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 hot mess
Hot Mess

 

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings

play image1815466723
How Do You Pronounce 'Vase'?

 

And is one way more correct than the others?

play calendar that says day today
Is It 'day today' or 'day-to-day'?

 

What about Day Tomorrow?

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

 

There, there. We'll sort it out.

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

 

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest