Countdown's Susie Dent apologises for typos in her new book Word Perfect

‘Today I can testify to the effectiveness of “lalochezia”: the use of swearing to alleviate stress and frustration,’ Dent tweeted

Susie Dent's book was accidentally sent out to booksellers before its release date (Getty Images)

Susie Dent has apologised to fans after her new book Word Perfect was accidentally printed with a number of spelling mistakes.

The Countdown lexicographer was due to release the book, described as a “brilliant linguistic almanac”, on 15 October.

However, a printing error meant that an early version of the text was sent out to bookshops prior to the release date, with the published book containing many typographical errors.

On Thursday (1 October), Dent tweeted: “Thank you to everyone for supporting my book. I've just discovered that the initial printing used a pre-edited text. I'm so sorry about this. I'll be in touch as soon as I can with details on how we're going to fix it.”

In a second tweet, she wrote: “Today I can testify to the effectiveness of ‘lalochezia’: the use of swearing to alleviate stress and frustration.”

Dent (left) with Rachel Riley and Nick Hewer on Channel 4's 'Countdown' (Alan Strutt/Channel 4)

Speaking to The Times, Dent explained: “I just opened it up and saw there was something wrong in the acknowledgments. And then I had to close it because I felt a bit sick. There are quite a few errors. I haven’t counted them and I don’t really want to.”

The mistake was acknowledged by Dent’s punisher John Murray, who apologised that the “early copies of Word Perfect are not word perfect”.

Dent has appeared in Countdown’s Dictionary Corner since 1992, as well as appearing on comedy spin-off 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.

She has degrees in language from the University of Oxford and Princeton University.