⊙ By Julie Mason

詞中有詞學問大

Words within Words

⊙ By Julie Mason

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Words within words∶ a type of joke that works because the letters of some words and phrases can make other words.

Riddles 字謎

● —How did the animals open the zoo door?

—They used a monkey!

● —What’s the longest word in English?

—Smiles—there’s a “mile” between the first and last letters!

These jokes—a question followed by an unexpected answer—are known as “riddles.”But the ones above are examples of a special sort of riddle, a riddle which is funny because a word is hidden within another word. Many English speakers are fascinated[著迷的]by this sort of wordplay and it can be found in texts written in English a very long time ago. But riddles are not the only example of “words within words”…

Hidden Words 藏字游戲三昧

During Victorian times (1837—1901), the game of hiding words within a whole sentence became popular. Look carefully at this sentence∶ The king eats his lunch in a fine palace. Can you see that the countries China and Nepal are hidden in it? The Victorians even used hidden words to teach children history and geography at school. Today we still see hidden word games in books and magazines, but we also use hidden words in jokes. How do we know that Picasso was from Spain? You can see it in his painting!

Anagrams 變形詞

An anagram is made by rearranging the letters in a word or phrase to make a different word or phrase. Look at the following joke.

● —What will happen if you try to make an alphabetical list of anagrams of the word stare?

● —It’ll end in tears!

The humour comes from the fact that stare is an anagram of tears. Are you readyfor another one?

● —What happens if you eat your desserts backwards?

● —You get stressed!

Palindromes 回文

Palindromes are words and phrases which can be read the same forwards and backwards. The pop group Abba, for example, is a palindrome, as is the sentence∶Was it a car or a cat I saw? We find them interesting, but they can also be funny∶ I kept receiving emails about reading maps backwards, but then I realised it was just spam!

So, for a long time these “words within words” in English have been used to surprise and educate us…and they often make us laugh too!

Activity 2

How good is your geography? Can you find one hidden European capital city in each sentence?

1. Carlos loved this city.

2. Shall we order omelette for breakfast?

3. Lisa and Marlon don’t like cheese.

4. James Bond is in the novels of Ian Fleming.

5. Remember Linda is coming today.

6. A Tale of Two Cities is the best book I ever read.

Activity 3

Do you play “words within words” games in your language? Are there any word games which involve words within words that are not mentioned in the text?

Activity 1

Look at the following “words within words.” What type of word game is each one? There are two of each type of word game.

anagram hidden word palindrome riddle

1. A man, a plan, a canal—Panama

2. Can you pass the soap please? —apple

3. Eleven plus two = twelve plus one

4. Race fast, safe car!

5. Red is the most amazing colour because it’s incredible.

6. The eyes = They see

7. Which room has no windows? A mushroom!

8. —Why should you always buy pens and not pencils?

—Because they’re inexpensive!

Answers

Activity 1

1. palindrome; 2. hidden word; 3. anagram; 4. palindrome; 5. hidden word (edible); 6. anagram; 7. riddle

Activity 2

1. Oslo; 2. Rome; 3. London; 4. Sofia; 5. Berlin; 6. Kiev