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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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Webster's Dictionary of 1864

 

The landmark edition that transformed the way dictionaries are made.

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When Body Parts Are Also Verbs

 

Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes

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Affect vs. Effect

 

Here's the lowdown on what may be the most confusing pair of words in the English language.

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Pictures in the Dictionary

 

The story of those iconic illustrations.

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Alright vs. All Right

 

Is 'alright' all right?

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Why Did Yankee Doodle Call a Feather 'Macaroni'?

 

What's with his feathered cap?

Games & Quizzes

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Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
illustration of alice and tweedledee and tweedledum
Guess the Literary Image We show you the art, you guess the literary work....
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