The Reason Clocks Say 'Tick-Tock' And Not 'Tock-Tick'

December 5, 2018

Have you ever wondered why you say "tick tock" and not "tock tick". Or "ding dong" and not "dong ding"?

Ablaut Reduplication, that's why.

The following passage was written by Mark Forsyth in a book called, The Elements of Eloquence: How to Turn the Perfect English Phrase.

Apparently, English is made up of rules we don't know that we know.

why we say tick tock ding dong
Credit: BBC

And now "Tic Tac Toe" makes complete sense.