plugs, rugs, or drugs Options for replacing hair loss.
pocket rocket Slang for penis.
pojo College slang for police and
campus security personnel.
pool school Class for homeowners to learn how to take care of their swimming pools.
poop and scoop An investment market manipulation scheme opposite of the pump and dump scheme.
pooper scooper Thing for picking up dog shit when walking a dog.
poopy pop A loud wet fart.
portion distortion The trend in restaurants to serve larger portions of food. This trend is blamed for the overweight crisis.
potshot A quick criticism taken at a handy target.
power tower A
solar powered tower using reflected sunlight.
pow wow A Native American celebration.
powwow To meet.
prediction affliction Compelled to predict future events.
prime time Early evening hours (generally 7:00 to 11:00 p.m.); any time that's the best time for something.
pro bono Public work done without compensation.
pump and dump An investment stock-ramping scheme where the market is manipulated by accumulating, promoting,
and then selling thinly traded stocks after they've been artificially pumped up.
puppy A young dog.
purple nurple A Simpsons term. Don't know what it means.
R
ragtag Shaggy; disorderly.
rail trail A trail along an old railroad right-of-way.
rank and yank An employee evaluation policy that rates employees and fires the lowest rated workers.
rat-a-tat-tat Sound of a machine gun.
razzle-dazzle Excitement, flash.
razzmatazz Flashy action often intended to confuse or deceive.
real deal The real thing.
retail is detail Cliché describing that success in retail stores depends on paying attention to lots of details.
righty tighty To tighten a screw, turn it to the right.
rocks for jocks Easy geology course
that jocks take to get science credit in college.
rococo An architecture and decorative arts style originating in France in the early 18th century. Also a music style.
roger dodger Yes; okay.
rom-com Romantic comedy
movie.
rope-a-dope Fighting style made famous by boxer Muhammad Ali.
rude dude A fellow who is not very nice.
rude 'tude Rude attitude.
ruff-sluff A bridge play.
rump jump A rope jumping move made while sitting on the floor.
run and gun A fast-paced form of basketball offense.
rusty dusty Rear end; ass.
S
sad sack A loser.
sand band A crustacean musical group (Pig Giggles and Rabbit Rhymes).
schnick-schnack Sex (The King of Queens TV show).
sci-fi Abbreviation for science fiction.
scooter commuter Someone who commutes to work via motor scooter.
screaming meemies Nervous; the jitters.
screen queen Female movie star.
scrilla dilla Moola, bills, cash.
scummy yummy Describes a couple where
one member is beautiful and the other is ugly.
Seabee A U.S. Navy construction battalion member (alteration of CB).
seesaw Playground equipment.
SF (es-ef) Abbreviation for science fiction.
shake and bake A military technique of using white phosphorus shells to flush enemies out of hiding then using high explosives to kill them.
shareware Software that is given away freely. If the user likes the program, they are asked to pay a small fee to the creator.
shilly-shally To vacillate; to procrastinate.
shipshape In order; tidy.
shock jock Radio disk jockey who likes to shock people with rude, sacrilegious, or gross talk.
shock rock Hard rock that tries to shock the listener.
sidewalk chalk Chalk for writing on sidewalks for creating art and playing hopscotch.
sing-along song A song to sing along with.
singsong Repetitive rising and falling of the voice.
skinflint Cheapskate.
skinny minnie A very thin actress or model.
sky-high Very high in cost; lavish.
slaphappy Silly; punch drunk.
slice and dice To cut up; also refers to horror movies with lots of blood and gore.
slim jim Tool for unlocking locked cars.
smash-and-bash Refers to violent action video games.
smut slut Girl who appears in a hardcore porn video.
snack attack Desire to eat something.
snack pack Packaged snack meal.
snail mail Mail via the post office (as compared to the speed of email).
sneak-and-peak Search warrants allowed by the U.S. Patriot Act that permit the government
to seize information and belongings secretly and without showing any probable cause that a crime has been committed.
sneak peek Movie or TV preview.
sneaker peeker A person who uses hidden
cameras to record up women's skirts or other private places.
spy-fi High-tech spy gear.
snooze, you lose Wait too long or fall asleep, and someone else will take your place. You lose.
so-and-so Something unspecific.
SOHO Small office and home office workers.
son of a gun A man; expression of surprise.
SOS Call for help (save our ship).
space race Term applied to the competition between the United States and the USSR to attain
major milestones in conquering outer space; now often applied to any intense competition.
splish splash Happily.
spook-speak Spy slanguage.
spring fling Love affair that occurs when spring is in the air.
squeegee A tool for cleaning windows.
steady Eddie Someone who is reliable.
stress-and-duress Describes techniques for questioning prisoners.
stride of pride The
ostentatious walk across campus after a one-night stand to ensure everyone knows
what happened (college slang).
study buddy A friend to study with.
sun gun An incandescent
or LED light that mounts on your camera to provide proper lighting.
supa-dupa Excellent.
superduper Excellent.
surf and turf Meal of seafood and beefsteak.
swag bag A bag
of gifts given to celebrities who attend special events.
sweet treats Candy, desserts, and other sweet goodies.
T
tactic A game for people with no toes (B.C. comic strip).
taki-taki A Creole and English mix.
talk the talk Say the right things.
tall tale Exaggerated story.
ta-ta Good-bye; see you!
tattletale An informer.
tattoo A skin design.
tee-hee A small laugh.
teen queen Celebrity teen movie star.
teetotal Abstain from alcohol.
telltale Informant; a sign.
Tex-Mex A blend of Mexican and southwest U.S. influence on food, music, or culture.
thin-skinned Overly sensitive.
think pink Think like a woman.
thrill killers Crazy people who kill for the thrill of it.
thrills and spills Describes an exciting spectator event.
ticktack Soft sound of a clock.
tic-tac A device for tapping at a door.
ticktock Sound of a clock.
tic-toc Sound of a clock.
tighty whiteys White
jockey-style underwear.
tiptop Superb, excellent, at the top.
tit for tat Repayment with a similar action.
to-do A fuss, confusion.
to-do list Action list.
toasty ghosty A goblin who gets too close to a bonfire (Internet humor).
toon tune Song written for cartoon movies.
tootles (also toodles) Good-bye.
top cop Police chief; police captain.
tot lot After school childcare program.
tramp stamp Tattoo on
the rear end.
trance dance Rave dancing.
tread head A man who has his head shaved in the pattern of a tire tread.
tree-free Paper made from non-tree pulp.
trick-up pickup A truck that's been decorated with emblems and other fancy fixings. Also often includes engine
modifications to rev up the truck.
tricked out truck A truck that's been decorated with emblems and other fancy fixings. Also often includes engine
modifications to rev up the truck.
true blue Trusted; reliable.
turkey jerky Jerky made of turkey meat.
tussie-mussie A small bouquet of flowers.
tutti fruitti Ice cream flavor consisting of chopped fruits.
TV Television.
tweedledum and tweedledee Two people or groups who closely resemble each other. What one does,
the other does.
tweet tweet Chirping sound of a young bird.
U
ubby-dubby A language from the Zoom TV show.
V
va-va-voom Sexually exciting (e.g., a va-va-voom figure).
Vomit Comet NASA's KC-135A airplane used to give astronauts experiences with weightlessness.
It's nickname comes from alternation of double gravity and weightlessness as the plane makes parabolic ups and downs.
voodoo Caribbean religion.
W
wabi sabi Japanese rustic design. It's an aesthetic that finds beauty in things imperfect,
impermanent, and incomplete.
walk the walk Do what you say you will do.
whale tail The Y-shaped fabric from a thong that shows on the lower back when women wear
low-rise jeans with midriff-baring tops.
what's hot, what's not Headline for a listing of what's in and what's out.
wheeler-dealer An aggressive, sometimes unscrupulous person; a cunning dealer.
white knight Someone who comes to the rescue.
white night A night without sleep.
Wi-Fi Wireless fidelity; a wireless means for tapping into the Internet.
wild child Young person who is a uninhibited.
willy-nilly Haphazard; occurring whether desired or not.
win-win Describes a situation where both parties gain something.
wishy-washy Ineffective; indecisive.
wisteria hysteria Panic over the proliferation of Japanese and Chinese wisteria in southeastern states.
witch ditch Water ditch.
Y
yak sack Emesis bag; barf bag.
yak yak Talking too much.
ylang-ylang A tropical tree and the perfume that comes from its flowers.
yo-yo Something or someone pushed around like a yo-yo toy; a vacillator.
yub-nubs Small boobs.
yummy mummy Mothers who never miss a Pilates session and whose glossed lips will never touch a bad carb;
also a hot, sexy mother.
Z
zigzag A series of sharp turns.
zipzap Fast.
zipper zapper Someone who is fast.
zoot suit A style of suit popular in the early 1940s.
