Literary Birthday – 19 November – Susie Dent

Happy Birthday, Susie Dent, born 19 November 1964.

Susie Dent Quotes

1. Probably my favourite winter-word of all. Apricity is the warmth of the sun on a chilly day.
2. There is an art to eavesdropping, but I think to some extent we are all guilty of picking up those little odds and ends that can be quite intriguing if you analyse them.
3. If we want to change the nuance of a particular word we have to change that ourselves.
4. In many cases, the line between a thriller and a crime novel has become too blurred to be useful.
5. English has always been a mongrel tongue, snapping up words from every continent its speakers encountered.
6. I was fascinated by the shape of words even before I knew what they meant.
7. One of the joys of language is its constant evolution, and a lexicographer’s job is both to track new words and to reassess those from the past.
8. The character of our language defines us, and dictionaries say as much about us as about the way we speak.
9. Most crime novels offer a curious kind of escape, to places that jag the nerves and worry the mind. Their rides of suspense give a good thrill, but it’s rarely a comfortable one.
10. I’m a big believer in change and embrace the fact that English is probably the fastest-moving language in the world.

Susie Dent is a writer and broadcaster on language. She has spent 30 years as the resident word expert on C4’s Countdown, and also appears on the show’s comedy sister 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown. She has written for the Independent on Sunday, the Telegraph, and the Times, and is the author of several books, including her first crime novel, Guilty by Definition. Her non-fiction works include: Word Perfect: Etymological Entertainment For Every Day of the Year, Roots of Happiness: 100 Words for Joy and Hope from Britain’s Most-Loved Word Expert, and Dent’s Modern Tribes: The Secret Languages of Britain. Dent was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 Birthday Honours for services to literature and to language. Follow her on Instagram.

Source for image: United Agents Source for quotes: Brainyquote

by Amanda Patterson

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