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Susie Dent

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Susie Dent
Born
Susan Francesca Dent

(1964-11-19) 19 November 1964 (age 60)
Woking, Surrey, England
EducationSomerville College, Oxford (BA)
Princeton University (MA)
Occupation(s)Lexicographer and television presenter
Known forCountdown (1992–present)
SpousePaul Atkins
Children2

Susan Francesca Dent (born 19 November 1964),[1][2] is an English lexicographer, etymologist and media personality. She has appeared in "Dictionary Corner" on the Channel 4 game show Countdown every year since 1992. She also appears on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, a post-watershed comedy version of the show presented by comedian Jimmy Carr. She has been Honorary Vice-President of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) since 2016.[3]

Early life and education

Dent was born in Woking, Surrey,[1] She was educated at the Marist Convent in Ascot, an independent Roman Catholic day school,[4] with a term at Eton College to study for Oxbridge entrance exams.[5] She went on to Somerville College, Oxford for her B.A. in modern languages, then to Princeton University for her master's degree in German.[6]

Career

Dent with Paul Zenon on Countdown in 2012

Dent's first job was as a waitress.[7] At the time she began work on Countdown in 1992, she had just started working for the Oxford University Press on producing English dictionaries, having previously worked on bilingual dictionaries.[8]

Dent is well-known as the resident lexicographer and adjudicator for the letters rounds on Channel 4's long-running game show Countdown. On each episode, she also provides a brief commentary on the origin of a particular word or phrase. Dent is the longest-serving member of the show's current on-screen team, having first appeared in 1992; she has made more than 2,500 appearances.[9] While she was on maternity leave over the winter of 2007–08, she was replaced as lexicographer by Alison Heard. Dent also works on the spin-off show 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.[10]

Dent appeared as herself in an episode of the BBC sitcom Not Going Out.[11][12]

Dent presented a web series for Channel 4 titled Susie Dent's Guide to Swearing where she explored the etymology and history of a number of English swear words.[13] She has also made an appearance on BBC entertainment show Would I Lie to You?.[14] In 2018 she also appeared on five episodes of House of Games, a panel show hosted by Richard Osman.

In 2019, Dent launched the podcast Something Rhymes With Purple, co-hosted with Gyles Brandreth.[15]

Published books

From 2003 to 2007, Dent was the author of a series of annual Language Reports for the Oxford University Press (OUP). The first was titled simply The Language Report, and this was followed by Larpers and Shroomers (2004), Fanboys and Overdogs (2005), The Like, Language Report for Real (2006) and The Language Report: English on the Move 2000 – 2007 (2007). The format of this publication was revised for 2008 as an A–Z collection of new and newly resurrected words. It was published in October 2008 as Words of the Year (ISBN 9780199551996).

In 2005, the same publisher issued Winning Words (ISBN 0199198748) and in 2009 What Made the Crocodile Cry? 101 questions about the English language (ISBN 0199574154). Dent's book about dialects, How to Talk Like a Local (ISBN 1905211791), was published in March 2010.

List of published books[16]
First published Title Pages Publisher
November 2003 The Language Report: The Ultimate Record of What We're Saying and How We're Saying It 151 Oxford University Press
November 2004 Larpers and Shroomers: The Language Report 174 Oxford University Press
September 2005 Winning Words 32 Oxford University Press
January 2006 Fanboys and Overdogs 163 Oxford University Press
January 2007 The Like, Language Report for Real 176 Oxford University Press
December 2007 The Language Report: English on the Move 2000–2007 166 Oxford University Press
October 2008 Words of the Year 148 Oxford University Press
November 2008 How to Talk Like a Local: From Cockney to Geordie 256 Random House
October 2009 What Made the Crocodile Cry? 101 Questions About the English Language 159 Oxford University Press
August 2012 Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (Editor) 1568 John Murray Learning
November 2013 Susie Dent's Weird Words 176 Scholastic Non-Fiction
October 2017 Dent's Modern Tribes: The Secret Languages of Britain 336 John Murray

References

  1. ^ a b "Susie Dent interview". Oxford voices. BBC. 2005. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  2. ^ "In Dictionary Corner with Countdown's Susie Dent, the 'dominatrix' of words". Radio Times. 8 November 2016.
  3. ^ "Honorary members". www.ciep.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  4. ^ Times Educational Supplement; 1 August 2008
  5. ^ Jack Blackburn, "Tales from an Old Etonienne", The Times, 26 July 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2020
  6. ^ Oppenheimer, Jeni (8 June 2009). "Channel 4's Countdown supplies Susie Dent with 'extra ideas' via earpiece". The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  7. ^ Susie Dent, 18 December 2018 episode of Countdown
  8. ^ Jessop, Miranda (13 December 2016). "Interview with Susie Dent". Essential Surrey & SW London.
  9. ^ The Countdown Page on lexicographers.
  10. ^ "8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown". Channel 4. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  11. ^ "BBC One - Not Going Out, Series 8, Hot Tub". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  12. ^ Butcher, David. "Not Going Out - what time is it on TV? Episode 4 Series 8 cast list and preview". Radiotimes.com. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  13. ^ "Susie Dent's Guide to Swearing - All 4". Channel4.com. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  14. ^ "BBC One - Would I Lie to You?, Series 11, Episode 4". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  15. ^ Khan, Introduction: Grace Dent Interviews: Coco; Parkinson, Hannah Jane (8 June 2019). "'There's no such thing as an overshare': meet the hosts of Britain's most candid podcasts". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  16. ^ "Books by Susie Dent - goodreads.com". Retrieved 2 April 2018.

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