What is a palindrome? According to The Oxford English Dictionary the word is based on Greek root words meaning “back” and “running.” Palindromes are words or phrases that read the same backward and forward, letter for letter, number for number, or word for word. Some palindromes seem philosophical. Do geese see God? Others tell a story. A man, a plan, a canal: Panama. Still others are silly and rather nonsensical. Straw? No, too stupid a fad; I put soot on warts. Which of the following palindromes is your favorite?
1 A great bargain
A nut for a jar of tuna.
2 A permissive friend
Al lets Della call Ed “Stella.”
3 An Italian palindrome
Amore, Roma.
4 A long example
Are we not pure? “No, sir!” Panama’s moody Noriega brags. “It is garbage!” Irony dooms a man—a prisoner up to new era.
5 A moral dilemma
Borrow or rob?
6 Follow the words, not the letters
King, are you glad you are king?
7 A weird concept
Taco cat
8 Bad eyesight
Was it a car or a cat I saw?
9 A list of naughty people
Dennis, Nell, Edna, Leon, Nedra, Anita, Rolf, Nora, Alice, Carol, Leo, Jane, Reed, Dena, Dale, Basil, Rae, Penny, Lana, Dave, Denny, Lena, Ida, Bernadette, Ben, Ray, Lila, Nina, Jo, Ira, Mara, Sara, Mario, Jan, Ina, Lily, Arne, Bette, Dan, Reba, Diane, Lynn, Ed, Eva, Dana, Lynne, Pearl, Isabel, Ada, Ned, Dee, Rena, Joel, Lora, Cecil, Aaron, Flora, Tina, Arden, Noel, and Ellen sinned.
10 A news report
Ed, I saw Harpo Marx ram Oprah W. aside.
11 A record set straight
Madam, in Eden, I’m Adam.
12 A hitman for hire
Murder for a jar of red rum.
13 Call your mother
Mom.
14 A gross creature
Oozy rat in a sanitary zoo.
15 Verbal abuse
Yo, banana boy!
16 Would you try . . .
UFO tofu?
These are just a few examples. There is a great palindrome poem called “Doppelgänger” by James A. Lindon that you might enjoy. It reads the same from bottom to top as it does from top to bottom. Though a poem might be too hard for your first attempt, why not try to create your own palindrome phrase?
