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          Hey! William Clinton arouses me. Hi! I'm Ken's witness! (William   
          Tunstall-Pedoe, 1998)   
      
        Occasionally this newsgroup is belittled by outsiders who think   
        that it is all a waste of time and that we 'are stupid geeks and   
        should get a life'. Such criticism is dealt with in our usual way.   
        We anagram the crap out of the critic!   
      
      
   Their creation and fine-tuning   
      
   2.1  How do you create anagrams?   
      
        There are two basic ways: manually and with an anagram generator   
        program (Anagram generator = Got a name arranger?).   
      
        Some regulars here prefer to anagram manually, using a pencil and   
        paper or with Scrabble tiles. Others use anagram generator programs   
        see section 2.3). The main advantages of using a computer program are   
        speed and the generator's dictionary. They will generate hundreds or   
        thousands of anagrams in a minute or two. Most will be meaningless,   
        and one has to wade through them, find the most appropriate   
        combinations of words, arrange the words, etc.   
      
        There has been debate in the group as to whether using an anagram   
        generator is 'cheating'. Sometimes, generators 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 here is that it is   
        not cheating. Programs have also been written that juggle items in a   
        long list (recording artists, aphorisms, etc.) between the 'left' and   
        'right' side until an anagram is formed; while opinions vary as to the   
        artistry and merit of anagrams generated in this way, there is room   
        in the group for such anagrams and civil discussion of them.   
      
      
   2.2  What are the hallmarks of a good anagram?   
      
        These are hallmarks of a good anagram, mostly as gleaned from erudite   
        postings on this subject by Richard Brodie, William Tunstall-Pedoe,   
        Richard Grantham, and Jean Fontaine. Examples from the folk in   
        alt.anagrams are included.   
      
      
        (1) Meaningfulness. It must be more than just a series of unconnected   
        words in no particular order. It must 'sound' like a meaningful   
        phrase or a sentence, however condensed. Condensations that sound   
        like newspaper headlines are quite acceptable. Simply reordering   
        the words can make a difference.   
      
        Male chauvinism =   
        Valium machines -- is quite bizarre and meaningless.   
        Ah, masculine vim -- is a bit better.   
        I'm such a vile man. -- makes great sense.   
        (Jaybur, 2000)   
      
      
        (2) Aptness, relevance, or reference to the original phrase. This   
        may involve the use of synonyms, paraphrasing the original phrase,   
        or a commentary or joke about the original. The more relevant the   
        anagram is to the original phrase, the better it will be regarded.   
        It may even be the direct opposite in meaning (an antigram).   
        Examples might also include a question in the original phrase that is   
        answered in the anagram.   
      
        Madonna Louise Ciccone =   
        Anomalous coincidence -- not very apt.   
        Musical? Done cocaine? No! -- is getting more relevant.   
        One cool dance musician. -- this one is very relevant.   
        (David Bourke, 2000)   
      
      
        (3) Explanation. An anagram should be self-explanatory,   
        self-sufficient; it should not need any extra explanation or   
        comment. Occasionally, such as when the subject matter is   
        obscure/regional or the anagram refers to a little-known aspect of   
        the original, it may validly be accompanied by some brief details;   
        however, in most cases, the anagram is weak if an explanation is   
        required.   
      
        Tam-o'-shanter = One smart hat.   
        (Janet Muggeridge, 1999)   
        Visa revocation = Vacation is over.   
        (Anna Shefl, 2014)   
      
      
        (4) Avoidance of incorrect or uncommon spellings. These detract   
        from the quality of the anagram and make it seem contrived or the   
        author seem semi-literate. Old-fashioned spellings (hath, doth,   
        aye, nay, 'tis) are often acceptable. So too are shortened words like   
        'n' (for 'and'), e'er, or ma'am, particularly if appropriate to the   
        style of the anagram.   
      
        Gastroenterologist =   
        I let go torrents o' gas. -- the use of the shortened form of 'of' is a   
        minor flaw.   
        (Larry Brash, 2000)   
      
        Even non-words can be used to good effect on occasion:   
      
        Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End =   
        The noble epic of bandits was rated "Arr!"   
        (Meyran Kraus, 2007)   
      
      
        (5) Avoidance of repetition of words in original phrase. Repeating   
        a key word from the original in its anagram detracts from   
        the cleverness of the result. The repetition of 'the' and   
        other short non-key words is quite OK, of course. Occasionally, the   
        repetition is acceptable. Such an anagram is sometimes referred to   
        as a parallelogram.   
      
        These girls are barely legal =   
        The "girls" are really beagles. -- repetition is used for a funny   
        effect.   
        (Richard Grantham, 2000)   
      
      
        (6) Humour, be it rude, witty, sarcastic, or abusive, will always   
        improve an anagram, especially when the punchline contains a real   
        surprise. WARNING: Eating and drinking whilst reading alt.anagrams   
        can lead to the contents of your oral cavity being sprayed over your   
        monitor or drinks being spilt onto your keyboard.   
      
        Inflammatory Bowel Disease =   
        My ass blew fire, I moaned a lot. -- is very funny, you would have   
        to admit.   
        (Meyran Kraus, 2000)   
      
      
        (7) Grammatical correctness is the one area where some of us are   
        pedantic. Many a good anagram has failed because of poor grammar.   
        For example, nouns starting with a vowel sound must have 'an'   
        rather than 'a' before them. Minor discrepancies can be overlooked   
        if the anagram excels in all other areas. Long anagrams should have   
        impeccable grammar because having so many letters allows great   
        flexibility in construction.   
      
        Wile E. Coyote and The Roadrunner =   
        Try a cartoon duel where none die! -- good grammar despite a short   
        subject.   
        (Meyran Kraus, 2000)   
      
      
        (8) Clever use of punctuation. The use of punctuation has its   
        critics, the purists who disapprove of any punctuation at all.   
        However, good use of punctuation can improve an ordinary anagram   
        and change it into an extraordinary one, if cleverly done.   
      
        The Immaculate Conception =   
        Pathetic cult... I mean, come ON!   
        (Meyran Kraus, 2006)   
      
        Perhaps the ultimate in flow allowed through punctuation is an   
        anagram with the phrase in the left side continuing on in the   
        right-hand side, for one coherent thought.  One side may be a   
        set phrase, though it needn't be.  Two examples:   
      
        If love isn't here ~ then life is over. (Meyran Kraus, 2009)   
      
        Races can ruin ~ car insurance! (Joe Fathallah, 2002)   
      
      
        (9) Minimal use of interjections. Whilst the use of 'oh', 'eh',   
        'hey', 'ah', 'ahem', 'shhh', and so on can be a handy way of   
        getting rid of those annoying left-over letters, many believe that   
        the excessive use of this device will damage an anagram. The use of   
        one interjection in an otherwise great anagram is often considered   
        acceptable. The key is for the word to be well-integrated rather   
        than tacked on. Even the much-maligned 'hi' can sometimes enhance   
        an anagram.   
      
        The German neurologist Dr Alois Alzheimer =   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)