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 alright allright video
Alright vs. All Right

 

Is 'alright' all right?

play alt-5db61f2bd1cc5
How Do You Pronounce 'Groceries'?

 

Is there one standard way?

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

 

There, there. We'll sort it out.

play video hopefully
Hopefully

 

We believe the popular usage of this word is correct

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

 

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest