WORDPLAY POST #205
A concoction originally intended for the date Feb 10, 2020.
With all this mental energy focusing backwards and forwards on palindromes, it has been hard to avoid the subject of canals. A project close to our hearts was to take the standard palindromes about canals, (e.g. the well-known, A man a plan, a canal, Panama), and extend the adulation to a series of other canal sites.
- MAGICAL CANAL VERSES and PALINDROMES: the application of the magical palindrome construct to wordplay of geographic interest, specifically dealing with artificial waterways. Paris, Riga and Toronto (a surrogate for the Trent-Severn waterway) are honored here in both verse and wordplay.
Check out the 'FIRST SET' of examples (#1-5) here.
SONGLINK: "A man, a plan, a canal - Panama"
Readers who are particularly interested in musical wordplay might also enjoy a fantastical discussion on the development of this famous palindrome by Leigh Mercer, in this blogpost of our lyrics blog (SILLY SONGS and SATIRE) ...
"Leigh Mercer's Palindrome Workshop" .
EDITOR'S NOTE: By popular demand, the song-lyrics blog has been changed to a private-reader function. If your email is on Giorgio's list of selected glitterati, you can sign in using your Google password, and enjoy the experience as in the past. ALL OTHERS are welcome to join in, but you will first have to leave me a comment here including your email address, and a request to be included so I can 'sign you up'.
A concoction originally intended for the date Feb 10, 2020.
With all this mental energy focusing backwards and forwards on palindromes, it has been hard to avoid the subject of canals. A project close to our hearts was to take the standard palindromes about canals, (e.g. the well-known, A man a plan, a canal, Panama), and extend the adulation to a series of other canal sites.
- MAGICAL CANAL VERSES and PALINDROMES: the application of the magical palindrome construct to wordplay of geographic interest, specifically dealing with artificial waterways. Paris, Riga and Toronto (a surrogate for the Trent-Severn waterway) are honored here in both verse and wordplay.
- UNPLANNED CANALS: More Magical Palindromes: This followup post expanded the involvement to 8 other world sites. For a few of these cities, e.g. Reno (Nevada), the existence of canals is apocryphal, but the relevant administrations were co-opted in the interest of wordplay.
The aim of the current blog is to extend these concepts beyond the constraint imposed by canal themes to more general features of world destinations; however the meticulous reader might notice the persistence of some elements of our canal hangup. And if you need help with the concept of magical palindromes, see the slide at the bottom of the post; it shows simple examples of magical palindromes which are unrelated to the geographical theme.
A man, a potato - Paris. Sir, a potato - Panama.
A cakery - Napa. A pan - Yreka CA.
A man, a plan, if final - pagoda. A dog, a plan, if final - Panama.
Dr. of tarts - Oxford. Dr. of 'X' - O, Stratford!
A man, a plan, if final, Pat - Paros. So rapt a plan, if final - Panama.
No 'D'; no 'L' - Boston. Not (sob!) - London.
A man, a plan, if final, Pa - Lagos. So, gal! A plan, if final - Panama.
A rep. of Omaha. A ham of opera.
A man, a plan, if final, Pa - Niagara F. Far again, a plan, if final - Panama.
A girl, a panama. A man, a pal - Riga.
Wonders in Italy - Latin is asset. Tessa's in Italy - Latin is red now.
A pan, a dog, a pal - LA. Pagoda - Napa.
A man, a pâté , feta, Parma ham. Rap! Ate feta - Panama.
Zeus pees on a Toyota. A Toyota? No seep - Suez.
A dog, a paw, a pan, a panama. A man, a pan, a paw, a pagoda.
A man, a plan, if final - Pristina. A nit, sir; plan if final - Panama.
If I mouse - Canada CA. A cad, an ace - Suomi FI.
A girl, a Pa - Mar-a-lago. O gal, a ram, a pal - Riga.
No 'D'; no 'L' - onion. No 'I'? - No London.
The aim of the current blog is to extend these concepts beyond the constraint imposed by canal themes to more general features of world destinations; however the meticulous reader might notice the persistence of some elements of our canal hangup. And if you need help with the concept of magical palindromes, see the slide at the bottom of the post; it shows simple examples of magical palindromes which are unrelated to the geographical theme.
HOLD THE FORT for an IMPORTANT NOTICE. Our two blogs are now being joined by a third member, a dream for those who want a source of poignant humour tinged with eco-sensitivity and photographic ingenuity delivered to their email queue daily.
"DAILY ILLUSTRATED NONSENSE" draws much of its source material from the collections of illustrated verses which are inspired by the world around us on the current blog; admittedly, those posts can get rather long and ponderous as more material presents itself. On the new blog, each daily posting will have a single focus illustrated by blog-editor Giorgio Coniglio's iphone-camera revelations, by terse original poetry, and by references to impeccable and awesome internet sources. Best of all, they can be appreciated within two minutes at most, don't involve solving puzzles or dismantling words, and it's easy to unsuscribe.
If you want to access these essential bits-of-fluff daily, the best approach is to subscribe by entering your email (harmlessly, it's protected!!!) into the 'gadget' at the top-right hand of one of the new blogposts.
See you daily, or as often as you like, on-line.
A man, a potato - Paris. Sir, a potato - Panama.
A cakery - Napa. A pan - Yreka CA.
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| A 'garden folly' at Chateau de Bagatelle, Paris, France |
A man, a plan, if final - pagoda. A dog, a plan, if final - Panama.
Dr. of tarts - Oxford. Dr. of 'X' - O, Stratford!
A man, a plan, if final, Pat - Paros. So rapt a plan, if final - Panama.
No 'D'; no 'L' - Boston. Not (sob!) - London.
A man, a plan, if final, Pa - Lagos. So, gal! A plan, if final - Panama.
A rep. of Omaha. A ham of opera.
A man, a plan, if final, Pa - Niagara F. Far again, a plan, if final - Panama.
A girl, a panama. A man, a pal - Riga.
Wonders in Italy - Latin is asset. Tessa's in Italy - Latin is red now.
A pan, a dog, a pal - LA. Pagoda - Napa.
A man, a pâté , feta, Parma ham. Rap! Ate feta - Panama.
Zeus pees on a Toyota. A Toyota? No seep - Suez.
A dog, a paw, a pan, a panama. A man, a pan, a paw, a pagoda.
A man, a plan, if final - Pristina. A nit, sir; plan if final - Panama.
If I mouse - Canada CA. A cad, an ace - Suomi FI.
A girl, a Pa - Mar-a-lago. O gal, a ram, a pal - Riga.
No 'D'; no 'L' - onion. No 'I'? - No London.
Check out the 'SECOND SET' of examples (#6-10) here.
Readers who are particularly interested in musical wordplay might also enjoy a fantastical discussion on the development of this famous palindrome by Leigh Mercer, in this blogpost of our lyrics blog (SILLY SONGS and SATIRE) ...
"Leigh Mercer's Palindrome Workshop" .
EDITOR'S NOTE: By popular demand, the song-lyrics blog has been changed to a private-reader function. If your email is on Giorgio's list of selected glitterati, you can sign in using your Google password, and enjoy the experience as in the past. ALL OTHERS are welcome to join in, but you will first have to leave me a comment here including your email address, and a request to be included so I can 'sign you up'.
If you still need a fix of more palindromic fun, go to "Gratingly American: THIRTY-ODD POLITICALLY-TAINTED PALINDROMES".
