Taxonomy of Wordplay

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  1. Typewriter Order
    1. Entire Word
      1. spelled with letters from typewriter top row, longest
      2. spelled with letters from typewriter middle row, longest
      3. spelled with letters from typewriter bottom row, longest
      4. spelled in left-to-right typewriter order, longest
      5. spelled in right-to-left typewriter order, longest
      6. spelled with typewriter letters from left hand, longest
      7. spelled with typewriter letters from right hand, longest
      8. spelled with alternating hands on typewriter, longest
      9. spelled with one finger on typewriter
      10. spelled with adjacent keys on typewriter, longest
      11. spelled with keys in groups, longest
      12. typewriter shiftword (shift hand position on typewriter to form another word)
      13. finger-count word (each letter typed by the nth finger occurs n times)
      14. one-row or one-hand text
      15. mirror-hand word (each letter typed with the matching finger and row of the opposite hand from the one before)
      16. typewriter-row lipogram (word using no letter from one keyboard row), longest
      17. clustered qwerty (first half typed by one hand, second half by the other)
      18. other keyboard layouts (row and hand words on AZERTY, QWERTZ, Dvorak and Colemak keyboards), longest
    2. Subset of Word
      1. spelled using all typewriter fingers, shortest
      2. spelled using all typewriter fingers in order, shortest
      3. spelled using all typewriter fingers in reverse order, shortest

Typewriter Order


Entire Word


spelled with letters from typewriter top row, longest [L171,1-25,32-157]
        common words: perpetuity, proprietor, repertoire, typewriter (10-t)
        uncommon words: irreptitiouer, proprietorier (13-t)
        hyphenated word: tit-tit-tit-tit-tit (15)
spelled with letters from typewriter middle row, longest [L171]
        common words: alfalfas, haggadah (8-t)
        uncommon words: shakalshas, gallaglass, hagahhagah, hajahhajah, hasahhasah, kalakkalak (10-t)
        hyphenated word: algal-algals (11)
        phrase: falak al aflak (12)
spelled with letters from typewriter bottom row, longest [L171]
        common words: b, c, m, n, v, x, z (1-t)
        uncommon words: mmmm, xxxv (4-t)
        phrase: CCCCM (5)
spelled in left-to-right typewriter order, longest [3-176,12-154]
        common words: qeshm, quaff, qualm, quash, quill, quips, topaz, weeps, weigh, weill, woops (5-t)
        uncommon words: wettish, qwertys, weerish (7-t)
spelled in right-to-left typewriter order, longest [4-118,12-154]
        common word: chappie (7)
        uncommon word: chappytre (9)
spelled with typewriter letters from left hand, longest [L171]
        common words: abracadabras, aftereffects, desegregated, reverberated, stewardesses, watercresses (12-t)
        uncommon words: devertebrateds, sweaterdresses, addresseresses, avertebrateder, decatessarades, excerebrateder,
                        extravasateder, reaggregateder, reverberateder, ... and 3 others (14-t)
        phrase: great crested grebes (18)
spelled with typewriter letters from right hand, longest [L171,16-249]
        common words: homophony, polyphony (9-t)
        uncommon words: hohohohohohoh, monimolimnion, phyllophyllin (13-t)
spelled with alternating hands on typewriter, longest [16-249,32-270]
        common words: dismantlement, neurotoxicity (13-t)
        uncommon words: antiskepticism, leucocytozoans, leptothricosis, protoquamquams (14-t)
        phrase: to firm with the hand (17)
spelled with one finger on typewriter
        a.  longest [L171,16-249]
                common word: deeded (6)
                uncommon word: nummynummy (10)
        b.  longest, for each finger
		see list Longest Word Spelled with One Finger on Typewriter for Each Finger
spelled with adjacent keys on typewriter, longest
        common word: redresses (9)
        uncommon words: assertresses, desertresses (12-t)
spelled with keys in groups, longest [33-71]
        common word: patronymics (11)
        uncommon words: affellowship, annuloiddest, collographys, pedestrially, phalloiddest, phylloiddest, predecession,
                        underfollows, unhalloweder, ... and 3 others (12-t)
        phrase: to pass unheeded (14)
typewriter shiftword (shift hand position on typewriter to form another word)
        a. one hand, longest
                common words: bittered & buttered (8-t)
                common words: castrati & castrato (8-t)
                common words: scammers & scanners (8-t)
                common words: tittered & tottered (8-t)
                uncommon words: beatemestest & beatenestest (12-t)
                uncommon words: barratresses & narratresses (12-t)
                phrases: sassafras tree & sassafras-tree (13)
        b. both hands, longest
                common words: escort & waxier (6)
                uncommon words: atotatota & supusupus (9)
        c.  typewriter shiftgram and circular shift (shift on the keyboard, then transpose; rows wrap around) [33-73]
                e.g. FORTY one key left = DIERT = TIRED; HOP five keys left = ART = RAT
finger-count word (each letter typed by the nth finger occurs n times) [37-215]
        uncommon words: booboo & entente & murmur & tutu
one-row or one-hand text [16-87,29-10,131,132,32-20,33-70]

mirror-hand word (each letter typed with the matching finger and row of the opposite hand from the one before) [16-249]
        e.g. SLEIGH, EIGHTY: S/L, E/I, G/H, T/Y are mirror-image keys on opposite hands
typewriter-row lipogram (word using no letter from one keyboard row), longest [16-249]
        e.g. no top row: savannahs, bacchanals, canvasbacks; no middle row: pronouncement, inconvenience
clustered qwerty (first half typed by one hand, second half by the other) [49-5]
        e.g. MIL|DEW (MIL typed by the right hand, DEW by the left)
other keyboard layouts (row and hand words on AZERTY, QWERTZ, Dvorak and Colemak keyboards), longest [48-292,48-295,46-273]
        e.g. Dvorak top row: glycyl; Dvorak home row: unostentatiousnesses

Subset of Word


spelled using all typewriter fingers, shortest [32-270,33-71]
        common words: biplanes, captions, clasping, dystopia, elapsing, jackpots, panelist, pelagius, plainest, plaudits, pleasing,
                      pralines, scalping (8-t)
spelled using all typewriter fingers in order, shortest
        ?
spelled using all typewriter fingers in reverse order, shortest
        uncommon word: kiplingesque (12)


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