It’s Friday fun-day at the Editor’s Corner. And I have a new word (at least it’s new to me) to introduce to you. The word is semordnilap.
As you already know, when a word is spelled the same way forward and backward, it is called a palindrome (for example, mom, rotator, and racecar). However, when a word that is spelled backward reveals another word (for example, maps spelled backward becomes spam), that word is called a semordnilap (which is palindromes spelled backward).
For your Friday viewing pleasure, here is a partial list of semordnilaps:
| Bonk | Knob |
| Brag | Garb |
| Buns | Snub |
| Decal | Laced |
| Deliver | Reviled |
| Denim | Mined |
| Desserts | Stressed |
| Devil | Lived |
| Diaper | Repaid |
| Doom | Mood |
| Drawer | Reward |
| Edit | Tide |
| Evil | Live |
| Gulp | Plug |
| Nuts | Stun |
| Pacer | Recap |
| Parts | Strap |
| Peels | Sleep |
| Rebut | Tuber |
| Reknit | Tinker |
| Snips | Spins |
| Snoops | Spoons |
| Snot | Tons |
| Straw | Warts |
Information about semordnilaps and the list above come from Rod L. Evans’ book Tyrannosaurus Lex: The Marvelous Book of Palindromes, Anagrams, & Other Delightful & Outrageous Wordplay.
Enjoy the rest of your day and the upcoming weekend, my friends!
Donna Bradley Burcher | Technical Editor, Adv. | Symitar®
8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.278.0432 | Ext: 765432
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