idioms - Is "forth and back" more proper than "back and forth"?


I think the term "back and forth" gets thrown around a lot without much thought.


From Dictionary.com:



forth    [fawrth, fohrth]


adverb 1. onward or outward in place or space; forward: to come forth; go forth.



Wouldn't the term be more meaningful if "forth" was used first since you have to have a starting place before you can go "back"?


Examples:




  • I've been going back and forth from Houston to New York.

  • I've been going forth and back from Houston to New York.



Which is more correct?



Answer



"Back and forth" is the more correct idiom, because, well, that's the idiom. There's nothing to stop you from saying "forth and back" — a little voice is repeating the subtitle to The Hobbit, which is There and Back Again, to me — but you won't be using the English idiom, you'll merely be speaking words.


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