backward and forward
Idioms & Phrases

backward and forward

Also, backwards and forwards.

  1. Same as back and forth.

  2. Thoroughly, completely, as in He read the speech over and over, until he knew it backwards and forwards. [Late 1500s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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