Palindromes (Figures of Speech)

PALINDROMES (Figures of Speech)

Look at these sentences. Do you notice anything interesting about them?

• Do geese see God?
• Able was I ere I saw Elba. (An allusion to Napoleon.)
• A man, a plan, a canal: Panama!
• Madam, I'm Adam. (Supposedly said when he met Eve.)

If the sentences don't make it clear, here are some words:

• civic
• deified
• kayak
• level
• radar
• racecar

Got it? These all read the same forward or backward. Try it! Spell "radar" backwards. That's right! It's still R-A-D-A-R. These are "palindromes," words whose parts mean to "run back again," because you can "run" from start to finish and "back again" and get the same word or sentence.

• Palindromic names: Hannah, Otto, Eve, Bob
• Palindromic numbers: 1881, 1991, 2002, 2112

Now try writing your own palindromes!

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(Images courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)