Anagrams FAQ Page

Anagrammy Awards > Anagrams FAQ > Creating anagrams


Table of Contents

· Introduction

· What is an anagram?

· What are some examples?

· Do anagrams always need to be apt?

· Are there any unusual varieties of anagram?

· What is the longest anagram ever created?

· What are the hallmarks of a good anagram?

· What is the longest one-word anagram?

· What set of letters has the most one-word anagrams?

· What is the history of anagrams?

· How do you create anagrams?

How do you create anagrams?

There are two basic ways: Manually, or with an anagram generator program.

Some purists prefer to anagram manually with a pencil and paper or with Scrabble tiles. Most other members have anagram software, like Anagram Artist, Anagram Genius or Wordplay (see Anagrammy Links & Resources Page).

The main advantages of using a computer program are speed and the generator's word list. They will generate hundreds or thousands of anagrams in a minute or two. Most will be meaningless and one still has to do some work to find the most appropriate ones, by selecting keywords and anagramming the remaining letters. the end result must read well, be correctly spelt and have acceptable grammar.

There are also anagram checker programs that determine the difference between the letters of the subject and those of the anagram-in-progress, so that you know how many of each letter are still available for use. These are very useful when creating long anagrams. Read more about creating long anagrams in this article: The Art of Long Anagramming.

Many of our regular contributors have developed anagram generators and checkers themselves. Use this link to find out more.

There has been debate here as to whether using an anagram generator is "cheating". Sometimes they will quickly reveal a great anagram, but there is always a modicum of luck and a lot of skill needed to find the best anagrams. The consensus is that it is not cheating.


Updated: May 10, 2016


Home

 | The Anagrammy Awards | Enter the Forum | Facebook | The Team

Information

 | Awards Rules | Forum FAQ | Anagrams FAQ | History | Articles

Resources

 | Anagram Artist Software | Generators | On-line | Books | Websites

Archives

 | Winners | Nominations | Hall of Fame | Anagrammasia | Literary | Specials

Competition

 | Vote | Current Nominations | Leader Board | Latest Results | Old Results | Rankings

Miscellaneous

 | Tribute Page | Records | Sitemap | Search | Anagram Checker | Email Us | Donate

Anagrammy Awards

  © 1998-2024