Word Ways was the first periodical devoted exclusively to word play, and has become the foremost publication in that field.[3][7] Lying "on the midpoint of a spectrum from popular magazine to scholarly journal",[5] it publishes articles on various linguistic oddities and creative use of language. This includes research into and demonstrations of anagrams, pangrams, lipograms, tautonyms, univocalics, word ladders, palindromes[8] and unusually long words,[4][5][9][10][11] as well as book reviews, literature surveys, investigations into questionable logological claims, puzzles and quizzes, mnemonics[12] and a small measure of linguistically oriented fiction.[5][13]
Willard R. Espy discovered Word Ways in 1972, and eventually used material from several dozen articles in his Almanac of Words at Playanthologies.[9][14][15][16] The first of these included complete subscription details for Word Ways, which generated so many inquiries that for decades the publishers were reluctant to change their address.[17]
In the November 2020 issue, editor Jeremiah Farrell announced that the publication of Word Ways would be suspended, but will hopefully resume in the future.[18]
Current editorial board
Editor: Jeremiah Farrell, Butler University
Lacey Echols, Butler University
Kirstin L. Ellsworth, South Pasadena, California
Barbara Howes, Butler University
Katie Mohr, Wiley Publishing Company
David D. Wright, Hangzhou, China
Electronic Journal Publishing Assistant: Laina Ridenour, Butler University
^ abcdEvans, Rod L. (2012). Tyrannosaurus Lex: The Marvelous Book of Palindromes, Anagrams, and Other Delightful and Outrageous Wordplay. London: Penguin Books. ISBN978-1-101-58863-5.
^ abJohnson, Dale D.; von Hoff Johnson, Bonnie; Schlichting, Kathleen (2004). "Logology: Word and language play". In Baumann, James F.; Kame'enui, Edward J. (eds.). Vocabulary Instruction: Research to Practice. Guildford Press. p. 180. ISBN978-1-57230-933-3.
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