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Susie Dent (born 1964) is an English lexicographer, 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 in ...
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 ev ...
'' 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 Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
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 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 day school, with a term at Eton College to study for Oxbridge entrance exams. She went on to Somerville College, Oxford for her BA in modern languages, then to Princeton University for her master's degree 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, attendi ...
. When 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. 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 in ...
'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 ev ...
''. 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 Ma ...
'' 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.


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 re ...
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

* * * * * {{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