Why Does Dictionary Corner Give Invalid Words?

[Philip A]

It has been brought to my attention that as of late, Dictionary Corner has rarely, but sometimes, been suggesting words, spellings and inflections which may not actually be valid.

To cite a few examples; minor spoilers but just to prove my point:

In https://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_8393, GOOPIER was offered. However, GOOPY has more than one syllable and the comparative and superlative forms are not specified in Oxford Dictionaries Premium as they need to be, so GOOPIER is invalid.

In https://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_8441, COSTUMER was offered. However, COSTUMER is an American spelling of COSTUMIER. American spellings are not allowed on Countdown, only British spelling is permitted. Similarly, they suggested another American spelling, PARALYZE, in https://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_7998.

On Apterous, these have been kept disallowed for fairness.

Why do these mishaps occur on the show? Would these all be disallowed if a contestant had otherwise offered them? They do seem fairer and more consistent when they check the contestants’ words, especially with potentially contentious but invalid suggestions such as ‘ebonites’ and ‘roastier’.

The dictionary might not be perfect but it does offer accurate guidance of English as it is used worldwide (and the barring of the OED words is a big plus). Maybe it’s interpretation that causes misjudgements.

[Jamie Weisenberg]

Susie Dent is not what she used to be. Time to look for a replacement perhaps ?

Btw, a few days ago .. they disallowed the word SECTORING in the Conundrum round even though it is there in Oxford Dic. The correct word was ESCORTING ?!

[Gavin Chipper]

There have always been errors. Susie has been known in the past to go by feeling rather than the rigid rules in some cases. But they could use Apterous or the TCC website as confirmation and if there's disagreement with Susie have a proper look at the entry.

[Fiona T]

So much ambiguity with the various "rules" both spoken and unspoken.

Today's query came from DC offering a plural of a word specified as a noun, but with the sole definition of "Another term for x" where x was a mass noun.

Who knows what would actually be allowed

[Adam Beach]

Susie Dent is not what she used to be. Time to look for a replacement perhaps ?

With who, exactly? Susie's knowledgable and knows what she's doing. Besides, she's not the sole lexicographer to have made errors: Mark Nyman and Catherine Clarke are notable examples. Nobody's perfect.

Btw, a few days ago .. they disallowed the word SECTORING in the Conundrum round even though it is there in Oxford Dic. The correct word was ESCORTING ?!

"Sectoring" is not a valid word in ODP. At present, ESCORTING is now the only nine-letter word that can be made from TENCORGIS, though it was rearrangeable to "costering" prior to last July's overhaul.

[Jamie Weisenberg]

"Sectoring" is not a valid word in ODP. At present, ESCORTING is now the only nine-letter word that can be made from TENCORGIS, though it was rearrangeable to "costering" prior to last July's overhaul.

SECTORING is a word though.

https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/? ... ng&tl=true

[Thomas Carey]

"Sectoring" is not a valid word in ODP. At present, ESCORTING is now the only nine-letter word that can be made from TENCORGIS, though it was rearrangeable to "costering" prior to last July's overhaul.

SECTORING is a word though.

https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/? ... ng&tl=true

Ah yes, the boy who knows the show so well that he's convinced that a woman can't possibly be good at maths, or that anytime he doesn't know a word must be the fault of the woman who's been doing the job for 20+ years, doesn't even know what dictionary the show uses. Jog on.

[Jon O'Neill]

I guess they put lower effort into checking the DC offerings than contestant offerings and therefore DC offerings should not be considered to set a precedent.

[Philip A]

I guess they put lower effort into checking the DC offerings than contestant offerings and therefore DC offerings should not be considered to set a precedent.

My thoughts exactly.

[Graeme Cole]

"Sectoring" is not a valid word in ODP. At present, ESCORTING is now the only nine-letter word that can be made from TENCORGIS, though it was rearrangeable to "costering" prior to last July's overhaul.

SECTORING is a word though.

https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/? ... ng&tl=true

As others have pointed out, Countdown doesn't use the OED for adjudications. It's a historical dictionary from which words are never removed. Lots of things are valid words if you use the OED rather than a general-purpose current-usage dictionary, such as PIANOLESS and HANCOCKITE.

[Philip A]

Minor spoiler but:

Today’s episode on 5th June 2025 does prove that dictionary corner adjudicates the contestants’ words differently and more fairly than their own, when compared to the episode on 8th April 2025 - the same series.

In Episode 8490 https://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_8490 they disallowed Colin Murray’s suggestion, DONUT, on the account of it being an American spelling.

In Episode 8532, however, they did allow DONUT when a contestant offered it (regardless of whether it would have scored or not for being equal or longer than the opponent’s word). They gave a good reason too: the dictionary says it is MAINLY US English; the word ‘mainly’ here means it is also used in the UK. DONUTS is, after all, seen on signs in Britain.

So, DC can suggest invalid words or valid words accidentally without double-checking the dictionary. They really ought to adjudicate the same way for their own as the contestants though.

[Tracey Anne Mills]

Susie Dent is not what she used to be. Time to look for a replacement perhaps ?

With who, exactly? Susie's knowledgable and knows what she's doing. Besides, she's not the sole lexicographer to have made errors: Mark Nyman and Catherine Clarke are notable examples. Nobody's perfect.

Btw, a few days ago .. they disallowed the word SECTORING in the Conundrum round even though it is there in Oxford Dic. The correct word was ESCORTING ?!

"Sectoring" is not a valid word in ODP. At present, ESCORTING is now the only nine-letter word that can be made from TENCORGIS, though it was rearrangeable to "costering" prior to last July's overhaul.

I remember Mark Nyman disallowing Roadside which was due to the dictionary change which was COD 10 it was reverted back COD 9,Helen Wrigglesworth who was the contestant at the time given another go on Countdown. The series 15 grand Final In Round 11, the word YOLKED was wrongly disallowed by Catherine Clarke, making the correct final score 81 – 76. Due to this controversy, Allan Saldanha was given his own copies of the Oxford English Dictionary.

[Philip A]

Minor spoiler for Friday 15th August 2025:







Another one for the list: gorsiest* https://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_8583

Also the teaser ‘shortwave’ is not valid because it is two words in the British section of Oxford Dictionaries Premium. It is one word in the US of A.