Does the dictionary help Susie Dent on Catsdown, or is she just that quick?
What is Catsdown?
Susie Dent is the permanent judge of the Letters Round on Countdown and Catsdown. On Catsdown, Dent only uses a dictionary.
In the Letters Round, contestants get 30 seconds to make the longest possible word from nine letters randomly chosen by a contestant. Susie Dent is consistently on par with the best contestants.
Admittedly, I watch 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, a.k.a. Catsdown, but not "regular" Countdown.
The Purpose of the Dictionary
Not to discredit Dent's prowess, does a dictionary help you make a long word?
I thought the dictionary was there for checking a word. How else it would help eludes me. Yet, several comedians joked Dictionary Corner having a "big dictionary" is unfair.
"It's Just a Game."
Though Catsdown is mostly comedy, Dent often gets eight or nine-letter words.
The Question
I think a computer program on a laptop might help, but not a dictionary. I must think Dent's skills superhuman unless she has some help. Does the dictionary help Dent (If so, then how?), or is she just that good?
Best Answer
First point: what you see onscreen doesn't happen in real time. It can take several hours to record a half hour panel show. Half an hour of witty banter is extracted from three hours of mostly unfunny remarks. Onscreen, it takes 30 seconds to come up with these words. In real life, they may take several minutes to look them up.
Second point: there is such a thing as an anagram dictionary.
In the main type of anagram dictionary, the letters in words or phrases are rearranged in alphabetical order, and these transpositions are themselves then ordered alphabetically within word-length groups, so that any words consisting of this group of letters can be found. This arrangement is designed for use in solving word puzzles such as crosswords, or for playing games such as Scrabble. The first such anagram dictionary was The Crossword Anagram Dictionary by R.J. Edwards1
I used to watch Countdown in the Gyles Brandreth era. He was frequently shown consulting books.
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How does Susie Dent get the words?
Susie Dent is the permanent judge of the Letters Round on Countdown and Catsdown. On Catsdown, Dent only uses a dictionary. In the Letters Round, contestants get 30 seconds to make the longest possible word from nine letters randomly chosen by a contestant. Susie Dent is consistently on par with the best contestants.What dictionary does Susie Dent use?
The change will mean that the programme's 'Dictionary Corner', fronted by Susie Dent, will now be using oxforddictionaries.com to search for words as the contestants try to beat the famous Countdown clock.Who does dictionary Corner on Countdown?
Susie Dent (born 1964) is an English lexicographer, etymologist, and media personality. She has appeared in "Dictionary Corner" on the Channel 4 game show Countdown since 1992.What is Susie Dent word of the day?
Susie Dent on Twitter: "Word of the day is 'spuddle' (17th century): to work ineffectively; to be extremely busy whilst achieving absolutely nothing." / Twitter.The first rule of Countdown (8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown)
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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