... tittletattlezigzagOne of the two parts of a reduplicative (often the second) may be a meaningfulword, and the other then plays on its sound. The connotations of reduplicativesare usually casual and offhanded, ... 49) , and inMCMXC (= 199 0).Romania, Rumania or Roumania The Romans gave their name to thiseasternmost province of their empire, hence the spelling Romania which is now the of cial form in English ... with another conjunction, scarcely compares the timing of twoevents:Scarcely had they finished the roof when it began to rain.Scarcely had they finished the roof than it began to rain. The first...