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Words Matter

The True Story of the Backward Index

These people needed a computer


There it sits, hidden in plain view on a set of shelves in the basement of the Merriam-Webster offices: the Backward Index. But why would anyone type out 315,000 words spelled in reverse?

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play backward index mystery
The True Story of the Backward Index

 

These people needed a computer

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'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'?

 

We're gonna stop you right there

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Webster's Dictionary of 1864

 

The landmark edition that transformed the way dictionaries are made.

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The History of 'Cynic'

 

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

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Video: Why is there a 'c' in 'indict'?

 

And who put it there, anyway?

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Why is there a 'd' in 'fridge' but not in 'refrigerator'?

 

Thawing one of the mysteries of English

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Words of the Year: 1066

 

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest