Welcome to all the new players of Two Words who heard it mentioned on Catsdown. For anyone who fancies a game against another player (or a brainy bot) here’s the link. twowords2.page.link/play. And a big thank you to everyone who’s joined in so far. It can be as simple or as fiendish as you like!
Two Words with Susie Dent
twowords2.page.link
I’ve written a short piece on the Americanisms that really get our goat. susiedent.substack.com/p/the-ize-ha...
The -ize have it
A tale of scapegoating (verb) in English
susiedent.substack.com
Am looking forward to seeing what dedication requests come my way!
Big Green Books@biggreenbooks.bsky.social · 3w agoPUBLISHED NEXT MONTH! EXCLUSIVE! Susie Dent @susiedentwords.bsky.social has very kindly agreed to SIGN & DEDICATE copies of her new murder mystery "Death Writ Large", that are ordered from us. Linguistic mischief abounds! Order HERE! biggreenbookshop.com/signed-copie...
If you fancy a read in the shade, I’ve written a short piece on the words that wear their hearts on their sleeves. Like ‘secretary’, originally a ‘keeper of secrets’. susiedent.substack.com/p/hiding-in-...
Hiding in plain sight
The stories of language that we stopped listening to
susiedent.substack.com
Have you ever wondered whether lexicographers occasionally make stuff up? susiedent.substack.com/p/ghost-town...
I’ve just launched a Substack for anyone who fancies being part of a word community. My first free post is out now. susiedent.substack.com/publish/post...
Always a pleasure to work with indie booksellers, and Simon at Big Green Books is one of the best.
Big Green Books@biggreenbooks.bsky.social · 3mo agoOrder a SIGNED & DEDICATED copy of "Death Writ Large", Susie Dent's @susiedentwords.bsky.social new murder mystery. Linguistic shenanigans abound! Susie's very kindly agreed to do this for anyone who orders from us! It's published in August. Order HERE! www.biggreenbookshop.com/signed-copie...
Delighted to say we’re adding some more dates to the second half of the year for my Word Perfect tour. Thanks to everyone who’s joined me so far for a romp through the joys and eccentricities of language. I’m having a blast and hope you will too.
A question: what are the things you wish there was a word for? And have you come up with your own word to fill that gap?
A reminder of one of the loveliest pairs of siblings in the dictionary: ‘muscle’ and ‘mouse’. To the Roman imagination, the flexed biceps of a (typically naked) athlete resembled a rodent scuttling under the skin. ‘Musculus’, in Latin, means ‘little mouse’.
Secret Genius continues tonight at C4, 9pm, with episodes 1 and 2 available on catch-up. Thank you to everyone who has tuned in so far.
Word of the day is ‘fanfaronade’ (19th century): to strut and swagger about as if you own the stage.
A little selection of my favourite words for the season. Some beautiful, others potentially necessary. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. twowords2.page.link/play
A little list of some of my favourite words for the season. Some beautiful, others potentially necessary. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Which words have given you happiness this year? I’d love to hear them. (And if you fancy some distraction over the holidays, do give my word game Two Words a try. twowords2.page.link/play)
I’m delighted to announce the next shows in my Word Perfect tour. Thanks to all my wonderful audiences this year: I’ve had a blast!
Word of the day, should you be feeling a little huffish, is ‘apanthropy’ (18th century): a love of solitude and the desire to be away from other people.
Thanks for all the excellent responses to this. It might make you smile on this dreich day.
Susie Dent@susiedentwords.bsky.social · 8mo agoThank you to the lovely audience member at @hayfestival who shared that her daughter had once corrected her pronunciation of ‘epiphany’ and told her it should of course be ‘epi-fanny’. Which word have you royally mispronounced because you’d only ever seen it written down?
Thank you to the lovely audience member at @hayfestival who shared that her daughter had once corrected her pronunciation of ‘epiphany’ and told her it should of course be ‘epi-fanny’. Which word have you royally mispronounced because you’d only ever seen it written down?
We have a name for our new bot! Thanks to everyone who voted, and to all of those who continue to play and enjoy the game. twowords2.page.link/play
TOMORROW! Join us for a special Film Stories 500th episode event in London with special guest Romesh Ranganathan. Details and tickets here: filmstories.co.uk/news/film-st...
Film Stories 500 | Romesh Ranganathan joins us in London for a special live event
Join us for a special Film Stories 500th episode event in London with special guest Romesh Ranganathan. Details and tickets here:
filmstories.co.uk
This is your chance to vote for Oxford’s Word of the Year. corp.oup.com/word-of-the-....
Oxford Word of the Year 2025 - Oxford University Press
Voting is now open for Oxford Word of the Year 2025! Discover our shortlist and have your say by Thursday 27 November.
corp.oup.com
Word of the day is ‘quockerwodger’ (19th century): a puppet politician whose strings are pulled entirely by someone else.
Word of the day is ‘quockerwodger’ (19th century): a puppet politician whose strings are pulled entirely by someone else.
This show will not disappoint: Simon is more passionate and knowledgeable about the magic of the movies than anyone I know.
Simon Brew@simonbrew.bsky.social · 9mo agoFolks, I really need some help. For the last 10-15 days, I've been pretty much out of action, which has put me two weeks behind on promoting my Film Stories 500 show in London next week. I'd be grateful for any help/support in getting the word out. Thank you. www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/wor...
It's the Seasonal Reposting Competition! Repost this over the weekend, and on Sunday one lucky person will win a signed copy of one of my books. For you or the #crossword addict in your life: 50 fiendish @theguardian.com #puzzles and all the stories behind them: boatmancryptics.co.uk/crossword-bo...
We’re down to a shortlist of three names for the new bot in my word game Two Words! Thanks for all the brilliant suggestions. You can vote here for your winner: playtwowords.com/namethebot
We’ve introduced a new Bot in our word game Two Words, and it needs a name! Please reply with your suggestions (Botty McBotface won’t do). For those who don’t know the game, here’s the link. twowords2.page.link/play
Word of the Day is ‘catchfart’ (17th century): an obsequious individual who sucks up to the boss and always follows the political wind.
There is a moment at this time of year when the word ‘apricity’ really comes into view. For those who don’t know it, it was recorded only once, in 1623, before slipping out of view. Apricity is the warmth of the sun on a chilly day.