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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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Affect vs. Effect

 

Here's the lowdown on what may be the most confusing pair of words in the English language.

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How to Read a French Menu

 

How to 'amuse-bouche' without begging pardon for your French

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How Do You Pronounce 'Vase'?

 

And is one way more correct than the others?

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Is It 'day today' or 'day-to-day'?

 

What about Day Tomorrow?

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The Serial Comma Explained

 

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

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A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia

 

Some imitative words are more surprising than others

Games & Quizzes

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Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
girl-playing-trumpet
Sound Check: A Musical Word Quiz Tune-up your vocabulary
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