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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The best way to find information in the dictionary

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On Contractions of Multiple Words

 

You all would not have guessed some of these

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There, there. We'll sort it out.

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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