# Back-words **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 26, 2004, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142 "2004-04-26T20:34:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/1 "2004-04-26T20:34:32Z")
A “back-word” is a word that is still a word, when spelled backwards. (For example: pool/loop) Eliminating the obvious palindromes, what other (English) words are there? And when we’re done with the English words, what about other languages? ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/2 "2004-04-26T20:46:35Z")
devil/lived ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/3 "2004-04-26T20:54:19Z")
And along with that, evil/live rat/tar dog/god door/rood lime/Emil was/saw no/on golf/flog tap/pat yard/dray seat/teas ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/4 "2004-04-26T21:02:40Z")
thought of some more: pan/nap room/moor leek/keel ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/5 "2004-04-26T21:04:18Z")
Evil/Live ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/6 "2004-04-26T21:22:02Z")
[Serutan/Nature’s](http://www.dg125.com/RadioAdvertising/Images/Serutan.htm) Bonus points for _Bored of the Rings_ reference. ---
**Author:** ![DaToad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@DaToad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaToad)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/7 "2004-04-26T21:26:26Z")
laid/dial toom/moot may/yam ten/net revel/lever ink/kin pay/yap loot/tool strap/parts These may be a stretch: epon/nope Eton/note ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/8 "2004-04-26T22:32:16Z")
pots/stop top/pot time/emit ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/9 "2004-04-26T23:22:07Z")
```auto abut gas pal tab aha gig pap tar are gob par ten bard gum pay tin bat gut peek tit bib huh peep toot bog keep pep top boob kook pool tot brag lag poop tuba cod lap pop tug dam leer pot won deer loop pup yam did looter radar yap dim mad ram doc mar rap drab may rat drawer mid reed dud mom reel era moor refer ere mug retool eve net reward eye nit room gag nos sag gal now sis garb nun son ``` ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/10 "2004-04-26T23:52:52Z")
EVIAN (brand of bottled water)…it’s said that you are NAIVE to buy water Also, BOB and BOB 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MMI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/53a042/32.png) [@MMI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MMI)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/11 "2004-04-27T00:33:58Z")
dog/god ---
**Author:** ![tanookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/48db29/32.png) [@tanookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanookie)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/12 "2004-04-27T00:56:10Z")
desserts/stressed ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/13 "2004-04-27T01:46:14Z")
Years ago, I saw someone in an article suggest “drow” for such a word. It appears to have never caught on, pity. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/14 "2004-04-27T01:49:28Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > [Serutan/Nature’s](http://www.dg125.com/RadioAdvertising/Images/Serutan.htm) > > Bonus points for _Bored of the Rings_ reference. I don’t know that one, but they likely stole it from _Doon_, which featured excerpts from the writings of “Pricess Serutan”, Paul’s eventual wife. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/15 "2004-04-27T02:04:23Z")
rot/tor rats/star guns/snug gut/tug dam/mad edam/made era/are deer/reed nod/don on/no ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/16 "2004-04-27T02:19:04Z")
Inspired by the thread next to this one: warts/straw ---
**Author:** ![chukhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/17 "2004-04-27T02:34:59Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > I don’t know that one, but they likely stole it from _Doon_, which featured excerpts from the writings of “Pricess Serutan”, Paul’s eventual wife. How is this possible? I believe _Bored of the Rings_ was first published in 1969 and _Doon_ came out some fifteen years later. ---
**Author:** ![KP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@KP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/18 "2004-04-27T02:36:44Z")
Palindromic pairs are particularly common in English because of its many reversible (common) letter pairs. However, Japanese palindromic pairs are even more common because they utilize a syllabylary instead of an alphabet (almost every character in the phonetic “hiragana” or foreign phonetic “katakana” letter sets represents a syllable, not a sound, so there are few “impossible (or awkward) combinations”) making very long palindromes unusually common. In the Chinese languages I’ve toyed with, the structure of the language makes spoken palindromes almost trivial, and only the choicest are worth noting at all. For example “I love Mom; Mom loves me” is often the first palindrome learned by a Chinese child, and other names are easily inserted for “Mom”. I really ought to be able to think of some substantial palindromes in German, but I’m drawing a blank. it has far more letter pairs that can’t readily be reversed than English does, and the easy ones like “Otto” seem even more trivial because it has a substantially higher average word length (due to compounding) than English. Of the other languages I speak or have studied, I’m ashamed to say if they had much interest in palindromes, I don’t recall learning about it. Medieval Latin does have a history of semi-mystical palindromic concoction. I’m sure the Kabbalists did a lot with Hebrew, but I’m really not qualified to comment on the Kabbalah. I never thought about it, but palindromes [and presumably palindromic pairs] seem to be a far more common wordplay in English than most other languages. Though every language does have its favorite examples, I can think of more significant palindromic DNA sequences than I can significant German palindromes. Hey, I haven’t felt like an idiot in over an hour. Anyone want to step up with long, clever German examples to put me in my deservedly feces-laden place? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/19 "2004-04-27T03:03:10Z")
> [@chukhung](#): > > How is this possible? Uh, time travel? Okay, you got me. Shut up. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-words/242142/20 "2004-04-27T04:27:34Z")
Down at the bottom of [this page of palindromes](http://members.aol.com/gulfhigh2/words5.html) is a list of the longer reversals in English. It doesn’t have any four-letter or shorter ones, such as plug - gulp ergo - ogre flow - wolf able - Elba