Language Arts A palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same forwards and backwards. This article takes a closer look at palindromes with some simple examples and then gets into some of the more complex palindromes that have been created.

Palindromes are words, phrases, clauses, or sentences that read the same forwards or backwards. Learn more about palindromes in this article.

Palindromic Words

A number of “normal” English words are themselves palindromes. There are a great number of three-letter palindromes, such as:

pop

It is interesting to note that in this group of palindromes, Anna, Aviva, Eve, Hannah, and Sas all originate in Hebrew. The name Otto comes from German, and the rest are nicknames:

• Bob for Robert
• Nan for Suzanne or Nancy or Anne
• Viv for Vivienne

There are also some palindromic placenames. Glenelg, is a city in Adelaide, South Australia and the state of Maryland, USA, and also a village in western Scotland. Kanakanak is a neighborhood in Dillingham, Alaska. These are only two examples, but there are more.

Purposeful Palindromes

Some people like to make up palindromes. And you can imagine that trying to make a phrase, let alone a clause or sentence, is likely to be fairly challenging just trying to get it to read exactly the same forwards and backwards.

But when people make palindromes, unlike palindromes that simply appear in names, they often try to make interesting meanings with their phrases, clauses, and sentences, within the confines of the palindrome. This makes creating palindromes even more of a challenge.

This type of challenge has attracted word buffs who enjoy trying to work within these parameters to create a clever or humorous wordplay. In order to create a better palindrome, the phrase, clause, or sentence is sometimes presented with a line of explanation that reveals the name of the speaker or sheds light on the context in which the palindrome can be understood.

The Most Famous Examples of Palindromes

One of the most famous palindromes is the one that gives voice to what is supposedly Adam's introduction of himself to Eve:

• Madam, I'm Adam.

Notice that punctuation - comma, period, and apostrophe - are not counted in deciding whether a word group meets the criteria for a palindrome.

Another well-known palindrome describes the process for the construction of the Panama Canal:

• A man, a plan, a canal: Panama.

A third popular palindrome is meant to be understood as the reflection of Napoleon near the end of his life:

• Able was I ere I saw Elba.

Notice that each of these examples has a proper name in it: many palindromes do.

Other Palindromes

Some palindromes are self-explanatory, but tend to be fairly silly:

• Eva, can I stab bats in a cave?
• Sit on a potato pan, Otis.
• Was it a car or a cat I saw?
• Lay a wallaby baby ball away, Al.

or clever, but without much weight:

• Goldenrod-adorned log.

Some would not get our attention at all if it weren't for the fact that they're palindromes:

• Too bad I hid a boot.
• Rise to vote, sir.
• Never odd or even.
• No lemon, no melon.
• Live not on evil.
• Draw, O coward!

Palindrome Extension

Some people enjoy extending palindromes that others have invented. Someone reworked Adam's introduction to read:

• Madam, in Eden, I'm Adam.

And there have been several extensions of the Panama palindrome from its original appearance in print in 1948. The longest - accomplished by Dan Hoey in 1984 using a computer program - has five hundred and forty-three words, but it violates some rules of English grammar. The longest correct version, achieved by adding some very odd items to the list, appears in Guy Steele's book Common Listp, the Language and goes like this:

• A man, a plan, a canoe, pasta, heros, rajahs, a coloratura, maps, snipe, percale, macaroni, a gag, a banana bag, a tan, a tag, a banana bag again (or a camel), a crepe, pins, Spam, a rut, a Rolo, cash, a jar, sore hats, a peon, a canal - Panama!

Sources

The Panama palindrome: By its true and real author, Dan Hoey - nielsenhayden.com