List of English palindromic phrases
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A palindrome is a word, number, phrase, or other sequence of symbols that reads the same backwards as forwards, such as the sentence: "A man, a plan, a canal – Panama". Following is a list of palindromic phrases of two or more words in the English language, found in multiple independent collections of palindromic phrases.
As late as 1821, The New Monthly Magazine reported that there was only one known palindrome in the English language: "Lewd did I live, & evil did I dwel (sic)".[1] In the following centuries, many more English palindromes were constructed. For many long-attested or well-known palindromes, authorship can not be determined, although a number can tentatively be attributed to a handful of prolific palindrome creators.[2] Because of the popularity of palindromes as a form of word play, a number of sources have collected and listed popular palindromes,[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] and palindrome-constructing contests have been held.[9][10]
Notable palindromic phrases in English
| Palindrome | Notes | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Able was I ere I saw Elba | Fancifully attributed to Napoleon, who was exiled to Elba. | [2][11][12][13] |
| A dog! A panic in a pagoda! | [a] | [2][12][4][3]: 16 |
| Ah, Satan sees Natasha | [a] | [2][4] |
| A man, a plan, a canal — Panama! | Devised by Leigh Mercer, a noted British word play expert.[14][15] | [16][17][12][13][18][4][9] |
| A Toyota or A Toyota's a Toyota | [a] | [4][19][20] |
| Dennis sinned or Dennis and Edna sinned | Numerous variations insert additional names. | [5][4] |
| Doc, note: I dissent. A fast never prevents a fatness. I diet on cod | Written by mathematician Peter Hilton | [21][4][22] |
| Do geese see God? | [a] | [23][24][6][4][10] |
| Do nine men Interpret? Nine men I nod | [a] | [23][24][2] |
| Drab as a fool, aloof as a bard or Drab as a fool, as aloof as a bard | [25][2] | |
| Draw, o coward! | [7][26] | |
| Egad, a base tone denotes a bad age | [b] | [2][8][3]: 114 |
| God, a red nugget, a fat egg under a dog | [a] | [2][27] |
| Go hang a salami, I'm a lasagna hog | [a] Coined by musician Baby Gramps. | [17][23][24][9][28] |
| I, man, am Regal, a German am I | [a] | [17][23][2] |
| If I had a hi-fi | [a] | [17][29][19] |
| Lewd did I live & evil I did dwel; or Lewd did I live, evil I did dwel | Coined by poet John Taylor, in 1614. | [1][4] |
| Lid off a daffodil | [2][25] | |
| Lived on decaf, faced no devil | [4][29] | |
| Lisa Bonet ate no basil | [a] | [5][23][29][18][30] |
| Lonely Tylenol | [a] | [16][29][4] |
| Madam, I'm Adam | [a] Fancifully attributed to the biblical figure, Adam. | [17][12][23][13][11][2][6] |
| Ma is as selfless as I am | [a] | [16][24][2][19] |
| May a moody baby doom a yam? | [a] | [23][24][2] |
| Mr. Owl ate my metal worm | [28][31] | |
| Name now one man or Name no one man | [25][2][4][8][19] | |
| Naomi, I moan or Naomi, did I moan? or Naomi, sex at noon taxes I moan. | [a] | [18][2] |
| Never odd or even | [a] | [17][25][29][18][4][8][19] |
| No lemons, no melon or No lemon, no melon | [a] | [18][6][4][19] |
| No one made killer apparel like Dame Noon. | Coined by palindromist Jon Agee. | [10][28] |
| No devil lived on | [a] | [8][25] |
| Not a banana baton | [a] | [17][31] |
| Now I see bees, I won | [a] | [32][19][33] |
| No X in Nixon or No X in Mr. R. M. Nixon | [a] | [3]: 237 [22] |
| Nurse, I spy gypsies, run! | [a] | [2][3]: 101 [7] |
| O Geronimo, no minor ego | [a] | [23][5][4] |
| Oh no! Don Ho! | [a] | [5][4] |
| Oozy rat in a sanitary zoo | [a] | [23][9] |
| O, stone, be not so | [a] | [25][29] |
| Pa's a sap | [a] | [24][2] |
| Pull up if I pull up. | [19][26] | |
| Race car | [17][16][18][9][19] | |
| Race fast, safe car | [a] | [24][4][19] |
| Rats live on no evil star | [a] | [24][18][2][4] |
| Rise to vote, sir | [a] | [29][24][2][4][19] |
| Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas. | [34][35][36] | |
| Senile felines | [a] | [18][4] |
| Sir, I'm Iris | [12][2] | |
| Sit on a potato pan, Otis! | [18][19] | |
| Step on no pets | [18][29][2][4] | |
| T. Eliot, top bard, notes putrid tang emanating, is sad; I'd assign it a name: gnat dirt upset on drab pot toilet. | Written by Scottish poet Alastair Reid. | [37][9] |
| Stop pots | ||
| Too bad I hid a boot | [a] | [6][3]: 367 |
| Too hot to hoot | [a] | [13][29][6][4] |
| UFO tofu | [a] Title of the 1992 Béla Fleck and the Flecktones album, UFO Tofu. | [16][38] |
| Warsaw was raw | [a] | [3]: 381 [30][39] |
| Was it a cat I saw or Was it a car or a cat I saw? | [a] Many variations of the middle word(s) are possible. | [4][3]: 381 [32][19][30][26] |
| We panic in a pew | [a] | [4][3]: 384 |
| Won't lovers revolt now? | [a] | [24][25][4] |
| Zeus sees Suez or Zeus saw 'twas Suez | [4][29] |
See also
Notes
- Appears as a lyric in the "Weird Al" Yankovic song, "Bob".
- Appears as a lyric in the They Might Be Giants song, "I Palindrome I".
References
External links
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