These are all interesting pairs of words. Kith is an old English word meaning friends, so kith and kin means friends and relatives.

Rack comes from "wrack" and the phrase rack and ruin or wrack and ruin (either's acceptable) came I think from the financial ruination that follows a loss, particularly a shipwreck (wrack).

Kit and caboodle: now this is interesting (well to me anyway). Caboodle itself is probably derived from kit and boodle, so kit and caboodle is kit and kit and boodle. Boodle is, among other thing's, a pirate's swag, and caboodle can actually be a verb meaning to bribe or to take a bribe.

Thanks, johnjohn, for bringing these up! Fun stuff!


TEd