diff --git a/codeGenCpu6502/src/prog8/codegen/cpu6502/assignment/AssignmentAsmGen.kt b/codeGenCpu6502/src/prog8/codegen/cpu6502/assignment/AssignmentAsmGen.kt
index 1c289852b..fd1b56b40 100644
--- a/codeGenCpu6502/src/prog8/codegen/cpu6502/assignment/AssignmentAsmGen.kt
+++ b/codeGenCpu6502/src/prog8/codegen/cpu6502/assignment/AssignmentAsmGen.kt
@@ -3758,7 +3758,12 @@ $endLabel""")
             assignRegisterpairWord(target, RegisterOrPair.AY)
             return
         }
-        require(sourceDt.isWord || sourceDt.isUnsignedByte || sourceDt.isBool || sourceDt.isPointer) { "weird source dt for word variable" }
+        require(sourceDt.isWord || sourceDt.isUnsignedByte || sourceDt.isBool || sourceDt.isPointer) {
+            if(sourceDt.isString)
+                "str source type for word variable should have been uword or ^^ubyte, a && is likely missing on the source variable $sourceDt ${target.position}"
+            else
+                "weird source dt for word variable: $sourceDt ${target.position}"
+        }
         when(target.kind) {
             TargetStorageKind.VARIABLE -> {
                 if(sourceDt.isUnsignedByte || sourceDt.isBool) {
diff --git a/compiler/src/prog8/compiler/astprocessing/TypecastsAdder.kt b/compiler/src/prog8/compiler/astprocessing/TypecastsAdder.kt
index 7678edf51..781e11a04 100644
--- a/compiler/src/prog8/compiler/astprocessing/TypecastsAdder.kt
+++ b/compiler/src/prog8/compiler/astprocessing/TypecastsAdder.kt
@@ -681,7 +681,7 @@ class TypecastsAdder(val program: Program, val options: CompilationOptions, val
                         addTypecastOrCastedValueModification(modifications, it.second, targetDt, parent)
                     } else if(identifier!=null && targetDt.isUnsignedWord && argDt.isPassByRef) {
                         if(!identifier.isSubroutineParameter()) {
-                            // We allow STR/ARRAY values for UWORD or ^^UBYTE parameters.
+                            // We allow STR/ARRAY values for UWORD or ^^UBYTE parameters, via typed AddressOf.
                             if(!argDt.isString || it.second is IdentifierReference) {
                                 modifications += IAstModification.ReplaceNode(
                                     identifier,
diff --git a/docs/source/todo.rst b/docs/source/todo.rst
index be390abb2..071112e1a 100644
--- a/docs/source/todo.rst
+++ b/docs/source/todo.rst
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ Weird Heisenbug
 Future Things and Ideas
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 - add a -profile option (for now X16 only) that instruments the start (and returns?) -of every prog8 subroutine with code that dumps to the X16 emulator debug console: name of sub, stack pointer (for call depth!), emudbg cycle count. Save/restore all used registers!  Start of program must set cycle count to zero.
+- why are (interned) strings stored as initialization value in the SymbolTable AND as string nodes in the interned string block? Something seems redundant here?
 - add @private to variables and subroutines declared in a scope to make them invisible from outside that scope?
 - when implementing unsigned longs: remove the (multiple) "TODO "hack" to allow unsigned long constants to be used as values for signed longs, without needing a cast"
 - structs: properly fix the symbol name prefix hack in StStruct.sameas(), see github issue 198
diff --git a/simpleAst/src/prog8/code/ast/AstBase.kt b/simpleAst/src/prog8/code/ast/AstBase.kt
index 2004faefa..716124c2d 100644
--- a/simpleAst/src/prog8/code/ast/AstBase.kt
+++ b/simpleAst/src/prog8/code/ast/AstBase.kt
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 package prog8.code.ast
 
-import prog8.code.core.IMemSizer
-import prog8.code.core.IStringEncoding
-import prog8.code.core.Position
+import prog8.code.INTERNED_STRINGS_MODULENAME
+import prog8.code.StStaticVariable
+import prog8.code.SymbolTable
+import prog8.code.core.*
 import prog8.code.source.SourceCode
 import java.nio.file.Path
 
@@ -85,6 +86,17 @@ class PtProgram(
         allBlocks().firstOrNull { it.name == "main" || it.name=="p8b_main" }
             ?.children
             ?.firstOrNull { it is PtSub && (it.name == "start" || it.name=="main.start" || it.name=="p8s_start" || it.name=="p8b_main.p8s_start") } as PtSub?
+
+    fun internString(string: PtString, st: SymbolTable): String {
+        val internedStringsBlock = children.first { it is PtBlock && it.name == INTERNED_STRINGS_MODULENAME }
+        val varname = "ptstring_${internedStringsBlock.children.size}"
+        val internedString = PtVariable(varname, DataType.STR, ZeropageWish.NOT_IN_ZEROPAGE, 0u, false, string, null, string.position)
+        internedStringsBlock.add(internedString)
+        val stEntry = StStaticVariable(internedString.scopedName, DataType.STR, string.value to string.encoding, null, string.value.length.toUInt()+1u,
+            ZeropageWish.NOT_IN_ZEROPAGE, 0u, false, astNode=internedString)
+        st.add(stEntry)
+        return internedString.scopedName
+    }
 }