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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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Pictures in the Dictionary

 

The story of those iconic illustrations.

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'Mispronunciations' That May Be Fine

 

'Mischievous,' 'nuclear,' and other words to pronounce with caution.

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'One in the same' or 'One and the same'?

 

Is it all the same anyway?

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When Body Parts Are Also Verbs

 

Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes

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Words of the Year: 1066

 

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest

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The Serial Comma Explained

 

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