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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Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs

 

You don't have to end all your adverbs in -ly to talk right.

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How a Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

What our editors are looking for when they enter words in Merriam-Webster.

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The Serial Comma Explained

 

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

play video schwa
The Schwa

 

The most common vowel sound in English causes many spelling problems.

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Sneaked vs. Snuck

 

How the irregular 'snuck' sneaked into the dictionary