This paper studies the reception of Saussure’s thinking at the particular time when the reading of Course in General Linguistics came into contact with that of the anagrams. Between 1960 and 1980, the discovery of Saussure’s inquiries into poetics gave rise to passionate debates. We examine the main features, the issues and tacit knowledge which have characterized this first reception of Saussure’s anagrams. We show how, at that time, the anagrams impacted the reading of the Course in General Linguistics regarding three major points : linearity, the conception of the sign, and the role of the subject in Saussure’s theory.