Countdown genius Susie Dent isn’t actually as good at Wordle as you’d think

Countdown genius Susie Dent might smarten up our timelines on social media every day, but it turns out she isn’t actually as good at Wordle as you’d probably think.

Word puzzle game Wordle went viral over the Christmas break, and tasks players with guessing a hidden five-letter word in six tries or less.

But despite having been the lexicographer and the brains on the Channel 4 show since 1992, Susie admitted word games like Wordle and Scrabble don’t come particularly easy to her.

‘Everyone assumes I’m a genius at these games. I’m rubbish at Scrabble,’ she said on BBC Breakfast.

‘My excuse is I don’t play Scrabble because it’s very different to Countdown and the dictionary is very different. I’m OK at this one [Wordle]. I think my average is about three. I got today’s in two but that was pure luck.’

The 57-year-old added: ‘Your first guess is basically what it’s all about. If you strike gold then that’s great, if not it’s tough.’

Worlde has become one of the surprise hits of 2022 so far, despite creator Josh Wardle never planning for it to become the next big thing.

If you’re on Twitter, the chances are you’ve been seeing people sharing emoji boards made up of green, yellow, and sometimes white, sometimes grey squares as part of the game.

There is a new word every day, meaning everyone who plays is attempting to solve the same one rather than their own unique puzzle.

Susie might not be amazing at Worlde, but her word of the day posts on social media have made her one of the must-follow accounts over recent times.

She’s has a perfectly timely word for everything, it seems, and one of her most resonant moments came after she delivered a perfect putdown for certain England fans last summer.

The Countdown star is no stranger to shade and she was on form as ever with a scathing burn aimed at a section of football fans who disgraced themselves in the wake of the men’s national team’s Euro 2020 final loss to Italy.

She tweeted: ‘Word of the day is “unasinous” (17th century): united in stupidity. From the Latin for “one ass”.’