Anagrammatic Word Pairs Display 'Latent Talent'
"I just commented to my husband," writes Bobbie Lehigh of Edwards, N.Y., "that it seems quite quiet here on the Oswegatchie River this afternoon. Hmmm ... 'quite quiet.' There must be other words that have the same letters and like to sit side by side. Do you know of others? And what are they called?"
"All Quiet on the Oswegatchie" -- sounds like a great title for a work of historical fiction.
Two words that share the same letters in different combinations are called "anagrams," thus two anagrams that go together, such as "quite quiet," could be called "anagrammatic word pairs." But I prefer the term "scrambled sidekicks." Think Lucy and Ethel.
I can think of a few scrambled sidekicks that come close to common use -- direct credit, vile evil, routed detour -- but none rivals the frequency of "quite quiet."
(I must note that, of the "lovely volley" of letters I've received, this one from Ms. Lehigh, who is a "genuine ingenue" and, given her originality, a "stagnation antagonist," shows "latent talent" and embodies "ladies' ideals.")
Can you think of other common word pairs consisting of two anagrams? If so, let me know.
While you're working on that, try this quiz, compiled with the help of Richard Lederer's marvelous book "Word Circus." With the clues provided, supply an anagram for the capitalized word that completes the phrase.
Example: This CLAM is unperturbed. Answer: calm clam
No. 1: There might be poison ivy in this GARDEN.
No. 2: This INFIDEL might play shortstop.
No. 3: These are serious LEMONS.
No. 4: These WORDS are mightier than the pen.
No. 5: This PERCUSSION is heard when a plane reaches Mach 1.
No. 6: This queen's THRONE is all the buzz.
No. 7: She might TUTOR a whole school of freshwater fish.
No. 8: These LIONESSES are silent.
No. 9: The INTRUDERS were shaken by James Bond but not agitated.
No. 10: She has the kind of PRETTINESS that never gives up.
No. 11: Jackson "Pollen" might exhibit in this GALLERY.
No. 12: HARMONICAS with cherries on top?
Answers:
No. 1: danger garden No. 2. infield infidel No. 3. solemn lemons No. 4. sword words No. 5. supersonic percussion No. 6. hornet throne No. 7. trout tutor No. 8. noiseless lionesses No. 9. unstirred intruders No. 10. persistent prettiness No. 11. allergy gallery No. 12. maraschino harmonicas
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Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. His book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.
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