Q.
What is a Semordnilap? And what are some examples?

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A.
A Semordnilap is a two for one word: that’s one word when you read it forwards, and an altogether different word when you read it backwards. Any idea how they got this odd name? Answer at the bottom.

Most trace the first mention of semordnilaps to CC Bombaugh’s 1961 ‘Oddities & Curiosities of Words and Literature’. Some sample semordnilaps? See below …

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Are. Era
Avid. Diva
Bad. Dab
Bard. Drab
Bats. Stab
Bonk. Knob
Brag. Garb
Buns. Snub
Deep. Peed
Deer. Reed
Deliver. Reviled
Dessert. Tressed
Desserts. Stressed
Dial. Laid
Diaper. Repaid
Don. Nod
Doom. Mood
Draw. Ward
Drawer. Reward
Edit. Tide
Evil. Live
Fires. Serif
Flow. Wolf
Gulp. Plug
Gums. Smug
Keep. Peek

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Knits. Stink
Loop. Pool
Loot. Tool
Looter. Retool
Maps. Spam
Mart. Tram
Naps. Span
Nuts. Stun
Ogre. Ergo
Part. Trap
Paws. Swap
Peels. Sleep
Pets. Step
Pins. Snip
Pupils. Slipup
Rats. Star
Saw. Was
Snips. Spins
Snit. Tins
Snoops. Spoons
Spot. Tops
Stew. Wets
Stop. Pots
Strap. Parts
Straw. Warts

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Header Photo: Kelvin Han

Photo 2: Joakim Honkasalo

Answer:
Semordnilap is ‘palindromes’ backwards. A palindrome is a word that reads the same forwards and backwards: like noon, radar, or level.