Not quite palindromes

08012006 | 08:33 Wed 27th Aug 2008 | Phrases & Sayings

13 Answers

A palindrome is the same word that is the same forwards and backwards (eg noon), but is there a grammatical term for those words that spell different words, eg moor - room; step - pets ?

Jack phrases

"Giving them enough rope to hang themselves with"

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squarebear

Yes, they are called anagrams.

08012006

Question Author

Anagrams obviously, but more specifically, in the reverse order

crisgal

quizmonster! Where are you? We need you here!

Quizmonster

In his book Anatomy of the Crossword published in 1963, D S Barnard suggested that such words be called anadromes. This is from the Greek for 'running backwards' and seems to fit the bill. However, neither The Oxford English Dictionary nor Chambers lists the word in that sense. Instead, they use it to define fish which swim upstream to spawn!
I quite like it myself.

crisgal

what? Swimming up stream to spawn?!

crisgal

By the way Quizmonster, there's a joke I think you will appreciate in best punchlines in the jokes catergory. x

Quizmonster

Yes, Crisgal, like salmon...they return from the ocean to the river they themselves were spawned in, swim up it, do the needful in the matter of spawning the next generation and die. That makes them anadromous as opposed to catadromous.
I had a glance at the Jokes thread you suggested and recognised many of them but couldn't work out quite which one you imagined would appeal to me.

Quizmonster

Ah! On re-reading your first comment, I get it. Becoming a bit slow in my old age. Having said that, I'm usually still willing to go anywhere for a bit of 'spawning'!