As a wordsmith, it's perhaps no surprise that I love words - and one of the best books I downloaded on my Kindle over Christmas was Mark Forsyth's The Etymologicon. This is a book all about language, where it comes from and how it has developed and is a real joy to read as it is written in such a witty and engaging way.
I'll be sharing some of the information that particularly caught my eye over the next few weeks, but today I wanted to introduce you to the wonderful world of palindromes.
Mark Forsyth says "the neatest palindrome in English is undoubtedly
"A man, a plan, a canal: Panama".
It is indeed, for a palindrome is word phrase or number that can be read the same way in either direction
(punctuation, capitals and spaces are usually ignored) In the above you have a sentence that can be read backwards as well as forwards - take a look at it again to see what I mean.
Apparently palindromes have been in evidence from as long ago as 79AD so we've had plenty of time to hone them! Please enjoy the following examples:
Madam I'm Adam
Never odd or even
Rise to vote sir
Was it a rat I saw
Step on no pets
Drab as a fool, aloof as a bard
Too hot to hoot
So many dynamos!
Norma is as selfless as I am, Ron
Some men interpret nine memos
Have you seen any palindromes that you would like to share, Indeed - I challenge you - can you make one up! I look forward to hearing and sharing.
If you liked this post you will enjoy Contranyms - caution this post will mess with your mind
Stumped for a new tweet? Use my tweetables!
Palindrome example: a man, a plan, a canal: Panama - read it backwards! click to tweet
Palindrome example: Madam I'm Adam - read it backwards! click to tweet
If you liked this post you will enjoy Contranyms - caution this post will mess with your mind
Stumped for a new tweet? Use my tweetables!
Palindrome example: a man, a plan, a canal: Panama - read it backwards! click to tweet
Palindrome example: Madam I'm Adam - read it backwards! click to tweet
Thanks to Digitalnative on Flick for the photo!
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