This is a linguistic almanac offering a word or phrase linked to every day of the year. From 1 January to 31 December, the reader will discover a curious coinage or a fascinating etymological fact linked to that particular day:

‘That experimental cocktail you've been making from ingredients at the back of your lockdown cupboard – it’s a quarantini.’ and ‘The unintentional eating of an entire packet of biscuits – that’s a snaccident’.

Word Perfect is full of facts and histories that will enlighten and entertain everyone. For example, 'stealing someone’s thunder' had theatrically literal beginnings.

Susie Dent recently celebrated 25 years as the resident word expert on Channel 4's Countdown as well as on the show's comedy sister 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. She is a columnist for the i newspaper, Radio Times and The Week Junior, and her popular podcast Something Rhymes with Purple recently won 'Best Entertainment Podcast' in the 2020 British Podcast Awards.