If you take the first letter of ASSESS (A) and move it to the end of the word it will form the original word when read backwards.

BANANA gives a similar result for B. How many of the remaining letters of the alphabet begin words in this palindromic form?
(Words must be at least 6 letters long.)

acidic
acinic
agnizing
anilin
asanas
assess
banana
beebee
booboo
boohoo
brewer
caracara
chalah
challah
coocoo
degage
dresser
dyspepsy
feirie
fretter
glycyl
gnomon
grammar
greyer
halala
heinie
hoodoo
hoopoo
igniting
kavakava
koodoo
kronor
lavalava
locofoco
manana
meinie
metate
muumuu
parura
peewee
petite
plagal
potato
prefer
presser
preyer
redivide
retinite
revive
rococo
sememe
teepee
torero
trekker
uneven
ureter
veepee
venine
voodoo
weewee
zanana
Osiris

Note that one proper name is included, at the end.

The reverse would be just as interesting: take the last letter and move it to the front, before reading backwards.  Here are the words that work that way:

alulae
alular
avadavat
carack
carrack
cilice
civics
divide
epopee
galago
garage
gavage
halalahs
hallahs
kabaka
kaiaks
kayaks
levels
lunula
lunule
madame
madams
marrams
millime
minima
minims
nagana
natant
nibbing
niding
nilling
nimming
nipping
nixing
paraph
pullups
radars
redders
refers
reifiers
repapers
reperk
reverb
revere
revers
revert
revery
revivers
rotators
rotatory
rotors
selfless
sensuousness
serest
succuss
suffuse
tannate
tartrate
tenets
terete
terrets
tillite
toroth
visive

though a lot of them are merely plurals of palindromic words.

OPEN "\words\words.txt" FOR INPUT AS #1
OPEN "bpalind.txt" FOR OUTPUT AS #2
DO
  LINE INPUT #1, w$
  IF LEN(w$) >= 6 THEN
    pc$ = LEFT$(w$, LEN(w$) - 1)
    good = 1
    FOR i = 1 TO LEN(pc$) / 2
      IF MID$(pc$, i, 1) <> MID$(pc$, LEN(pc$) + 1 - i, 1) THEN good = 0: EXIT FOR
    NEXT
    IF good THEN PRINT w$: PRINT #2, w$
  END IF
LOOP UNTIL EOF(1)
CLOSE
OPEN "\words\words.txt" FOR INPUT AS #1
OPEN "apalind.txt" FOR OUTPUT AS #2
DO
  LINE INPUT #1, w$
  IF LEN(w$) >= 6 THEN
    pc$ = RIGHT$(w$, LEN(w$) - 1)
    good = 1
    FOR i = 1 TO LEN(pc$) / 2
      IF MID$(pc$, i, 1) <> MID$(pc$, LEN(pc$) + 1 - i, 1) THEN good = 0: EXIT FOR
    NEXT
    IF good THEN PRINT w$: PRINT #2, w$
  END IF
LOOP UNTIL EOF(1)
CLOSE

 

Posted by Charlie on 2007-09-08 15:13:56