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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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Further vs. Farther

 

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

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'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'?

 

We're gonna stop you right there

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Hot Mess

 

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings

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The Schwa

 

The most common vowel sound in English causes many spelling problems.

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An Abbreviated History of American English Spelling

 

Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut

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Is It 'Attorney Generals' Or 'Attorneys General'?

 

'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.