Susie Dent (born 1964)
is an English
lexicographer
Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries.
* Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries.
* Theoretica ...
,
etymologist, and media personality. She has appeared in "Dictionary Corner" on the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
game show ''
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
'' since 1992. She also appears on ''
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' is a British comedy panel show on Channel 4. The show follows the game of ''Countdown'', but presented in a comedic panel show format seen on ''8 Out of 10 Cats'', with the show being a crossover of the two. ...
'', a post-
watershed comedy version of the show presented by
comedian Jimmy Carr
James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is a British-Irish comedian, presenter, writer, and actor. He is known for his deadpan delivery of controversial one-liners and distinctive laugh, for which he has been both praised and criti ...
. She has been honorary vice-president of the
Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading Chartered may refer to:
* Charter, a legal document conferring rights or privileges
** University charter
** Chartered company
* Chartered (professional), a professional credential
* Charter (shipping)
* Charter (airlines)
* Charter (typeface)
* Ch ...
since 2016.
Early life and education
Dent was born in Woking, Surrey.
She was educated at the
Marist Convent in
Ascot, an independent
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
day school, with a term at
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
to study for
Oxbridge entrance exams. She went on to
Somerville College, Oxford for her
BA in
modern languages
A modern language is any human language that is currently in use. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead classical languages such ...
, then to
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
for her
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
.
Career
Dent's first job was as a
waitress
Waiting staff (British English), waitstaff (North American English), waiters (male) / waitresses (female), or servers (North American English), are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attending ...
. When she began work on ''Countdown'' in 1992, she had just started working for the
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
on producing English dictionaries, having previously worked on bilingual dictionaries.
Dent is well known as the resident lexicographer and adjudicator for the letters rounds on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
's long-running game show ''
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
''. 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, first appearing in 1992: she has made more than 4,500 appearances. Dent also works on the spin-off show ''
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' is a British comedy panel show on Channel 4. The show follows the game of ''Countdown'', but presented in a comedic panel show format seen on ''8 Out of 10 Cats'', with the show being a crossover of the two. ...
''.
Dent appeared as herself in an episode of the BBC sitcom ''
Not Going Out
''Not Going Out'' is a British television sitcom that has aired on BBC One since 2006, and has 12 series making it the second longest running British sitcom (in series) behind the longest running sitcom worldwide, Last of the Summer Wine. It sta ...
''.
Dent presented Channel 4 web series ''Susie Dent's Guide to Swearing'', which explored the etymology and history of select English swear words. She has also made an appearance on BBC entertainment show ''
Would I Lie to You?''. In 2018, she also appeared on five episodes of the panel show ''
House of Games
''House of Games'' is a 1987 American neo-noir heist thriller film directed by David Mamet, his directorial debut. He also wrote the screenplay, based on a story he co-wrote with Jonathan Katz. The film's cast includes Lindsay Crouse, Joe Man ...
'' hosted by
Richard Osman
Richard Thomas Osman (born 28 November 1970) is an English television presenter, producer, novelist and comedian. He is the creator and former co-presenter of the BBC One television quiz show '' Pointless''. He has presented the BBC Two quiz sh ...
.
In 2019, Dent launched the podcast ''Something Rhymes With Purple'', co-hosted with
Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Daubeney Brandreth (born 8 March 1948) is an English broadcaster, writer and former politician. He has worked as a television presenter, theatre producer, journalist, author and publisher.
He was a presenter for TV-am's '' Good Morning ...
.
Published books
From 2003 to 2007, Dent was the author of a series of yearly ''
Language Report
''The Language Report'' (or, strictly, ''the language report'') was an account of the state and use of the English language published by the Oxford University Press (OUP) in 2003. It was compiled by lexicographer Susie Dent, best known for her reg ...
s'' for the Oxford University Press (OUP). The first was simply titled ''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'' ().
In 2005 the same publisher issued ''Winning Words'' (), and in 2009 ''What Made the Crocodile Cry? 101 questions about the English language'' (). Dent's book about dialects, ''How to Talk Like a Local'' (), was published in March 2010.
Personal life
Dent was married to Paul Atkins, a teacher, and has two daughters. They separated in 2021.
Isla Williams, "Countdown’s Susie Dent ‘splits from husband after nearly 20 years together’", ''Metro'', 9 July 2021
Retrieved 12 April 2022
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dent, Susie
Living people
1964 births
Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford
Countdown (game show)
English lexicographers
21st-century English non-fiction writers
English television personalities
Oxford University Press people
People from Woking
Princeton University alumni
Television personalities from Surrey
Women lexicographers
British women podcasters
English podcasters