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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The True Story of the Backward Index

 

These people needed a computer

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The Serial Comma Explained

 

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

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How Do You Pronounce 'Vase'?

 

And is one way more correct than the others?

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The Schwa

 

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

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What is a malaprop?

 

We'll tell you all the perpendiculars

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When Body Parts Are Also Verbs

 

Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes

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An Abbreviated History of American English Spelling

 

Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut