Thursday 8th July 2021 (Series 84, Preliminary 9)

[Rhys Benjamin]

Annedown IX. Football's coming home. Countdown's had 5 crucials in a row. Will Carlos be dressed up like a children's entertainer again? We will see! Also, the cricket's on, with England making 11 changes due to Covid but still totally dominating.

Countdown recap for Thursday 8 July 2021.

Anne's wearing her promo outfit and tells us the kids will be breaking off school soon.

C1: Champion Carlos Da Silva (1 win, 94 points.) As yesterday's outfit but with a cream blazer rather than a red one... make an effort.
C2: Challenger Laura Savvas. A sports journalist. Also a Special Constable for Merseyside Police at Uni. "A hobby bobby."
DC: Susie Dent and Grace Dent. Grace demonstrates her hair by demonstrating a technique known in political circles as "the invisible tits".
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: W P U E N L A M N
R02: S W A T I O K S U
R03: 100, 10, 2, 7, 4, 6. Target: 927.
TTT: SANKARAM - "It's not American motor racing, it's an Indian greeting."
R04: R T M A E R A N O
R05: H C T O E L A P F
R06: 50, 5, 7, 3, 6, 6. Target: 231.
R07: I O O R Z D I L Y
R08: D T S U O H E A S
R09: 50, 25, 100, 7, 9, 4. Target: 526.
TTT: DOLLRACE - "Was the man arrested for stealing neckwear?"
R10: B L E I D R E G A
R11: P C S L A E I T S
R12: B R R E U P I O N
R13: D G S O A E T A G
R14: 100, 8, 2, 3, 9, 7. Target: 460.
R15: I N T O L O C A L (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: W P U E N L A M N

Carlos: PLANE (5)
Laura: unpeal (misspelling of UNPEEL)
DC: LAWMEN (6)
OT: UNPENAL (7)
Score: 5–0 (max 7, jos 6)
Darren-o-meter: 1/1 (100%)

Carlos takes an early lead with Laura thinking UNPEEL has an A in it.

Round 2: S W A T I O K S U

Carlos: -
Laura: SWATS (5)
DC: TOWAIS (6)
OT: KIASUS (6) KUSTIS (6) KWAITO (6) OUSIAS (6) OUTSAW (6) TAIKOS (6) WAISTS (6)
Score: 5–5 (max 13, jos 12)
Darren-o-meter: 1/2 (50%)

Do you think SWASTIKA would have been bleeped out if we had another A? Carlos draws a blank which brings Laura level.

Round 3: 100, 10, 2, 7, 4, 6. Target: 927.

Carlos: 936.
Laura: 927. (100 − 4 × 2) × 10 + 7 (10)
Score: 5–15 (max 23, jos 22)

And Laura takes the lead for the first time today with this fairly easy numbers round.

Teatime teaser: SANKARAM -> NAMASKAR

Round 4: R T M A E R A N O

Carlos: MOANER (6) (possibly, risky)
Laura: - (risky 6; used O twice)
DC: AERONAT (7)
OT: EMANATOR (8)
Score: 11–15 (max 31, jos 29)
Darren-o-meter: 2/3 (67%)

Is Laura deliberately saying "continent"? She uses the O twice and thus decides not to declare her word. Carlos's "possibly a risky 6" is valid.

Round 5: H C T O E L A P F

Carlos: CHAPEL (6)
Laura: CHAPEL (6)
DC: CAPLET (6) FOETAL (6) POLECAT (7)
OT: AFLOCHT (7) CHAPLET (7) EPOCHAL (7)
Score: 17–21 (max 38, jos 36)
Darren-o-meter: 2/4 (50%)

The gap stays at four as both contestants have the same six.

Round 6: 50, 5, 7, 3, 6, 6. Target: 231.

Carlos: 230.
Laura: 231. 50 × 5 − (7 + 6 + 6) (10)
Score: 17–31 (max 48, jos 46)

Once again, Carlos's numbers let him down, and the lead extends to 14.

Grace talks about where her journalism career started, at Marie Claire. Anne asks if she was a fashion journalist... as opposed to...?

Round 7: I O O R Z D I L Y

Carlos: OOZILY (6) (risk)
Laura: DOOR (4)
OT: RODIZIO (7)
Score: 23–31 (max 55, jos 52)
Darren-o-meter: 3/5 (60%)

Carlos oozes back into the game as Laura can only see four from a horrid selection.

Round 8: D T S U O H E A S

Carlos: SHOUTED (7)
Laura: SHOUTED (7)
OT: STOUSHED (8)
Score: 30–38 (max 63, jos 59)
Darren-o-meter: 4/6 (67%)

SHOUTED is all the studio sees, and the gap stays at 8 points.

Round 9: 50, 25, 100, 7, 9, 4. Target: 526.

Carlos: 525. (9 − 4) × 100 + 25​ (7)
Laura: 525. 50 × 9 + 100 − 25 (7)
RR: 526. (7 + 4) × (50 − 9) + 100 − 25​ (10)
Score: 37–45 (max 73, jos 69)

Carlos finally scores on a numbers round: it's up to Rachel to show us how to get the missing one. There's some very strange jump cut edits here, suggesting that she took a while to get it.

Teatime teaser: DOLLRACE -> COLLARED

Round 10: B L E I D R E G A

Carlos: baldier (try)
Laura: GLARED (6)
DC: RIDEABLE (8) GARBLED (7)
OT: GABELIER (8) REBAILED (8)
Score: 37–51 (max 81, jos 77)
Darren-o-meter: 4/7 (57%)

Carlos falls foul of the two-syllable rule, and Dictionary Corner gets one of the eights.

Round 11: P C S L A E I T S

Carlos: PLASTICS (8) (try)
Laura: SPECIALS (8) (risky)
DC: ELASTICS** (8) SPACIEST (8)
OT: ALPISTES (8) ESCAPIST (8) PELICATS (8) SCALIEST (8) SLIPCASE (8)
Score: 45–59 (max 89, jos 85)
Darren-o-meter: 4/8 (50%)

I don't think ELASTICS should be valid, ELASTIC is only given as a mass noun and adjective. I'm surprised about that, because it's very, VERY plausible. Apterous likes it, but I have opened a ticket on it...

Susie talks about quick, not just the word in and of itself, but also a prefix (quicksand etc.)

Round 12: B R R E U P I O N

Carlos: ROPIER (6) (stick with)
Laura: BURNER (6)
DC: PORNIER (7)
OT: PREBORN (7) PRONEUR (7)
Score: 51–65 (max 96, jos 92)
Darren-o-meter: 4/9 (44%)

I'm here to tell you that PORNIER, I'm afraid, is exactly what it says on the tin. More pornographic.

Round 13: D G S O A E T A G

Carlos: DOTAGES (7) (risk)
Laura: STAGED (6)
OT: DOGATES (7) GADGETS (7) GEODATA (7) GEOTAGS (7) STAGGED (7) STOGGED (7)
Score: 58–65 (max 103, jos 99)
Darren-o-meter: 4/10 (40%)

DOTAGES is a risk and it's a strange plural, granted, but it is valid. And yet, ELASTICS isn't. #ODOout

Round 14: 100, 8, 2, 3, 9, 7. Target: 460.

Carlos: -
Laura: -
RR: 460. (100 − 8) × (7 − 2) (10)
Score: 58–65 (max 113, jos 109)

A double blank gives Rachel an easy set-up for the 10 points, and it's six crucial conundrums in a row...!

Round 15: I N T O L O C A L

Carlos buzzes on 0.25 seconds to say "er......... COURGETTE" which is incorrect.
Laura does not buzz.
Susie gives the answer, which was COLLATION.
Final Score: 58–65 (max 123, jos 119)

Carlos either misreads it or Hansfords the conundrum, and COURGETTE goes down as a scramble on a par with GANDISEEG from ELITEBOUT, with just 3 common letters (thanks Sam C-L, I can't count). Laura doesn't buzz - she doesn't need to, I suppose - and it's left to Susie to tell us the answer.

So with the teapot store being raided again, Laura will be back tomorrow. Join us again for Countdown. Goodbye.


Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=84

[Philip A]

ELASTICS given in two example sentences:

‘In a drawer in the nightstand there was a brush and many hair elastics.

‘Stretch the elastics quickly and touch them to your lips.’

[Sam Cappleman-Lynes]

COURGETTE goes down as the joint-second-worst guess of all time with just two letters in common with the scramble.

I count 3.

[Countdown Team]

Jump-cut edits?
There's nothing wrong with it. The camera stays on RR all the time when she gives her answer.
Feel free to elaborate.....

[Rhys Benjamin]

My mistake, Sam, I can't count.

@Countdown Team - I mean when we cut to Anne, then cut back to Rachel. It looked like Rachel had moved very quickly in the one second we'd cut to Anne. She also didn't directly reply to Anne's question as she normally does, instead starting with "if you say..." whereas she normally begins "yes, it was there", "I did find one way", etc. before saying "if you say".

It suggests that there was a chunk edited out and she did not get it immediately, that's all.

Maybe I'm seeing things, but it's timestamp 20:59 on All4.

[Countdown Team]

@Countdown Team - I mean when we cut to Anne, then cut back to Rachel. It looked like Rachel had moved very quickly in the one second we'd cut to Anne. She also didn't directly reply to Anne's question as she normally does, instead starting with "if you say..." whereas she normally begins "yes, it was there", "I did find one way", etc. before saying "if you say".

It suggests that there was a chunk edited out and she did not get it immediately, that's all.

Maybe I'm seeing things, but it's timestamp 20:59 on All4.

Okay - when you say she'd moved very quickly..... when she finished the contestants solution, her head was directly in between the 50 and 25 tiles, and when Anne throws back to her, her head is still directly between the 50 and 25 tiles, meaning she's barely moved a centimeter. Not sure what you're seeing at your end TBH.

[Ian Volante]

No idea why you think 'swastika' might be bleeped. Getting woke in your old age?

[Rhys Benjamin]

It's Channel 4, so it wouldn't surprise me, that's all.

[Ian Volante]

It's Channel 4, so it wouldn't surprise me, that's all.

Surely it's even less likely on that channel than the others, if you can get less than minuscule.