On Palindromes
This is excerpted for your pleasure from a Usenet article on palindromes,
found in the rec.puzzles archive:
==> language/english/sentences/palindromes.p <==
What are some long palindromes?
The first words spoken were a palindrome:
Madam, I'm Adam.
or perhaps:
Madam in Eden, I'm Adam.
The response, of course, must have been:
Eve
Napolean's lament:
Able was I ere I saw Elba.
Has been improved with:
Unremarkable was I ere I saw Elba, Kramer, nu?
A fish is a:
laminar animal
The timeless classic:
A man, a plan, a canal; Panama?
Has been improved by:
A dog, a plan, a canal: pagoda!
-- Roger Angell
A man, a plan, a cat, a canal; Panama?
-- Jim Saxe, plan file @ CMU, 9 October 1983
A man, a plan, a cat, a ham, a yak, a yam, a hat, a canal--Panama!
-- Guy Jacobson, plan file @ CMU late 1983
A man, a plan, a caret, a ban, a myriad, a sum, a lac, a liar, a hoop, a
pint, a catalpa, a gas, an oil, a bird, a yell, a vat, a caw, a pax, a wag,
a tax, a nay, a ram, a cap, a yam, a gay, a tsar, a wall, a car, a luger, a
ward, a bin, a woman, a vassal, a wolf, a tuna, a nit, a pall, a fret, a
watt, a bay, a daub, a tan, a cab, a datum, a gall, a hat, a fag, a zap, a
say, a jaw, a lay, a wet, a gallop, a tug, a trot, a trap, a tram, a torr, a
caper, a top, a tonk, a toll, a ball, a fair, a sax, a minim, a tenor, a
bass, a passer, a capital, a rut, an amen, a ted, a cabal, a tang, a sun, an
ass, a maw, a sag, a jam, a dam, a sub, a salt, an axon, a sail, an ad, a
wadi, a radian, a room, a rood, a rip, a tad, a pariah, a revel, a reel, a
reed, a pool, a plug, a pin, a peek, a parabola, a dog, a pat, a cud, a nu,
a fan, a pal, a rum, a nod, an eta, a lag, an eel, a batik, a mug, a mot, a
nap, a maxim, a mood, a leek, a grub, a gob, a gel, a drab, a citadel, a
total, a cedar, a tap, a gag, a rat, a manor, a bar, a gal, a cola, a pap, a
yaw, a tab, a raj, a gab, a nag, a pagan, a bag, a jar, a bat, a way, a
papa, a local, a gar, a baron, a mat, a rag, a gap, a tar, a decal, a tot, a
led, a tic, a bard, a leg, a bog, a burg, a keel, a doom, a mix, a map, an
atom, a gum, a kit, a baleen, a gala, a ten, a don, a mural, a pan, a faun,
a ducat, a pagoda, a lob, a rap, a keep, a nip, a gulp, a loop, a deer, a
leer, a lever, a hair, a pad, a tapir, a door, a moor, an aid, a raid, a
wad, an alias, an ox, an atlas, a bus, a madam, a jag, a saw, a mass, an
anus, a gnat, a lab, a cadet, an em, a natural, a tip, a caress, a pass, a
baronet, a minimax, a sari, a fall, a ballot, a knot, a pot, a rep, a
carrot, a mart, a part, a tort, a gut, a poll, a gateway, a law, a jay, a
sap, a zag, a fat, a hall, a gamut, a dab, a can, a tabu, a day, a batt, a
waterfall, a patina, a nut, a flow, a lass, a van, a mow, a nib, a draw, a
regular, a call, a war, a stay, a gam, a yap, a cam, a ray, an ax, a tag, a
wax, a paw, a cat, a valley, a drib, a lion, a saga, a plat, a catnip, a
pooh, a rail, a calamus, a dairyman, a bater, a canal--Panama.
--Dan Hoey, 'discovered' in 1984.
Dan goes on to say "...a little work on the search algorithm could make
it several times as long."
Those wonderful proper names:
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.
A poem:
Mood's mode!
Pallas, I won!
(Diaper pane, sold entire.)
Melt till ever sere, hide it.
Drown a more vile note;
(Tar of rennet.)
Ah, trowel, baton, eras ago.
The reward? A "nisi." Two nag.
Otary tastes putrid, yam was green.
Odes up and on; stare we.
Rats nod. Nap used one-erg saw.
(May dirt upset satyr?)
A toga now; 'tis in a drawer, eh?
Togas are notable.
(Worth a tenner for Ate`.)
Tone liver. O Man, word-tied I.
Here's revel!
Little merit, Ned? Lose, Nap?
Repaid now is all apedom's doom.
-- Hubert Phillips:
Headmaster's Palindromic List on his Memo Pad:
Test on Erasmus Dr of Law
Deliver slap Stop dynamo (OTC)
Royal: phone no.? Tel: Law re Kate Race
Ref. Football. Caps on for prep
Is sofa sitable on? Pots- no tops
XI--Staff over Knit up ties ('U')
Sub-edit Nurse's order Ned (re paper)
Caning is on test (snub slip-up) Eve's simple hot dish (crib)
Birch (Sid) to help Miss Eve Pupil's buns
Repaper den T-set: no sign in a/c
Use it Red roses
Put inkspot on stopper Run Tide Bus?
Prof.--no space Rev off at six
Caretaker (wall, etc.) Noel Bat is a fossil
Too many d*** pots Lab to offer one 'Noh' play--
Wal for duo? (I'd name Dr. O) or 'Pals Reviled'?
See few owe fees (or demand IOU?) Sums are not set.
-- Joyce Johnson
(_New_Statesman_ competition in 1967. 126
words, 467 letters) begins
"Sir, I stra..." and ends "... Art, sir, is Satire: Veritas."
Other palindromes in ascending length (drum roll please):
O, no!
Do God!
We few.
Go, dog!
Old? Lo!
Top pot.
A Toyota.
Redivider
Top spot.
Live evil.
Semi limes
Stun nuts.
Taft: fat!
Go do, dog.
Never even.
Stop spots.
Regal lager.
Dot sees Tod.
Lepers repel.
Ma has a ham.
Dennis sinned.
Sir, I'm Iris.
Dee saw a seed.
Del saw a sled.
I met System I.
Lee had a heel.
Lonely Tylenol.
Not so, Boston.
Senile felines.
Sup not on pus.
"Naomi," I Moan.
He won snow, eh?
Laid on no dial.
Name no one man.
Peel Sam asleep.
Redraw a warder.
Step on no pets.
Do geese see God?
Ed is on no side.
Emil saw a slime.
Dot saw I was Tod.
Eros' sis is sore.
Gateman's nametag.
God saw I was dog!
Lem saw I was Mel.
Naomi, did I moan?
Never odd or even.
Rise to vote, sir.
Sleep on no peels.
Enid and Edna dine.
He stops spots, eh?
Revenge Meg? Never!
Sleep not on peels.
Was it a rat I saw?
Wendel's sled: new?
A Toyota's a Toyota.
No lemons, no melon.
O, stone, be not so.
God, a saw was a dog!
Ma is a nun, as I am.
No, I met System Ion.
No, it is opposition.
Now I see bees I won.
Delia saw I was ailed.
Dr. Lime, 121 Emil Rd.
He goddam mad dog, eh?
He harasses Sarah, eh?
Niagara, O roar again!
No evil shah lives on.
Dennis and Edna sinned.
Rats drown in WordStar.
Star comedy: Democrats!
Drat Saddam mad dastard.
He lived as a devil, eh?
He won a Toyota now, eh?
Red rum, sir, is murder.
Sit on a potato pan Otis!
A slut nixes sex in Tulsa.
A slut nixes sex in Tulsa.
Ma is as selfless as I am.
Nurse, I spy gupsies, run!
Rats live on no evil star.
Slap a ham on Omaha, pals!
Top step's pup's pet spot.
A dog! A panic in a pagoda!
Go deliver a dare, vile dog.
I won, Karen, an era know I.
May a moody baby doom a yam?
Murder for a jar of red rum.
No "x" in "Mr. R. M. Nixon"?
Swen, on gnus, sung no news.
Ten animals I slam in a net.
Was it Eliot's toilet I saw?
Was it a car or a cat I saw?
Al lets Della call Ed Stella.
No, she stops spots, eh, son?
Eros? Sidney, my end is sore!
Devil Natasha, ah, Satan lived.
Draw, O Caeser, erase a coward.
Emil's Nip eels sleep in slime!
Did Eve salt an atlas? Eve did.
I, man, am regal; a German am I.
Golf? No sir, prefer prison flog.
No pinot noir on Orion to nip on.
O, memsahib Bart, rabbi has memo.
Trap all afoot; I too fall apart.
Evil I did dwell; lewd did I live.
Norma is as selfless as I am, Ron.
"Naomi, sex at noon taxes," I moan.
Yo, bad anaconda had no Canada boy.
"Asi, Buenos Dias!" said Son Eubisa.
Egad! A base tone denotes a bad age.
Egad, a base life defiles a bad age.
Kay, a red nude, peeped under a yak.
Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas.
Sums are not set as a test on Erasmus.
Marge lets Norah see Sharon's telegram.
Red dude kill lion. No ill-liked udder.
Anna: "Did Otto peep?" Otto: "Did Anna?"
Address of Emil Otto Lime: Fosse Rd., DA.
Aim a Toyota tatami mat at a Toyota, Mia.
Did I draw Della too tall, Edward? I did?
I roamed under it as a tired, nude Maori.
He won't, ah, wander, Edna. What now, eh?
To Peru, named llama mall 'De Manure Pot'.
Anne, I vote more cars race Rome to Vienna.
Stop, Syrian! I start at rats in airy spots.
I roamed under rats as a starred, nude Maori.
Paget saw an Irish tooth, Sir, in a waste gap.
We few erase cares, Al; laser aces are we few.
Level? No, I tan, I'm at no contamination level.
Straw? No, too stupid a fad; I put soot on warts.
Live dirt up a side track carted is a putrid evil.
No gnu have never after fret far, even Eva hung on.
Now, Ned, I am a maiden nun; Ned, I am a maiden won.
We repaid a no name Pacific ape man on a diaper, ew!
Here we no got conical ill lilac in octogon ewer, eh?
Salamander a ton now. Raw war won not, a Red Nam, alas.
I prevent U-boats, tar, evil live rats, Tao but never pi.
Fool! A dog lives sad a boxer, Rex. O bad ass evil god aloof!
'Tenor Octopus Night' netted a cadet tenth ginsu pot, coronet.
Won total, I am a pro. Bali radar I labor. Pa, mail a tot now!
Yo, boy! Trap gnus, nude. 'Kangaroo Rag' naked unsung party, O boy!
Did I strap red nude, red rump, also slap murdered underparts? I did!
Doc, note: I dissent. A fast never prevents a fatness. I diet on cod.
So regards Rat's Lib: regrets no more hero monster gerbil stars' drag Eros.
Degas, are we not drawn onward, we freer few, drawn onward to new eras aged?
Garret, I ogle. Enemy democrats party; trap star comedy men, eel goiter rag.
Named undenominationally rebel, I rile Beryl? La, no! I tan. I'm, O Ned, nude, man!
Sagas emit taxes, rat snot, or pastrami. I'm Arts, a proton star - sex at times a gas.
Dr. Ana, Cataracts. Uranium enema smarts if fist rams, Amen! Emu in a rust car at a
canard.
T. Eliot, top bard, notes putrid tang emanating, is sad; I'd assign it a name: gnat dirt
upset on drab pot toilet.
Some word (not letter) palindromes:
So patient a doctor to try to doctor a patient so.
You can cage a swallow, can't you, but you can't swallow a cage, can you?
Girl, bathing on Bikini, eyeing boy, finds boy eyeing
bikini on bathing girl.
Amusing is that company of fond people bores people fond of
company that is amusing.
Line palindrome poems:
As I was passing near the jail
I met a man, but hurried by.
His face was ghastly, grimly pale.
He had a gun. I wondered why
He had. A gun? I wondered... why,
His face was *ghastly*! Grimly pale,
I met a man, but hurried by,
As I was passing near the jail.
DOPPELGANGER (umlaut on the A)
Entering the lonely house with my wife,
I saw him for the first time
Peering furtively from behind a bush--
Blackness that moved,
A shape amid the shadows,
A momentary glimpse of gleaming eyes
Revealed in the ragged moon.
A closer look (he seemed to turn) might have
Put him to flight forever--
I dared not
(For reasons that I failed to understand),
Though I knew I should act at once.
I puzzled over it, hiding alone,
Watching the woman as she neared the gate.
He came, and I saw him crouching
Night after night.
Night after night
He came, and I saw him crouching,
Watching the woman as she neared the gate.
I puzzled over it, hiding alone--
Though I knew I should act at once,
For reasons that I failed to understand
I dared not
Put him to flight forever.
A closer look (he seemed to turn) might have
Revealed in the ragged moon
A momentary glimpse of gleaming eyes,
A shape amid the shadows,
Blackness that moved.
Peering furtively from behind a bush,
I saw him, for the first time,
Entering the lonely house with my wife.
Some palindromic names:
Lon Nol
(former premier of Cambodia)
U Nu
(former premier of Burma)
Revilo P. Oliver
(professor at U. of Illinois; his father and grandfather have/had
the same name, which was deliberately contrived)
Wassamassaw
(a swamp north of Charleston SC)
Yreka Bakery
(a former business in Yreka CA)
Yrella Gallery
(a business which later occupied the same premises)
References:
Palindromes and Anagrams
Howard W. Bergerson
Dover Publications
New York, 1973
ISBN 0-486-20664-5.
The Oxford Guide to Word Games, chapter 11, titled "Palindromes"
Tony Augarde
Lid Off a Daffodil
John Pool
Holt, Rinehart and Wilson
1982
The Palindromicon
Jeff Grant
Word Ways
Spring Valley Road
Morristown, NJ 07960
From A to Zotamorf: The Dictionary of Palindromes
Stephen Chism
Word Ways
Spring Valley Road
Morristown, NJ 07960
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