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Palindrome
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What Is a Palindrome? (with Examples)
A palindrome is a text (a single word or more) that reads the same backwards as forwards.
Easy Examples of Palindrome
- Civic
- Kayak
- Radar
- Race car
- It's my gym whichever way you look at it.
More Examples of Palindromes
Punctuation isn't considered when creating palindromes.- He did, eh?
- Do geese see God?
- No lemons, no melon
- No, it is open on one position.
- Norma is as selfless as I am, Ron.
- Cigar? Toss it in a can. It is so tragic.
- Marge, let's send a sadness telegram.
- Anne, I vote more cars race Rome to Vienna.
Odd or Even Number of Letters?
A palindrome can have an odd or even number of letters. With an odd number of letters, the palindrome pivots around the middle letter. With an even number the two halves are mirror copies. For example:- No lemons, no melon. (This is a 15-letter palindrome that pivots around the "s.")
- No lemon, no melon. (This is a 14-letter palindrome with two equal halves.)
Meaningful Palindromes
Palindromes are difficult to create because the chance of your letter working at both ends is always slim. Therefore, creating one with meaning is especially impressive. These deserve special mention:- Borrow or rob?
- Madam, in Eden, I’m Adam.
- A man, a plan, a canal: Panama
- Are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to new era?
The Difference between Palindromes and Ambigrams
Words that read the same upside down are called ambigrams. Most unmodified ambigrams are written with capital letters. For example:- SWIMS
- SOS
- NOON

Video Lesson
Here is a two-and-a-half-minute music video by "Weird Al" Yankovic that uses just palindromes:Even More Examples of Palindromes
- Taco cat
- Wet stew
- party-trap
- Amore, Roma.
- Dogma: I am God
- Yo, banana boy!
- No "x" in "Nixon."
- Not a banana baton
- Devil never even lived.
- A nut for a jar of tuna.
- Murder for a jar of red rum.
- Was it a car or a cat I saw?
- Al lets Della call Ed "Stella."
- Pull up, Eva, we’re here! Wave! Pull up!
- Cigar? Toss it in a can. It is so tragic.
- Swap God for a janitor; rot in a jar of dog paws.
- Are we not pure? "No, sir!" Panama’s moody Noriega brags. "It is garbage!" Irony dooms a man—a prisoner up to new era.
- 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.
Why Palindromes Are Important
Palindromes are created for fun or for the challenge. For teachers, writing palindromes can be a useful way to encourage students to play with letters and words. However, they must be careful not to involve students suffering with aibohphobia (a fear of palindromes), a condition first recognized by Dr. Awkward in 1881 in Allagalla.Key Point
- Palindromes are created for fun. They have no obvious appeal in literary or business writing. Dammit, I’m mad!
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