Susie Dent – författare

THE BESTSELLING RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICKA TAKE A BREAK BOOK CLUB SELECTION A GOOD HOUSEKEEPING GOOD BOOKS READER FAVOURITE*DON'T MISS SUSIE'S NEXT LINGUISTIC MYSTERY, DEATH WRIT LARGE - AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW!*'ONE OF THE FINEST MYSTERIES I HAVE EVER READ'Rob Rinder, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Trial'A TANTALISING MYSTERY FOR WORD SLEUTHS AND CRIME FANS ALIKE'Janice Hallett, Sunday Times bestselling author of The AppealA coded letter. A missing woman. A truth waiting to be found. When an anonymous letter is delivered to the Clarendon English Dictionary office, it becomes rapidly clear that this is not the usual word-related enquiry. Instead, the letter hints at sinister events linked to a particular year.For editor Martha Thornhill, the date can mean only one thing: the summer her brilliant older sister Charlie went missing. Ten years on, Martha and her family are no closer to unravelling the mystery of Charlie's disappearance - until now.As more letters arrive, Martha and her team follow the linguistic clues to a troubling truth. It seems Charlie was keeping a powerful secret, and that someone is desperate to keep it well and truly buried.Guilty by Definition is a love letter not only to language but to the city of Oxford, wrapped within an intriguing mystery of a missing woman and considering the emotional aftershocks of her disappearance on those left behind.Guilty by Definition was a Sunday Times bestseller in August 2024

'Susie Dent is a one-off. She breathes life and fun into words and language' Pam Ayres'Susie Dent is a national treasure' Richard OsmanWelcome to a year of wonder with Susie Dent, lexicographer, logophile, and longtime queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner.From the real Jack the Lad to the theatrically literal story behind stealing someone's thunder, from tartle (forgetting someone's name at the very moment you need it) to snaccident (the unintentional eating of an entire packet of biscuits), WORD PERFECT is a brilliant linguistic almanac full of unforgettable stories, fascinating facts, and surprising etymologies tied to every day of the year. You'll never be lost for words again.

Whatever you need, Susie Dent has a word for it. Do you know the name for someone who loves reading in bed, or what a binfluencer does? How about the medieval invention of Lubberland as a place for lazy teenagers, or the story of Mayday as a request for help? Lexicographer extraordinaire and Queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner, Susie Dent does and here are her greatest discoveries.From wabbit to dust bunnies, and from the strange history of arse to the best ways to describe moonlight, Words for Life offers a full year's supply of verbal vitamins guaranteed to brighten and boost every day. Here you will learn of the Mother-in-Law's Dream as well as the Yuleshard, and discover expressions that can fix (or at least nail) the problems of modern life, whether dealing with unrequited love or unsatisfactory politicians, eating a whole packet of biscuits or forgetting someone's name.From starting January 1 with your best foot forward (qualtagh) to leaping happily into the unknown (with a drink in your hand) on 31 December, here is the perfect guide to ensure your best year yet - and 365 words you'll want to keep for life.

Join Susie Dent, lexicographer extraordinaire and Queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner, on a curious and exceedingly interesting adventure through all the very best RED HERRINGS, COCK AND BULL STORIES and NINE-DAY WONDERS in the English language.Who was SWEET FANNY ADAMS?What's the dramatic true story behind STEALING THUNDER?Why is it CHANCING YOUR ARM when you take a risk?What do bears have to do with LICKING INTO SHAPE?Or robbers with PULLING SOMEONE'S LEG?Why are CIRCLES VICIOUS?And, what's so bad about a WHITE ELEPHANT? 'Nobody on earth knows more about the English language than Susie Dent' Gyles Brandreth

'Susie Dent is a national treasure' RICHARD OSMAN'Susie Dent is a one-off. She breathes life and fun into words and language' PAM AYRES__________________________________________Would you be bewildered if someone described you as radgy?Do you know how to recognise a tittamatorter?And would you understand if someone called you a culchie?How to Talk Like a Local gathers together hundreds of words from all over the country and digs down to uncover their origins. From dardledumdue, which means daydreamer in East Anglia, through forkin robbins, the Yorkshire term for earwigs, to clemt, a Lancashire word that means hungry, it investigates an astonishingly rich variety of regional expressions, and provides a fascinating insight into the history of the English language.If you're intrigued by colourful words and phrases, if you're interested in how English is really spoken, or if you simply want to find out a bit more about the development of our language, How to Talk Like a Local is irresistible - and enlightening - reading.__________________________________________________'Nobody on earth knows more about the English language than Susie Dent and nobody writes about it more entertainingly' GYLES BRANDRETH'It's an interesting and, at times, hilarious read. One for word-lovers' THE SUN

The Blackout Crew have a song with the title 'Put a donk on it' - but what is a 'donk'? Which ending came first: '-ise' or '-ize'? Where does the idea of a 'white elephant' come from? Who decides on the collective noun for something? And what is it that made the crocodile cry?Sparkling with insight and linguistic curiosity, this delightful compendium answers 101 of the most intriguing questions about the English language, from word origins and spelling to grammar and usage. Irresistible to anyone with an interest in the words around them.Supported by Oxford's celebrated dictionary research programme, Susie Dent tackles these and many other fascinating questions in this wonderfully accessible and endlessly entertaining exploration of the English language.

"I enjoyed this so much. As a pessimistic lover of words, this was both comforting and heart-warming. I always think that learning about etymology is a way to appreciate the secret code of the world, and Susie is the perfect guide and companion and lexical cheerleader." - Stig Abel"Susie Dent's way with words always makes me happy. This is my kind of book. There's positivity on every page." - Gyles BrandrethSusie Dent, bestselling author, broadcaster and word expert, is on a mission to find light in the deepest, darkest corners of our language.It takes just a short browse through the dictionary to spot how it is filled with negative words. But Susie has searched far and wide to unearth happy and uplifting words and phrases that, in some cases, are long forgotten, while others have only just been discovered.Paired with beautiful illustrations, this is the perfect book to lift you out of your mubble fubbles (a slightly sad mood), make you grin like a gigglemug (someone who never stops smiling), and have you feeling forblissed (extremely happy) in no time.This joyous collection of 100 positive words and their origins will show readers young and old just how wonderful language can be - and how you can use your words to make the world a happier place.

Susie Dent, bestselling author, broadcaster and word expert, is on a mission to find 100 words and phrases that bring people together.There are times when the world feels more divided than ever. But it is important to remember the things that unite rather than divide us. Susie has searched far and wide to unearth words and phrases - old, new, and long-forgotten - that celebrate harmony, unity, and the universal languages that connect people across the world.Whether you want to conjobble (chat with a friend over some food), to be goodwilly (kind, generous, and cheerful), to atone for a mistake (become 'at' 'one' with someone again) or simply head off on a coddiwomple (a journey with no destination), this joyous collection of words celebrates the things in life that bind us together, from friendship, love and peace, to community, music and even the stars. These are the roots we share.

Join Susie Dent, lexicographer extraordinaire and Queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner, on a curious and exceedingly interesting adventure through all the very best RED HERRINGS, COCK AND BULL STORIES and NINE-DAY WONDERS in the English language.Who was SWEET FANNY ADAMS?What's the dramatic true story behind STEALING THUNDER?Why is it CHANCING YOUR ARM when you take a risk?What do bears have to do with LICKING INTO SHAPE?Or robbers with PULLING SOMEONE'S LEG?Why are CIRCLES VICIOUS?And, what's so bad about a WHITE ELEPHANT? 'Nobody on earth knows more about the English language than Susie Dent' Gyles Brandreth

Did you know that . . . a soldier's biggest social blunder is called jack brew - making yourself a cuppa without making one for anyone else? That twitchers have an expression for a bird that can't be identified - LBJ (the letters stand for Little Brown Job)? Or that builders call plastering the ceiling doing Lionel Richie's dancefloor? Susie Dent does.Ever wondered why football managers all speak the same way, what a cabbie calls the Houses of Parliament, or how ticket inspectors discreetly request back-up? We are surrounded by hundreds of tribes, each speaking their own distinct slanguage of colourful words, jokes and phrases, honed through years of conversations on the battlefield, in A&E, backstage, or at ten-thousand feet in the air. Susie Dent has spent years interviewing hundreds of professionals, hobbyists and enthusiasts, and the result is an idiosyncratic phrasebook like no other. From the Freemason's handshake to the publican's banter, Dent's Modern Tribes takes us on a whirlwind tour of Britain, decoding its secret languages and, in the process, finds out what really makes us all tick.

'This is, in fact, not what you were looking for; but it's much more interesting' Terry PratchettMuch loved for its wit and wisdom since 1870, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable takes you on a captivating adventure through its trademark blend of language, culture, myth and legend. Nowhere else could the histories of the guillotine and Guinness stout sit so comfortably alongside the KGB and the Keystone Kops. Brewer's is a catalogue of curiosities and absurdities that, over almost 150 years in print, has acquired near-mythical status.Edited by Susie Dent, this new edition includes a brand new Collection of Curious Words and many new and updated entries. Its pages brim with esoteric and entertaining oddities - everything from curious customs to the world of newspapers and political alliances of yesteryear - all seen through the distinctive Brewer lens.This twentieth edition of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable encapsulates all the charm and wit that characterise its predecessors and maintains the standards of scholarship and eclecticism that have long been its hallmark.Whether you're a committed Brewerphile or a newcomer to its pages of fascinating entries, this edition will draw you in and keep you glued to its rich mix of eccentric nuggets. As Susie Dent explains in the foreword, Brewer's "is unlike any other reference book that exists, anywhere."

Whether it's the distress of a bad haircut (AGE-OTORI) or longing for the food someone else is eating (GROAKING), the pleasure found in other people's happiness (CONFELICITY) or the shock of jumping into icy water (CURGLAFF), there are real words to pinpoint exactly how you feel and Susie Dent, Queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner and lexicographer extraordinaire, is going to help you find them.Here are 1001 terms everyone needs, whether it's the best kind of hug (CWTCH), the relief found in swearing (LALOCHEZIA), or the ability to endure till the end (PERTOLERANCE).It's time to rediscover the lost positives of language (and be more GORM); find out how a stork gave us the word for the love between parent and child, and who the first MAVERICK was. Packed with unexpected stories and unforgettable words, on a mission to describe the indescribable, this life-enhancing book will deepen your vocabulary as much as it extends it. Welcome to the first truly human dictionary, as idiosyncratic and unusual as you are.

'MAGIC' JO BRAND'HAPPIFYING' STEPHEN FRY'SUSIE DENT IS A NATIONAL TREASURE' RICHARD OSMANWhether it's the distress of a bad haircut (AGE-OTORI) or longing for the food someone else is eating (GROAKING), the pleasure found in other people's happiness (CONFELICITY) or the shock of jumping into icy water (CURGLAFF), there are real words to pinpoint exactly how you feel and Susie Dent, Queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner and lexicographer extraordinaire, is going to help you find them.Here are 1001 terms everyone needs, whether it's the best kind of hug (CWTCH), the relief found in swearing (LALOCHEZIA), or the ability to endure till the end (PERTOLERANCE).It's time to rediscover the lost positives of language (and be more GORM); find out how a stork gave us the word for the love between parent and child, and who the first MAVERICK was. Packed with unexpected stories and unforgettable words, on a mission to describe the indescribable, this life-enhancing book will deepen your vocabulary as much as it extends it. Welcome to the first truly human dictionary, as idiosyncratic and unusual as you are.

THE BESTSELLING RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICKA TAKE A BREAK BOOK CLUB SELECTION A GOODHOUSEKEEPING GOOD BOOKS READER FAVOURITE*DON'T MISS SUSIE'S NEXT LINGUISTIC MYSTERY, DEATH WRIT LARGE - AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW!*'ONE OF THE FINEST MYSTERIES I HAVE EVER READ'Rob Rinder, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Trial'A TANTALISING MYSTERY FOR WORD SLEUTHS AND CRIME FANS ALIKE'Janice Hallett, Sunday Times bestselling author of The AppealA coded letter. A missing woman. A truth waiting to be found. When an anonymous letter is delivered to the Clarendon English Dictionary office, it becomes rapidly clear that this is not the usual word-related enquiry. Instead, the letter hints at sinister events linked to a particular year.For editor Martha Thornhill, the date can mean only one thing: the summer her brilliant older sister Charlie went missing. Ten years on, Martha and her family are no closer to unravelling the mystery of Charlie's disappearance - until now.As more letters arrive, Martha and her team follow the linguistic clues to a troubling truth. It seems Charlie was keeping a powerful secret, and that someone is desperate to keep it well and truly buried.Guilty by Definition is a love letter not only to language but to the city of Oxford, wrapped within an intriguing mystery of a missing woman and considering the emotional aftershocks of her disappearance on those left behind.Guilty by Definition was a Sunday Times bestseller August 2024

A brand-new linguistic mystery from Countdown's resident lexicographer, Susie Dent, set in the city of Oxford**AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW**A mysterious letter. A silenced scholar. A city paved with injustice.When mysterious symbols appear as graffiti around Oxford, lexicographer Martha Thornhill recognises them from an alphabet created by a deceased writer whose papers she once worked on. But this is no publicity stunt, and tensions intensify when further graffiti is found near the body of a university lecturer. Martha is not the only one to have doubts when the suspicious death is assumed by police to be a suicide. Called upon to lend their linguistic expertise to the case, Martha and her colleagues begin to unearth a tragedy that extends beyond the ancient walls of the university. As new messages portend more death, it's clear that a spirit of vengeance is stalking the city's streets, and may be reaching out towards them too.Guilty by Definition (book 1) was a Sunday Times bestseller August 2024

A brand-new linguistic mystery from Countdown's resident lexicographer, Susie Dent, set in the city of Oxford**AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW**A mysterious letter. A silenced scholar. A city paved with injustice.When mysterious symbols appear as graffiti around Oxford, lexicographer Martha Thornhill recognises them from an alphabet created by a deceased writer whose papers she once worked on. But this is no publicity stunt, and tensions intensify when further graffiti is found near the body of a university lecturer. Martha is not the only one to have doubts when the suspicious death is assumed by police to be a suicide. Called upon to lend their linguistic expertise to the case, Martha and her colleagues begin to unearth a tragedy that extends beyond the ancient walls of the university. As new messages portend more death, it's clear that a spirit of vengeance is stalking the city's streets, and may be reaching out towards them too.PRAISE FOR GUILTY BY DEFINITION:'Astonishingly clever'THE GUARDIAN'Will delight anyone who appreciates fine crime writing'THE TIMES'One of the finest mysteries I have ever read'ROB RINDER'Huge fun and beautifully written'GYLES BRANDRETH'A tantalising mystery'JANICE HALLETT'Genuinely page-turning'LALINE PAULLGuilty by Definition (book 1) was a Sunday Times bestseller August 2024