Definition:
Anagrams are an extremely popular form of literary device wherein the writer jumbles up parts of the word to create a new word. From the syllables of a phrase to the individual letters of a word, any fraction can be jumbled to create a new form. Anagram is a form of wordplay that allows the writer to infuse mystery and a little interactive fun in the writing so that the reader can decipher the actual word on their own and discover a depth of meaning to the writing.
Example:
An anagram for “debit card” is “bad credit”. As you can see, both phrases use the same letters. By mixing the letters a bit of humor is created.
How about these anagrams?
Mother-in-law – Woman Hitler
The earthquakes – That queer shake
Debit card – Bad credit
Slot machines – Cash lost in ’em
School master – The classroom
Eleven plus two – Twelve plus one
Dormitory – Dirty room
Punishment – Nine Thumps
Desperation – A rope ends it
The Morse code – Here come dots
Snooze alarms – Alas! No more Zs
A decimal point – I’m a dot in place
Astronomer – Moon starer
Fir cones – Conifers
The eyes – They see
Payment received – Every cent paid me
Conversation – Voices rant on
The public art galleries – Large picture halls, I bet
Election results – Lies – let’s recount
Halley’s Comet – Shall yet come
The Hurricanes – These churn air
A Chevrolet = Love the car!
Gin and Vermouth = Hung over, damn it!
Stipend = Spend it.
Stone age = Stage one.
An hermaphrodite = O, I’m part he and her!
A carton of cigarettes = I got a taste for cancer.
Adult novels = Love and lust!
The articulate person = He utters a clear point.
New Year’s Resolution = Notions we rarely use.
Isn’t “romantic and erotic” ~ a contradiction in terms?
What is the square root of nine? = THREE, for an equation shows it
Archaeologists = Goal is to search.
Metamorphosis = Promises a moth.
Military weapon = Employ it in a war.
What is forgetfulness? = Losing where stuff’s at.
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks = Work on educating old cats. They can!
Italian crime boss = A Sicilian mobster.
Suicide note = I used it…once!
The super villain = His plan? True evil!
Erewhon = Nowhere
The author Samuel Butler titled his satirical novel as an angram; incidentally, the word “nowhere” is a literal translation of the Greek utopia.
Roast Mules = Somersault
In his novel Son of Rosemary, the author Ira Levin includes the term ROAST MULES whose anagrams must be found out.
O, Draconian devil! = Leonardo da Vinci
Oh, lame saint! = The Mona Lisa
So dark the con of Man = Madonna of the Rocks
In the novel The Da Vinci Code the museum curator Jacques Saunière is murdered. He writes a series of clues in blood before dying. These clues were anagrams related to da Vinci.
Leigh Teabing = Baigent Leigh
Leigh Teabing is the name of the Holy Grail expert in Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code. He coined this name by anagramming the last names of Richard Leigh and Michael Baigent, authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, from which he took inspiration.
Claire McCleethy = They Call Me Circe
Hester Asa Moore = Sarah Rees-Toome
Clair and Sarah are protagonist and antagonist in the book Rebel Angels and use anagrams to rename themselves.
Dave Barry = Ray Adverb
Ray Adverb is a character in a book by Dave Barry, titled “Dave Barry In Cyberspace”
October Sky = Rocket Boys
October Sky is a movie based on Homer Hickam’s book Rocket Boys.
Miss Hester Mofet = Miss the rest of me
Louis Friend = Iron Sulfide
In the 1991 movie, The Silence Of The Lambs, the villain, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), was fond of anagrams. He hid a murder victim’s severed head in a rented storage garage under the name “Miss Hester Mofet” which FBI Agent Starling (Jodi Foster) figured out was an anagram.
Later when officials demand he give up the name of a serial killer, he lies and tells them it’s “Louis Friend”. Once again Agent Starling concludes that it’s an anagram for “Iron Sulfide” (fool’s gold).
Redrum = Murder
In “The Shining”, a horror movie based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name. Danny, holding a knife, shouts REDRUM and writes it with a lipstick on a bathroom mirror. His mother sees in the reflection that it’s MURDER spelled backwards.
Setec Astronomy = Too Many Secrets
In the movie “Sneakers”, the protagonist finds the above anagram. The opening credits of the movie show these anagrams:
A Turnip Cures Elvis = Universal Pictures
A Few Astral Clerks Repel Newark = Lawrence Lasker / Walter F. Parks (the producers)
Blond Rhino Spaniel = Phil Alden Robinson (the director)
Fort Red Border = Robert Redford
Mobil = Limbo
Switch or Break Show [a song] = Wachowski brothers [director duo: Larry and Andy Wachowsk]
In the movie “The Matrix” the station between real world and matrix is called Mobil, similar to limbo, a region on the border of hell or heaven.
Edward Daniels = Andrew Laeddis
Rachel Solando = Dolores Chanal
From the movie Shutter Island (2010)
Metamagical Themas = Mathematical Games
Metamagical Themas was the title of a column Martin Gardner started in the Scientific American magazine. The column was inherited by Douglas Hofstadter who later published a collection of his columns under the same title.
Bart = Brat
Matt Groening claims that he named Bart in his animated cartoon show by anagramming the word brat.
Torchwood = Doctor Who
BBC science fiction series Torchwood is a spinoff of Doctor Who.
Gregory House = Huge ego, sorry
In the television series House, in the episode titled “Housetraining”, the character Dr. House says his name, Gregory House, is an anagram for “Huge ego, sorry.”
Jim Morrison = Mr. Mojo Risin’
Mr. Mojo Risin’ appears in the song L.A. Woman in the band The Doors. Jim Morrison was the lead singer and lyricist of band.
Memory Almost Full = For my soulmate LLM
Paul McCartney’s 2007 album is titled Memory Almost Full. LLM are the initials of Linda Louise McCartney, his wife who died of breast cancer in 1998.
Lyrics and poems that makes use of anagrams:
doG (When a Child Says a Prayer), a song by Bill Pere
I, Megaphone = Imogen Heap
The album title “I, Megaphone” is an anagram for the artist’s name Imogen Heap
Will.i.am = William
Musician William Adams is known by his stage name will.i.am
Salvador Dali = Avida Dollars
Andre Breton, the founder of surrealism, came up with this anagram to refer to Dali. Avida Dollars means, roughly, ‘eager for dollars’ in Spanish.