One way that words and phrases are built up uses a form of "reduplication" in which a syllable, word or phrase is repeated, but with a single vowel sound changed. A simple example of such a pattern is the phrase "flim flam". Usually, both vowels are "soft", but the examples of ship shape and teeter totter show that this is not always the case.
Bali belly (traveler's sickness in Indonesia)
bibble babble (babble)
Cancun (a resort town in Mexico)
chit chat (idle conversation)
chitter chatter (idle talk)
clip clop (an imitation of the sound of a horse on a street)
clish-clash (gossip)
coon can (a Spanish two player card game of making sequences)
crinkle-crankle (winding, circuitous)
criss cross (an interlacing pattern)
dib dab (a sailor)
Dig Dug
dilly dally (to dawdle)
ding dang (a mild expletive)
ding dong (a mild expletive; the sound of a bell; a fool)
dingle dangle (swinging to and fro; the penis)
double dabble (the conversion of data from decimal to
binary form)
fibble fabble (nonsense)
fidfad (a fusspot)
fiddle faddle (a dismissive exclamation)
fimble famble (a poor excuse)
fixfax (a Scottish version of the stocks, used for punishment)
flim flam (the deception used to implement a fraud)
flip flop (a sandal; to reverse oneself)
flipperty flopperty (loose and floppy)
fonfen (the spiel of a con man)
gewgaw (a gaudy trinket)
gibber gabber (spoken nonsense)
giff-gaff (give and take; banter)
gourd guard (a helmet)
grim gram (a telegram with bad news)
group grope (a sex party)
higgle haggle
hip hop (a slightly less shrill version of rap)
hippity hoppity (describing a hopping movement)
hishee hashee (soup and bouilli, an apparently awful meal)
Hong Kong (a port city in China)
jibble-jabble (nonsensical chatter)
jiggety-joggety (something strongly rhythmical)
jim jam (to jam; to jazz up)
the jim-jams (delirium tremens; the shakes; pajamas)
jing jang (the vagina)
jingle jangle (money, cash)
jipajapa (a South American plant that looks like a palm)
kim kam (astray; awry; out of order)
King Kong (our hero)
Kit Kat (a club name; a candy bar)
kittle cattle (difficult creatures to handle)
knickknack (a curio or keepsake)
launch lunch (to vomit)
Lib-Lab (an alliance between the Liberal and Labor parties)
mishmash (a formless mess)
mishmosh (a formless mess)
mixter-maxter (a confused jumble)
mixty-maxty (muddled together)
nid nod (to allow the head to drop repeatedly from drowsiness)
niddle noddle (having an unstable or wobbly head)
niddy noddy (a two-ended weaving frame on which yarn is wound)
nig-nog (a fool)
ning-nong (a fool)
pilpul (subtle rabbinic hairsplitting argumentation)
ping pong (table tennis)
pish pash (an East Indian rice broth made with bits of meat)
pishery pashery (disparaging, trifling talk)
pitchy patchy (ragged work clothes)
pitter patter (supposedly, the sound of little feet)
prinkum prankum (a prank)
prittle prattle (empty talk)
pussy posse (the vice squad)
riff raff (a disreputable group of people)
rimble ramble (nonsense)
riprap
shilly shally (to dawdle)
shim sham (a feeling of unease or fear)
ship shape (in order; neat)
sing song (to speak in a way that emphasizes sound over meaning)
skimble skamble (confusingly rambling)
slipslop (a blundering misuse of a word; sloppy stuff; twaddle)
spit spot (fine, excellent)
splish splash (imitation of splashing water sounds)
teeter totter (a children's amusement, a see saw)
tew taw (an implement for breaking hemp or flax)
thingy thangy (a thing; an object)
Tic Tac (a candy)
tick tock (imitation of the sound of a clock)
ticky tacky (vulgar and banal)
tip top (first rate)
tisty tosty (a ball of cowslips)
tittle tattle (idle chatter; gossip)
trinkum trankum (a trinket)
whimsy whamsy (a whim)
wig wag (a kind of signaling flag)
wiggle waggle (a musical fairground amusement; to sway)
willie wellie (a condom: a "wellie" is a sort of rubber boot)
wing wang (a joking term for dollars; a piece of burning bark
used as a weapon)
wing wong (a thingmajig)
wishy washy (indecisive)
xiraxara
ying yang
zig zag (characterized by repeated changes in direction)
Not quite...
vicky-verky (Merseyside)
In a different league:
kitty cat
pitapat
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