0
Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Jokes, Puzzles & Riddles

"perfect" anagrams

It's always bothered me that "anagrams" just refers to letters being rearranged willy-nilly in a word, and there is no demarcation for words that are mirror opposites of each other. For instance:
Part / trap, parts / strap
Nuts / stun
Pals / slap
Tons / snot
Nips / spin
Spit / tips
Bats / stab
Stool / loots
Snap / pans
Keels / sleek
... all fall under the same label/category as do:
cola / coal
last / salt
diary / dairy
cause / sauce ... etc, etc. Or am I missing it? Is there a distinction between these two groups of words that I don't know, or are they both just "anagrams"? And if the latter be the case, may I suggest a new term for the first group-- perfect anagrams. Anybody else with me on this?

Thanks,
Jeff
  

Top answer

My first thought was that these are palindromes, but a palindrome reads the same in both directions. title=Palindrome&action=edit&section=26 ] Semordnilap is a name coined for a word or phrase that spells a different word or phrase backward. "semordnilap" is itself "palindromes" spelled backward.

— Blue Jay

  • My first thought was that these are palindromes, but a palindrome reads the same in both directions.
  • title=Palindrome&action=edit&section=26 ] Semordnilap is a name coined for a word or phrase that spells a different word or phrase backward.
  • "semordnilap" is itself "palindromes" spelled backward.
  • According to logologist Dmitri A.
  • org/wiki/Palindrome#cite_note-31 the word was coined by Martin Gardner in Oddities and Curiosities of Words and Literature .
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

3 Answers
0
My first thought was that these are palindromes, but a palindrome reads the same in both directions. However, I looked up palindrome in Wikipedia, and found this paragraph:

Semordnilap[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palindrome&action=edit§ion=26]

0
0
For fun: Able was I ere I saw Elba.
0
0
Thank you so very much for pointing me in the right direction(s)! It's funny-- I have been thinking this whole time that in order for "palindromes" to analytically correct, there also ought to exist the word "semordnilap." HA! That word does exist! I just never actually looked for it...
0

Related Questions