Eh Poh Nim's Palindrome Quiz

The Star, 15 December 2005

EH Poh Nim, I need your help. I’m supposed to come up with some fun quiz for the school’s English Week. I’ve been swamped with marking exam papers and I don’t have time to think of ideas and I’m supposed to hand in the quiz this Saturday! Give me some ideas, quick!” Shanti rattles off over the phone.

“Whoa, slow down. What sort of quiz are you looking at?” Eh Poh Nim asks.

“You know, fun type of questions. As long as they’re in Malayalam, they’ll do.”

“Malayalam? I thought you said it was for English Week?”

“I did, did I? Oh dear, oh dear. Must be all the Malayalam conversations I’ve been having with my aunt. She’s here on a holiday and has been staying with us for the past week. She doesn’t speak English so I have to talk to her in Malayalam. Sorry. Hello, hello, are you still there?”

Eh Poh Nim, who has been writing something on the notepad, exclaims, “Aha! I’ve got it! I’ve got what you want.”

“You have? So fast? Spill it out quick.”

“Malayalam. I did, did I? What are these words called?”

“What do you mean? You want me to write down these words? Okay, just a sec.”

Shanti grabs a piece of paper and writes down Malayalam and I did, did I.

“Spell them backwards,” instructs Eh Poh Nim.

“M-A-L-A-Y-A-L-A-M. It spells the same backwards! Palindromes! You’re a genius, Eh Poh Nim. Now you’ve got to help me come up with a quiz on palindromes. Ten questions would do. Please, pretty please?”

Shanti sounds so desperate that Eh Poh Nim doesn’t have the heart to turn her down. She has two hours before Desperate Housewives comes on, so she sits down at the computer to crank something up for Shanti. By 10.30, she has this quiz neatly typed up:

FUN WITH PALINDROMES

Palindromes are words that are the same spelt backwards. Some examples:

Don’t nod. I did, did I?
A nut for a jar of tuna.

Now, fill in the blanks with palindromes. Ignore spaces and punctuation marks.

1. A straw full of moles is called _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
2. When Father Christmas makes an appearance at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the newspaper headline may well read “ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.”
3. The class teacher announced that everyone but Delia has passed the exam. She said, “_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.”
4. The clumsy doctor’s nickname is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
5. The headmistress asks Adam, “What’s your name, boy?” Adam replies, “_ _ _ _ _ _’_ _ _ _ _.”
6. If someone commits murder in order to steal a jar of red rum, the headline may well read, “_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.”
7. Linda tries to exchange some papayas for a rock melon with the fruit seller. However, he only wants to exchange it for lemons, not papayas. He says, “Sorry, Miss. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _ _ _ _.”
8. The unique pet shop has little creatures like white mice and hamsters running loose all over the floor. It has a sign on the door that says, “_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.”
9. If you’re extremely short-sighted and can’t make out whether it was a car or a cat you just saw, you might ask, “ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _?”
10. At the coffeeshop, the wonton mee seller asks, “Would you like some wontons?” You don’t feel like eating them at the moment, so you say, “_ _ _ _ _ _ _? _ _ _ _ _ _.”

Answers in the comment box.