So has anyone heard or seen this phrase? I know I have heard it used, and know what it means, but I am wondering if it is in common usage, and what it's history might be. I use it as "I went for days to-and-fro the beach." But it sounds strange that way so one could use "I went for days to and fro to the beach seems wrong." Let me know.
Eric
P.S. Perhaps, I am thinking of "The trees waived to and fro as the storm winds started to howl."
P.S.S. My spellcheck sa's all is well.
to-&-fro
The Oxford Compact that you reach from the "look up" feature on the top page of this website defines "to and fro" as
"adverb - in a constant movement backwards and forwards or from side to side"
Your example usage "I went for days to-and-fro the beach." sounds odd to me. But I could say "I went for days to-and-fro ON the beach." or "I went for days to-and-fro BETWEEN the beach and MY HOTEL."
I found a usage in Shakespeare:
"Was ever feather so lightly blown to and fro as this multitude?" Henry VI, Part 2, IV ix
I also found quotes from Chaucer and Tennyson, but they were not as self-explanatory as the Shakespeare example.
Cheers,
"adverb - in a constant movement backwards and forwards or from side to side"
Your example usage "I went for days to-and-fro the beach." sounds odd to me. But I could say "I went for days to-and-fro ON the beach." or "I went for days to-and-fro BETWEEN the beach and MY HOTEL."
I found a usage in Shakespeare:
"Was ever feather so lightly blown to and fro as this multitude?" Henry VI, Part 2, IV ix
I also found quotes from Chaucer and Tennyson, but they were not as self-explanatory as the Shakespeare example.
Cheers,
These two examples get my vote as well.But I could say "I went for days to-and-fro ON the beach." or "I went for days to-and-fro BETWEEN the beach and MY HOTEL."
I also like the allied idiom: hither, thither and yon
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
Anonymous
Anonymous
ok
mark rarely-thithers-I-just-hither-and-Yawn Bailey
Do you think my new avatar is affecting my posts?
mark rarely-thithers-I-just-hither-and-Yawn Bailey
Do you think my new avatar is affecting my posts?
Last edited by Bailey on Fri Oct 12, 2007 12:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Today is the first day of the rest of your life, Make the most of it...
kb
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to and fro and to
Any reason one couldn't use "fro-and-to?" Sorry it is Friday and I have not reached my quota of stupid questions for the week.
~E
~E
EBERNTSON
Fear less, hope more;
eat less, chew more;
whine less, breathe more;
talk less, say more,
and all good things will be yours.
--R. Burns
Fear less, hope more;
eat less, chew more;
whine less, breathe more;
talk less, say more,
and all good things will be yours.
--R. Burns
none what so ever, you still have your three stupid questions left and depending on your time zone, tempus fugit....
mark asks-more-than-my-share-of stupid-q's Bailey
Has more than my share of stupid A's too, [before Perry says it].
mark asks-more-than-my-share-of stupid-q's Bailey
Has more than my share of stupid A's too, [before Perry says it].
Today is the first day of the rest of your life, Make the most of it...
kb
Re: to and fro and to
Just as acceptable as forth and back, out and in, down and up. Usually, although not always, the usage for going away precedes the usage for returning, just for logic's sake, but that's up to the individual...Any reason one couldn't use "fro-and-to?" Sorry it is Friday and I have not reached my quota of stupid questions for the week.
~E
Hemmingway missed the awesome power of illustrative alliteration and the contributions onomatopoeia makes towards truly great prose.
mark not-a-hemmingway-fan Bailey
too much testosterone dripping from every pore.
Besides Mel punctuated that incorrectly, it's supposed to read:To get to the other side. To die. Alone. In the rain.
mark not-a-hemmingway-fan Bailey
too much testosterone dripping from every pore.
Besides Mel punctuated that incorrectly, it's supposed to read:To get to the other side. To die. Alone. In the rain.
Today is the first day of the rest of your life, Make the most of it...
kb
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