# Word pairs that describe something in both orders. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 20, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043 "2014-09-20T20:46:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/61 "2014-09-21T22:03:16Z")
Back in the day, American fencers racked up Olympic medals in singlestick – but these days you’d need a _fencing sword_, because it’s now limited to _sword fencing_. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/62 "2014-09-21T22:09:15Z")
Head butt and butthead. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/63 "2014-09-21T23:08:31Z")
I’d like to write a horror novel, but I can’t think of a novel horror. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/64 "2014-09-22T02:05:32Z")
You may be better at knife throwing, but I’m the one with the throwing knife. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/65 "2014-09-22T03:42:59Z")
How about _baby fat_ and _fat baby_? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/66 "2014-09-22T04:23:55Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Old age / age old A woman knows she’s getting old when people stop telling her “You’re _good looking_” and start telling her “You’re _looking good_”. > [@Chronos](#): > > Near-antonyms: > > Look over and overlook There’s even an old song about that. “I’m looking over A four-leaf clover That I overlooked before . . .” ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/67 "2014-09-22T14:22:36Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Are top lap and out punch actual things? Yes, I think the spirit of the OP is that both orders of the words should be recognised phrases rather than just two words that can be used in that order in a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/68 "2014-09-22T15:13:38Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Yes, I think the spirit of the OP is that both orders of the words should be recognised phrases rather than just two words that can be used in that order in a sentence. So if it’s specialized jargon it doesn’t count? ETA: I think out punch could fairly have been spelled “out-punch,” and I think it counts. If people want to say “top lap” doesn’t because only geologists or archeologists would recognize it, I’ll accept that. ETA2: I think “chicken fat” and “fat chicken” count, but that may be just me. I’ll wait for the OP to rule. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/69 "2014-09-22T16:17:07Z")
glass eye, eyeglass cake pan, pancake stepladder, ladder step side ring, ringside barrow wheel, wheelbarrow ---
**Author:** ![Osiris\_the\_1st](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de0a6/32.png) [@Osiris\_the\_1st](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osiris_the_1st)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/70 "2014-09-22T18:39:23Z")
You look seriously **over worked**. Johnny really got \*\*worked over \*\*by those Corleone goons. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/71 "2014-09-22T20:02:58Z")
> [@Osiris\_the\_1st](#): > > Johnny really got \*\*worked over \*\*by those Corleone goons. I heard he wound up needing a donor organ from an organ donor. They say he had to hock the watch crystal from his crystal watch. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/72 "2014-09-22T20:46:12Z")
Would you rather be: Up beat or beat up? Off beat or beat off? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/73 "2014-09-22T21:58:40Z")
I’m tempted to say “Kitty Genovese,” and “Genovese kitty,” as in, a cat from Genoa, but I think that would be very wrong. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/74 "2014-09-22T23:06:07Z")
boot camp and camp boot (i.e. a boot you might wear when going camping) weed killer and killer weed hopscotch and Scotch hop Snow White and white snow A lot of other color words will get you this: red firetruck and firetruck red red beet and beet red gray slate and slate gray blue sky and sky blue ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/75 "2014-09-22T23:43:50Z")
A test pilot – _“jet fighter”_ or _“fighter jet”_, it makes no difference – ain’t a pilot test. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/76 "2014-09-23T01:48:09Z")
I left my security job for a position with more job security. Which is to say: I earned a degree in museum science, and got hired at the science museum. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043/77 "2014-09-23T07:59:37Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Most universities have a building called\* Memorial Hall\*, because it’s dedicated to a number of different people, and usually features an actual hall, with portraits of benefactors. Gallaudet University has a building call the _Hall Memorial_. It’s a major classroom building named after former president Percival Hall. We have a lot of examples like that here in northeastern Kansas – the KC-based Hall family (of Hallmark fame) spread their wealth generously. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-pairs-that-describe-something-in-both-orders/699043.md?page=3)