Like many, I grew up with Woman’s Hour, so it was a special delight to chat with Anita Rani on Friday about Words for Life. It also made the weekend round-up if you fancy a listen here. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Today I offer a reminder of the word ‘forswunk’ (13th century): exhausted from too much work. To be ‘foreswunk’ (my own version) is to be exhausted before you even begin.

Word of the Day is ‘snerdle’ (19th century): to stay warm and still beneath the covers for as long as humanly possible.

Delighted to say that my new book of words is out today, in which I explain how ‘sneeze’ was born from a mistake, that ‘window’ is a Viking leftover meaning ‘eye of the wind’, and that the Finns really do have a word for drinking alone in your underwear. linktr.ee/WordsforLife

Thanks to the wonderful team at the Hachette warehouse for making this morning’s mammoth book-signing a lot of fun. Words for Life is out next week. I hope you like it. linktr.ee/WordsforLife

Word of the day is ‘tamalou’: a French name for an older person who no longer greets their friends with ‘how was your holiday?, but with ‘t’as mal où ?’, ‘where does it hurt?’. There follows an enthusiastic account of aches and pains and doctor’s appointments.

An ‘ultracrepidarian’ (19th century) is one who loves to give their opinion, at length, on matters they know nothing about.

Happening now! Do join me if you can. twowords2.page.link/play

I’m looking forward to another round of Two Words challenges! I’ll be taking on as many players as I can, so do join me, whether you’re an old hand or new to the game. Details for joining to follow on the day. twowords2.page.link/play

Word of the Day is ‘theic’ (19th century), defined as ‘one given to immoderate tea-drinking; a tea drunkard’.

Word of the Day is ‘copemate’ (16th century): the friend in life who gets you through. It’s one of the 365 entries in Words for Life, an almanac of my favourite words and etymologies to give (I hope) each day a boost.

Hosting the British Transplant Games at a sunny Blenheim Palace was such a privilege. Organ donation is needed now more than ever, and the results of such generosity were on display everywhere yesterday. To the audience of 2,000 or more, thank you. And to those who were remembered, thank you too.

Sometimes the historical dictionary offers solace through the existence of an obsolete word that is sorely needed now. One of them is ‘respair’, recorded just once, in the 15th century. It means fresh hope, and a recovery from despair.

A brand-new series of 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown starts tonight, starring Bob Mortimer (which is probably all you need to know). Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 9pm on C4.

Etymology of the day: spiders were once known as ‘attercops’, or ‘poison-heads’, because it was believed most spiders were venomous. The ‘cop’ element became the ‘cob’ in ‘cobweb’.

Word of the day is ‘swullocking’, from 19th-century East Anglian dialect: sultry, sweltering, and sudiferous (sweat-inducing).

It’s been a fun morning talking to some of our very best local radio stations about my new show. It’s getting close now. Would love it if you joined me! nothird.co.uk

Chuffed to be part of this sale. And a big thank you to everyone who has bought or borrowed my novel already.

Word of the day is ‘forwallowed’ (15th century): extremely weary from tossing and turning all night.

The final scores are in! I took on as many games as my brain and fingers could manage; apologies to those whose challenges I couldn’t accept. But we will go again later in the summer. Congratulations to all those who smashed me! twowords2.page.link/play

The use of swearing to relieve stress, anger, pain or frustration is known as ‘lalochezia’.

It’s been quite a marathon taking on so many brilliant players this week. I accepted 53 challenges in total, many still ongoing! Whether you’re as brilliant as these players or just starting out, thank you for giving it a go. twowords2.page.link/play

Thank you so much to everyone who challenged me on Two Words this afternoon! Ten games completed and 53 ongoing! I’m so sorry I couldn’t take everyone on but we will do it again, when I hope to be able to play you. twowords2.page.link/play

Congratulations @RobbieRinder on yet another cracker of a thriller. Happy publication day!

From 12-2pm today I’ll be accepting as many of your challenges in Two Words as I can. Simply swipe across to Search in the main menu and look for ‘Real Susie’ Do make sure to follow bsky.app/profile/play... ‬for live updates! twowords2.page.link/play

Thank you @societyofauthors.bsky.social for a balmy and uplifting evening at Southwark Cathedral. Delighted to have been shortlisted for the McKitterick Prize for Guilty By Definition, and congratulations to Tom Newlands for the win!

Thanks to everyone who voted for ‘went’ - an example of language swerving the expected. Instead of ‘go, goes, goed’ we have ‘go, goes, went’, because speakers decided to opt for the past tense of ‘wend’. This process is called ‘suppletion’.

A reminder of this event on Thursday. I’m looking forward to it (with some trepidation)!

For those in need of a smile, a reminder that one 19th-century name for a penguin was ‘arsefoot’.

Betwittered to announce a special event next Thursday, when Two Words players can take me on if they fancy! Keep an eye out for more details. And for those who haven’t yet played the game, do take a look here. twowords2.page.link/play

Word of the day is ‘fellow-feel’ (verb; 17th-century): to share in the suffering and distress of others.

Numbers vs Words, round 3! We’ve had fun doing these: hope they are just as enjoyable to watch. Let us know your favourite here 👇🏻 tomrocksmaths.com/2025/06/10/num…

Word of the day, from Pennsylvanian Dutch, is ‘ferhoodled’, meaning ‘tangled’ or ‘all mixed up’. Can be used of anything from a sock drawer to life.

Thanks to all those who voted!

Numbers vs. Words Round 2: "Binfluencer" vs. "3435" @susiedent.com puts forward an excellent example of a portmanteau, whilst @tomrocksmaths.bsky.social opts for the only known 'Munchausen number'. Which is your favourite? Cast your vote here: tomrocksmaths.com/2025/05/30/n...

Ah. Despite the mischievous headlines I didn’t say this was now standard English. Rather that ‘mischeevious’ (which used to bug me no end) is an example of how, for centuries, English-speakers have often moved the sound of words to something more familiar. www.thetimes.com/uk/history/a...

The results are in... Congratulations to "29" for an exceedingly narrow victory over "to lick something into shape"! Words, aka @susiedent.com, need your votes in round 2 - coming Thursday. And if you haven't seen it yet, watch the battle from round 1 here: www.youtube.com/shorts/jxam_...

SIGNED DEDICATED BY SUSIE DENT! Susie Dent @susiedent.com has a new book out in September. "Words For Life" 365 words that will make every day better. Susie will sign & personally dedicate each copy just for you. Medieval insults a speciality! HERE tinyurl.com/3b2rtkc4

All dedication requests welcome!

Fun linguistic fact of the day. We used to speak of 'messagers' and 'passagers' before they became 'messengers' and 'passengers', since they were borrowings from French. Speakers in the Middle Ages decided to throw in what linguists call an 'intrusive n' to make them easier to say.

I love a semi-colon myself: it adds elegance and precision. But punctuation is as subject to evolution as the rest of language. www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

I’ve loved writing this book. I hope it will be just as much fun to read. linktr.ee/WordsforLife

Word of the day is ‘beek’ (13th century): to bask in the pleasurable warmth of the sun. Also available as a noun, as in ‘I took a wonderful beek today’.

It’s here...The light is rising. The birds are too. Wherever you are... take a moment. Pause. Listen. You’re part of the dawn chorus. Record it. Share it. What do you hear? Let’s fill this thread with birdsong. 🍃🎵 #InternationalDawnChorusDay

Word of the day is ‘forswunk’ (13th century): exhausted from too much work. I like to think that ‘foreswunk’ is to be exhausted before you even begin.

I’m pleased to say my paperback is currently on sale with WH Smith for only £4.99, so do grab a copy if you fancy. And thank you if you do! Link is here: geni.us/GuiltyWHS

Word of the Day is ‘apricate’ (17th century): to turn your face to the sun and bask in its warmth.

A tricky Two Words puzzle for a sunny morning. Can you use all the letters in the rack in one play? A reminder that you can change a letter in your opponent’s word and build from there. twowords2.page.link/play

I’m thorough-thrilled (i.e. extremely) that my novel has been chosen for the Richard and Judy Book Club with WHSmith. I feel immensely lucky.

Soubhiye, from Lebanese Arabic, is the enjoyment of a quiet moment of peace before everyone else is awake. Gökotta is a Swedish term for waking up early to enjoy the birdsong. For the rest of us, there is hurkle-durkling, from Scots: lingering in bed long after it’s time to get up.