USAGE: "each other" vs. "each ... the other"

Christophe Grandsire scripsit:

> >It is illogical on its face: if A is in front of B, B cannot be in front
> >of A, assuming a single reference frame.
>
> Why should you?
English just does.  It's interesting that "each is in front of the other"
is unexceptionable (though unidiomatic), but "they are in front of each
other" sounds paradoxical: a difference of scope, I suppose.

Would you also say, in the case of two standing back to back, that they
are behind each other?  If I read "Each man walked behind the other",
I would think the author has blundered, and would correct it to "One
man walked behind the other"; i.e. front to back in the ordinary way.

--
John Cowan  jcowan@reutershealth.com  www.reutershealth.com  www.ccil.org/~cowan
"It's the old, old story.  Droid meets droid.  Droid becomes chameleon.
Droid loses chameleon, chameleon becomes blob, droid gets blob back
again.  It's a classic tale."  --Kryten, _Red Dwarf_

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