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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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The True Story of the Backward Index

 

These people needed a computer

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Lay vs. Lie

 

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.

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

 

Is it all the same anyway?

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On Contractions of Multiple Words

 

You all would not have guessed some of these

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How to Remember 'Affect' and 'Effect'

 

A simple way to keep them apart. (Most of the time.)

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Fun, Funner, Funnest

 

Why does it sound strange to say 'funner' or 'funnest?'

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Further vs. Farther

 

They started as same word, but their meanings have drifted apart over time.