Anagram
LISTEN → SILENT
Rearrange all the letters of a word or phrase to make another. The best anagrams feel like a secret hidden inside the original word all along.
The Wordplay
The tricks
language plays.
Anagrams, palindromes, puns, and more — the clever devices that turn plain words into pure delight, each with an example to enjoy.
Palindrome
LEVEL · KAYAK · NOON
A word or phrase that reads the same forwards and backwards. Small ones are everywhere; long ones are a genuine feat of wordcraft.
Pun
"Time flies like an arrow…"
A play on words that leans on two meanings, or on words that sound alike. The groan it earns is part of the fun — the humblest and happiest of wordplay.
Spoonerism
"a blushing crow" (crushing blow)
Swap the opening sounds of two words and delight in the tangle that results. Named after a speaker famous for muddling his words by accident.
Portmanteau
breakfast + lunch → BRUNCH
Blend two words into one that carries the meaning of both. Language grows this way all the time, one clever mash-up at a time.
Alliteration
"six slippery snails"
Repeat the same opening sound across nearby words for rhythm and bounce. A favourite of poets, headline writers, and tongue-twisters alike.
Onomatopoeia
BUZZ · SPLASH · CLANG
A word that sounds like the thing it names. Language painting a picture with pure noise — and a joy to say out loud.
Tongue-Twister
"she sells sea-shells…"
A phrase built to trip the tongue, usually stuffed with tricky, similar sounds. Half wordplay, half dare — and endlessly repeatable.