play backward index mystery
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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They started as same word, but their meanings have drifted apart over time.

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An Abbreviated History of American English Spelling

 

Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut

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Or both? Or neither?

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Some Odd Words with ISMO: "Junk in the Trunk"

 

Comedian ISMO on what separates a boot from a trunk

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Literally

 

A word that (literally) drives people nuts