What is wordplay?
Wordplay is having fun with the sounds, letters or meanings of words. Merriam-Webster describes its playful side; the fun can be as small as noticing a word backwards.
These eight short reads each reveal a different trick. Pick the question that catches your eye. There is no order to follow and no test at the end.
Listen for the twist
- Flour or flower? Same sound, very different shopping lists. Homophones make the sentence matter more than your ears.
- Jelly beans or belly jeans? Swap the first sounds and your snack acquires a wardrobe. Meet the spoonerism.
Look at the letters
- How does LISTEN become SILENT? Anagrams rearrange the same letters. Check the budget: nothing new sneaks in.
- What is LEVEL hiding? Read it backwards. Palindromes keep the same spelling when you reverse the letter order.
- Why does the quick brown fox keep turning up? A pangram packs the whole English alphabet into one sentence. This fox has a job.
Play with the meaning
- Can dust mean two opposite jobs? Contronyms can point both ways. Your shelf and your dough would prefer clear instructions.
- How can silence be deafening? An oxymoron brings clashing ideas together. Imagine the pause after a joke nobody laughs at.
- Which two meals are hiding in brunch? Portmanteaus blend pieces of words and their meanings. Breakfast and lunch squeeze into one name.