Sooner or later, everybody with a computer discovers the Internet Anagram Server, a Web site that generates anagrams of any phrase you plug into it. What you mostly get are reams of garbage, but sift through it long enough and you can usually find some gems.
I got tired of writing the other day and decided to run my name through the Internet Anagram Server, and was surprised to receive in return a fairly large number of anagrams that could be related to my career as a drama critic: “Reroute thy act,” “Teary tech tour,” “Outcry at three” (how’s that for a play about a matinee murder?), and my favorite, “Hey, actor, utter!” I also got some vaguely naughty responses, such as “Etch your tater,” and a few sinister ones, including “Treachery tout” and “Cutthroat eyer.”
But all these are merest fluff compared to my Top Five Personal Anagrams. In ascending order of coolness, they are:
5. That cuter yore
4. Ratty, cute hero
3. Arty, cute other
2. Retract ye thou!
1. The Tory Curate
O.K, back to art. But I bet you can’t wait to check out that Web site, can you?