Did you know that there are some words that are spelt the same forwards or backwards? A couple of examples are dad or noon.
These are called palindrome’s.
A palindrome can also refer to a verse, sentence or number that is the same spelt forwards or backwards – would you ever believe that a phrase would fit into this category?
The Mirriam-Webster dictionary says the following about a palindrome:
Palindrome comes from Greek palindromos, meaning “running back again,” which itself is from palin (“back,” “again”) and dramein (“to run”). Nowadays, we appreciate a clever palindrome—such as “Drab as a fool, aloof as a bard” or “A man, a plan, a canal: Panama”—or even a simple one like “race car,” but in the past palindromes were more than just smart wordplay. Some folks thought they were magical, and they carved them on walls or amulets for protection.
Mirriam-Webster Dictionary
Your homework today is to ponder on the examples of word, verse or sentence palindrome’s here in the Reader’s Digest – do you know of any others… or what about number palindromes, such as 1881, know any?
Ponder away!
