18 Delightful English Words You Never Learned in School
The author of
Wordbirds went on a word safari through Samuel Johnson's famous 18th-century dictionary to hunt for entries that can help explain those things in life that otherwise leave us speechless.
By Liesl Schillinger
backfriend (n.)
An enemy in secret. We all know the word "frenemy"—a supposed friend who tries to undermine you—but a backfriend is a little different. The poet Robert Southey (Johnson's definition credits him for the word) wrote in his biography, "I have had backfriends ... as well as enemies." It's just as useful today as it was three centuries ago.
Published 06/16/2014
