c4countdown

Tim Down

Yay, prediction time. I shall studiously avoid reading previous predictions in this thread for the next few minutes. Quarters Tom Chafer-Cook vs. Graeme Staples 1 vs. 8 is usually and obviously the easy prediction and this is no exception. Tom to win by 40. Bradley Horrocks vs. James Kennedy Bradley...

Tim Down

OPALESCED was brilliant, one of the best I’ve seen on the show.

I was pleased with ESPALIERS but OPALESCED seems better to me.

Tim Down

I was surprised (read "cackled gleefully at the screen") when Rachel missed the first numbers. It's a testament to her excellence that it's always a surprise when she misses one.

(100 * 2 - 10) * 2 + 9, since you ask.

Tim Down

I dunno, it does provide for some entertainment. The team where the guy spectacularly failed on the planets game, for example, while his mates jeered him on. :D I know it's cruel but I laughed my head off at that one. Possibly my favourite moment of the series. I love Adam Buxton. I miss his BBC 6 ...

Tim Down

I'm more optimistic than I was a few months ago about being able to run enough to improve my 5K PB and I've given up on all the marathon nonsense so I'm eyeing up second place. I think Oliver's time is out of reach for me. That's also really good. I had actually thought from stuff that had been sai...

Tim Down

As promised, here is the updated list with Jonathan Rawlinson in 2nd place. Could he chip away a bit more and challenge Oliver Garner? Or maybe he'll be threatened from behind by the great Gevin Chapwell before long. I'm more optimistic than I was a few months ago about being able to run enough to ...

Tim Down

Some top four-larging from Noel today. Getting Noel's method in R3 in 30 seconds is very impressive, and would have been even more so had there not been a couple of simpler methods. I had R9 Noel's way as well and was slightly surprised by Rachel's hesitance at getting to 197, given that she's used ...

Tim Down

Ah, I enjoyed FAPS. Saw it early on and then realised with rising anticipation that there wasn't much else hence a great chance someone would declare it. Lo and behold, Noel obliged, and with a straight face. Well done, Noel. I thought Rachel might have still had a bit of a smirk going on at the sta...

Tim Down

Elliott Mellor wrote: ↑Thu Aug 03, 2017 8:49 pm He seems a bit sure of himself, which doesn't make for great viewing.

I disagree too, I find him likeable. Confident but not cocky. He was quality today.

Tim Down

Dunno who you're apologising to, Tim. Hopefully not to the dude who hasn't watched the shows in question. ;) I'm apologising for making insinuations on here that John sometimes buzzed in without having solved the conundrum at the point at which he buzzed because I don't think it's constructive to d...

Tim Down

Fair enough. I thought I should probably have kept my half-formed, speculative opinions on this particular player's conundrums to myself and I wish I had done now. Sorry everyone.

Tim Down

Elliott Mellor wrote: ↑Fri Jul 28, 2017 5:58 pm Good to see he's not dirty playing the cons now.

Have you watched today's game?

Tim Down

John made a right pig's ear of the third numbers, don't know why he didn't see the rather easier 9 x 5 x 10 + 8 + 7 - 1. Rachel appears to be wearing an ice lolly today. I disagree. The target was fairly obviously a multiple of 8 and of 16, so that seems a natural first strategy to try, especially ...

Tim Down

He got a couple of excellent ones early on in his run so I think he has the ability but it's very easy to blank the odd numbers round under pressure.

[EDIT: I've removed my other comment. No good could come of it.]

Tim Down

Excellent game today. Moose's letters ability is superb. I still think his numbers will prevent him winning the series but the sheer consistency of his letters spots will often make up for the odd Apterousy word (such as MAROODIS today) he lacks and I think will be enough to beat Jeff in the semis. ...

Tim Down

I like making predictions. It's difficult to see much chance of Stephen not winning the series. Here goes: QFs Stephen Read (1) v James Slater (8) - Stephen by 40-50 Jeff Clayton (2) v Lawrie Collingwood (7) - Jeff by 20 Moose Rosser (3) v Wesley Jardine (6) - If mid-run Moose turns up then he wins....

Tim Down

#1. Fill an application. - December 1997 #2. Get an audition date. - January 1998 #3. Do the audition. - March 1998 #4. Find out if you passed. - April 1998. Did not pass. #1. Fill an application. - 25 May 2015 #2. Get an audition date. - 10 August 2015 #3. Do the audition. - 12 August 2015 #4. Find...

Tim Down

Really well played, Martin, you were the best player of the series, played solidly through the finals and held your nerve well in the final against a very dangerous opponent.

Tim Down

Johnny Canuck wrote:What do you get if you win a special, anyway? Just bragging rights?

Guess so. I don't think I've seen any. I wasn't entirely serious about the special anyway, although I was about the rest.

Tim Down

It's a real shame Annie couldn't make it but my view is that if you can't make the recording of your series final then it should just be tough bananas because it's not fair on contestants on the next series to accommodate you. It'd be better to invite her back for some kind of special. Maybe against...

Tim Down

What happens to the 8th seed of the next series?

Tim Down

I'm going to go for some predictions. Quarters: Martin Hurst (1) vs Tom Stephens (8) - Martin to win by 30 Andrew Fenton (5) vs John Shaw (4) - Difficult, but I'll go for John to win on a crucial Andrew Macleod (3) vs Rik Anstee (6) - Andrew to win by 40 Stephen Fuller (7) vs Jamie Washington (2) - ...

Tim Down

I've been injured since May so there's no prospect of me getting anywhere near my best time this year.

Tim Down

Jonny Peppiatt is three wins into a run that has already included three crucial conundrums (including one tie-breaker). He still has a chance to take Tony Lock’s place in the finals or possibly carry on his run in series 75. Can he keep it going against Ollie Heath? C1: Champion Jonny Peppiatt (3 wi...

Tim Down

The wiki page for Tuesday's show (9 August) has a small error in round 14: RR: 436 = 100 x 7 x 10 ÷ (7 + 1) should read RR: 875 = 100 x 7 x 10 ÷ (7 + 1)

Tim Down

I believe the audience conundrum solver was Hazel Drury, contestant from series 73 and now an Apterite.

Tim Down

Matthew MacCabe won the first game after Robin McKay’s impressive octorun ended and now faces Alasdair Haines. C1: Champion Matthew MacCabe (1 win, 61 points.) A volunteer at a local advice centre in Magherafelt, Northern Ireland. A choir singer and a first dan black belt in jujutsu. C2: Challenger ...

Tim Down

Apterite Robin McKay is midway through a possible octorun and has performed very strongly so far. He plays Struan Charters today. C1: Champion Robin McKay (4 wins, 449 points.) An Apterite from Basingstoke. C2: Challenger Struan Charters. DC: Susie Dent and Michael Buerk. RR: Rachel Riley. OT: Other...

Tim Down

I had RAIDABLE and RIDABLE written down in round 13. Having decided RAIDABLE was too dodgy I should have declared RIDABLE (I didn't because I wasn't sure if it needed an E after the D); the 6 points from RIBALD were no use to me at all at that point.

Tim Down

Got 853 on third numbers with (100+75-7+4)*5-7 but missed 241 in the first numbers.

Tim Down

Been an odd series for me this, mainly because the recaps have nowhere near caught up yet. Pleasant surprise to see who the finalists are. Sorry. I'm the most behind but I'm intending to get Tuesdays up to date pretty soon. In my defence, there was a backlog when I started and Tuesday is rarely a C...

Tim Down

Last time I wrote a recap champion Tony Lock was earning his second win. Since then Tony has amassed just one more win because horses. C1: Champion Tony Lock (3 wins, 261 points.) A retired bank worker from Chalfont St Peter. A fisherman and Spurs fan. C2: Challenger Ian Newman. A retired millinery ...

Tim Down

I don't know if I fell asleep (which I doubt because this was a game to keep you awake), but did Phil Hammond have a slot today? It's normally after the second numbers isn't it? Anyway, great game - maybe somewhat spoilt by someone saying beforehand that they thought it was the best quarter final e...

Tim Down

Great game and a really high standard. Conrad did brilliantly to keep up with Paul's phenomenal level. I would've gone 4-large at the end there too but that's not really a surprise.

Alternative 203-based solution to last numbers: ((100 + 5) x 50 + 75) / 25

Tim Down

Femidom Chunderthrust wrote: I think that quote has literally been attributed to the wrong person.

Oops. Sorry. Fixed now.

Tim Down

sean d wrote:I see the OED has bowed to the stupidity of the general public by including a non-literal definition of literally....
1.1 (informal) Used for emphasis while not being literally true

Nice circular definition there. I'd say defining a word by using the word itself is a bad idea.

Tim Down

Secondly, No.6 Seed Tim "The Leamington Spa Lancer" Down - 8 Wins, 717 Points. (Average: 89.63) I initially misread this as "The Leamington Lap Dancer". Also, not Tim "The Count" Down?? Conundrum Points/Max/%: 20/80 (25%) I've tried to let this go and I'll probably wis...

Tim Down

I don't know if I fell asleep (which I doubt because this was a game to keep you awake), but did Phil Hammond have a slot today? It's normally after the second numbers isn't it? Anyway, great game - maybe somewhat spoilt by someone saying beforehand that they thought it was the best quarter final e...

Tim Down

C1: Champion Tony Lock (1 win, 90 points). A retired bank worker from Chalfont St Peter. A fisherman and Spurs fan. C2: Challenger Lee Williams. An outreach worker at the University of Sheffield. Plays football and is a Disney film fanatic. DC: Susie Dent and Greg Rusedski. RR: Rachel Riley. OT: Oth...

Tim Down

I wouldn't have seen GOUTINESS as its not a word that has come up enough for me to remember it. As a non-apterite I find that fascinating. You're actually saying that you've had this exact combination of letters on more than one occasion? Having spent about 25 seconds re-cycling -ING, OUT-, -EST, -...

Tim Down

I'm still curious as to what they're going to do about David Edgar, who failed to qualify for the finals solely on the basis of having OUTRANG disallowed when it was really OK. He would still be at the studios for the finals as the "reserve" #9 contestant if there is one, but as Tim has m...

Tim Down

Oh, and to use a Robbo-ism, WAHEY! The finals lineup is now determined. (Again, I'm assuming that someone in one of the spoilers threads would have warned us long ago if one of the expected finalists wasn't going to turn up.) Best of luck as ever to Paul, Robin, Ann, Conrad, Dave, Tim, Sean and Ton...

Tim Down

Screw it, you've swayed me. I'm re-adding THEORIKAS. Made the decision after I looked up one of the other inflected "also" forms that were discussed in Aptomail ("ALTERATE, also ALTERATED") and discovered that ALTERATEDED had in fact been added to aptodic. I had previously thoug...

Tim Down

It's Dave Costello's last game and he'll be hoping to finish as an octochamp. C1: Champion Dave Costello (7 wins, 621 points.) A pensions actuary from Bath. Enjoys riding his motorbike, running and badminton. C2: Challenger Thomas Wade, a student from Blackwood in Caerphilly. An avid gamer and cuber...

Tim Down

BUMHOLE also on Gogglebox yesterday.

Tim Down

Gavin Chipper wrote:I saw HORNLIKE in the last letters. Hyphenated though.

Me too. I was delighted to get TITMOUSE having missed it twice in the first game of my run.

Well done Robin, another great performance.

Tim Down

STEPSON in round 5 and OPERATIST in round 8. I was pretty pleased with those until I missed INCREASED.

Tim Down

Dave has already come through three crucial conundrums in his two wins so far and will probably be hoping for an easier game today against Ken Steed. C1: Champion Dave Costello (2 wins, 183 points.) A pensions actuary from Bath. Enjoys riding his motorbike, running and badminton. C2: Challenger Ken ...

Tim Down

Zarte Siempre wrote:
Tim Down wrote:I also had BUMHOLE in round 12 and was childishly pleased about it.
Did you manage to find a word at the same time?

Just BOX.

Tim Down

Ann Dibben has been sweeping aside all competition for 5 games now. How will today's challenger Neville Spiers get on? C1: Champion Ann Dibben (5 wins, 543 points). A company director from Haslemere, Surrey, and mum to 2-year-old Alice. C2: Challenger Neville Spiers, a business and property consulta...

Tim Down

Ciaran McCarthy wrote: I was wearing blue shirt when i was on recording....is it changed after 2014?

Not that I'm aware of. I wore several blue-ish shirts on the show, most recently the series finals in April. Perhaps shirts that closely match the colour of the set would be a problem.

Tim Down

ROUTINIST in round 1. I also had BUMHOLE in round 12 and was childishly pleased about it.

Tim Down

I've got the Wednesday and Thursday recaps, but luckily I only have 2 of each of those to do, as there weren't any, but I do have the April 5th one that Tim has missed, and I assume Sean is catching up as quick as possible. But, I certainly hope to be up to speed tomorrow. :D I did a skeleton one f...

Tim Down

Two good wins so far for Tom Coward, but how will he fare against Apterite Ann Dibben? C1: Champion Tom Coward (2 wins, 142 points.) From Finchley. Takes ballroom classes and plays hockey. C2: Challenger Ann Dibben. A company director from Haslemere, Surrey. Mum to 2 year old Alice.Trying to learn L...

Tim Down

He was seeded above Tim in the finals. In that case, they must have caught the mistake with PETTIES, which I believe was his only administrative error. I'm going to update his total on the main Series 74 wiki page accordingly. (The only other way he could have got above Tim is if they've now starte...

Tim Down

I'm running London Marathon in two weeks and then will be having a go at improving on 17:45 by the end of summer. I'm not convinced I'll find an extra 17 seconds though. I see from here that you got 2:57:19 in the London Marathon, so congratulations on that! I'd like to do a marathon one day and ma...

Tim Down

Sean has two wins and starts today's episode at Nick's prompting by talking about having eaten live termites and scorpions while in Southeast Asia. C1: Champion Sean Cooke (2 wins, 149 points.) From County Cork, plays American Football for Cork Admirals. C2: Challenger Heather Armstrong. A Chemistry...

Tim Down

SULFITE in FUGLIEST round.

Another great performance by Ann, congratulations to her.

Tim Down

James, want me to do 29th March next?

Tim Down

I'm happy to take it on for a while. To be honest, I don't know how much longer my Countdown obsession will last; now the series finals are recorded and that focus has abruptly been taken away, I'm finding it difficult to let go but at some point I imagine other things will start to become more impo...

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