Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#196932 02/03/2011 9:46 AM
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 3
stranger
stranger
Offline
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 3
Some say that the anagram 'eleven plus two = twelve plus one" is due to Lewis Carroll. Can anyone supply the exact reference, please?

Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
I've learned one interesting thing. An anagram of this sort, where the anagram and the original are identical in meaning, is called an anugram(!). I couldn't find anything to suggest that this particular anugram is due to either Lewis Carroll or Charles Dodgson.

Faldage #196938 02/03/2011 2:43 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
okay, this is widely quoted as an example of an 'anugram' (and I note that Anu glosses it in his anagrams odds & ends with not so much as a hint of explanation or even a smirk). but, while not having done any extended research, I didn't note any *other examples.

tsuwm #196939 02/03/2011 3:13 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
here are some "clever" anagrams, some of which may be true:
clever? true??

the comments to this list include claims for origin/dates, and one such claim is this:
Eleven plus two =
Twelve plus one.
Melvin O. Wellman, 1948

here's some support for the Wellman claim:
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-118185171.html

anyone care to verify the following?
To be or not to be: that is the question, whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. = In one of the Bard’s best-thought-of tragedies, our insistent hero, Hamlet, queries on two fronts about how life turns rotten.

Last edited by tsuwm; 02/03/2011 3:21 PM.
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 3
stranger
stranger
Offline
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 3
Is called an 'anugram' by whom? Not me, and I think I'm entitled to an opinion. The following two Spanish anagrams are my own: uno + catorce = cuatro + once (1 + 14 = 4 + 11) and dos + trece = tres + doce (2 + 13 = 3 + 12)[first pub. in Word Ways, Feb 1992, Vol 25, No 1]. But I would still like to know who is responsible for two + eleven = one + twelve.

Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
one is left to assume, then, that you don't buy Wellman?!

tsuwm #196958 02/03/2011 9:52 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 956
old hand
old hand
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 956
anyone care to verify the following?

its all here tsuwm = Hamlets wit rules

olly #196961 02/04/2011 2:06 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
OMG! OLLY!
You are WONderful, sir! Hands down winnah and hats off to you!

tsuwm #196980 02/04/2011 10:45 AM
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 3
stranger
stranger
Offline
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 3
Okay Joe, many thanks for the link.

zeroid #197007 02/05/2011 3:27 AM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,074
Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,074
Likes: 2
minimalist anugram:

YEA = AYE

zeroid #197015 02/05/2011 4:25 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Even more minimalist: (I) AM MA.

Faldage #210479 04/17/2013 12:22 PM
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,457
Likes: 10
Pooh-Bah
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,457
Likes: 10
Originally Posted By: Faldage
I've learned one interesting thing. An anagram of this sort, where the anagram and the original are identical in meaning, is called an anugram(!). I couldn't find anything to suggest that this particular anugram is due to either Lewis Carroll or Charles Dodgson.

A topical anugram for today:

MARGARET THATCHER = THAT GREAT CHARMER

(No, I didn't make it up myself...)

Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,075
old hand
old hand
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,075
Anbd, from a few years back - commenting on the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland, the doughty
REV IAN PAISLEY = VILE IRA PANSY


I'm immortal until proven otherwise

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2025 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 8.0.0