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

play video how a word gets into the dicionary
How a Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

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

play alright allright video
Alright vs. All Right

 

Is 'alright' all right?

play video ending a sentence with a preposition
Ending a Sentence with a Preposition

 

An old-fashioned rule we can no longer put up with.

play video title words of the year 1066
Words of the Year: 1066

 

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest

play video ie vs eg
i.e. vs. e.g.

 

Often used, often confused. Here's some guidance and insight.

play there theyre their video
There, They're, Their

 

There, there. We'll sort it out.