Something came up in a discussion with a test reader recently, and it's the topic of word pairs and how they have to be in the correct order.
It was pointed out that in my story I'd written "pans and pots" where the correct version is supposed to be "pots and pans."
Today I went to check this passage and do the correction and I paused to think about it. Are there times when a word pair isn't a word pair but just the words of the word pair written together?
The sentence in question is:
To me it feels like pots and pans is a reference to cooking containers in general, while in this case the pans and pots refers to the specific pans and the specific pots that are in need of hanging up. Would it make a difference if it read the pans and the pots?
I'm not opposed to changing the original sentence. What I'm curious about is whether there are situations where a word pair isn't a word pair?
It was pointed out that in my story I'd written "pans and pots" where the correct version is supposed to be "pots and pans."
Today I went to check this passage and do the correction and I paused to think about it. Are there times when a word pair isn't a word pair but just the words of the word pair written together?
The sentence in question is:
The pans and pots still needed hanging up[...]
To me it feels like pots and pans is a reference to cooking containers in general, while in this case the pans and pots refers to the specific pans and the specific pots that are in need of hanging up. Would it make a difference if it read the pans and the pots?
I'm not opposed to changing the original sentence. What I'm curious about is whether there are situations where a word pair isn't a word pair?