There’s common sense in many of the grammar rules we’ve memorized over the years. Sentences start with a capital letter, questions end with a question mark, and apostrophes are used for possessives and contractions. But what about the more whimsical aspects of language? Some literary devices exist solely to put constraints on language, so that those limitations might fuel creativity. For example, a palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same backward as they do forward. They’re a symmetrical collection of letters (excluding punctuation and spaces). Our examples are fanciful, but a writer might purposely use the palindrome “civic” instead of “public” if they want to emphasize equality, or a poet might string together a palindrome in an effort to display a theme of duality. Composing a palindrome is no easy feat — the longer they run, the harder they get. Here are a few prime examples of palindromes that might win you big-time conversational points.
Two words, seven letters
We’re starting off small. The classic, two-word palindrome is appreciated by preschoolers and NASCAR fans everywhere.
Three words, 11 letters
The curse word may be spelled incorrectly, but this is a popular palindrome on internet message boards. It’s a pure expression of frustration, either backward or forward.
Four words, 14 letters
It’s another classic, but this palindrome might send you down an existential tangent.
Five words, 31 letters
Just because it’s the same forward and backward doesn’t mean it has to make sense. Case in point: this abstract request for the devil himself. Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas was the title of a bonus disc included in a limited edition release of a 1992 Soundgarden album, Badmotorfinger. Are metallic sonatas a metaphor? Is the speaker referring to the oscillations of the sonatas’ sound waves? Only the band knows.
Six words, 32 letters
Did we miss this palindromic storyline on The Simpsons? Marge is betraying Sharon but letting Norah get in on all the gossip.
Fourteen words, 51 letters
This palindrome might be as indecipherable as the doc’s handwriting. It’s interesting dietary advice from a patient who has taken nutrition into their own hands.
Sixty-three words, 263 letters
Sounds like a good party! What reads as a long list of people who are sinning is also a palindrome.
Editor’s note: We can’t take credit for penning these palindromes; we found most of them on lists of common and popular palindromes.
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