Spoilers For Friday October 1st 2010

[James Robinson]

Well, we've now entered October and amazingly we could still have our 3rd consecutive octochamp on Wednesday, as Heather Driver has survived a four-way onslaught from the other challengers Can she complete the full set

Mike will be around with all your answers later.

[Matt Morrison]

Can anyone putter in her place?

[Ryan Taylor]

I'd like to Ryder.

[Matt Morrison]

Ryan's penis has got a growth disorder.

[Stewart Gordon]

The ODE says "sauna" is Latin? It was Finnish when I went there. Various online dictionaries claim it's Finnish as well.

[Peter Mabey]

The word was FAUNAE

[Helen James]

Round 9 - PIONEER for 7

[Jojo Apollo]

Unlucky Heather, a very good sport.

[JackHurst]

URETERAL as a beater. Thought pontines was another too, but its not in.

[Ryan Taylor]

URETERAL as a beater. Thought pontines was another too, but its not in.

Think the legend that is Innis Carson went for this on the show.

Pontines, that is.

[Kirk Bevins]

URETERAL as a beater. Thought pontines was another too, but its not in.

Think the legend that is Innis Carson went for this on the show.

Pontines, that is.

Yup, pontine adj, tontine noun, from memory.

[Innis Carson]

Indeed, an example of how learning the meanings of words can help you play better (and look less of an idiot).

[Kirk Bevins]

Indeed, an example of how learning the meanings of words can help you play better (and look less of an idiot).

Well no. Just learn what I did above and it's nothing to do with meanings.

[Conor]

Indeed, an example of how learning the meanings of words can help you play better (and look less of an idiot).

Well no. Just learn what I did above and it's nothing to do with meanings.

Necessary and sufficient, I think. Also, meanings are useful when determining whether a sensible plural exists for a [mass noun].

[JackHurst]

Indeed, an example of how learning the meanings of words can help you play better (and look less of an idiot).

Well no. Just learn what I did above and it's nothing to do with meanings.

I think learning meanings is good, If I have trouble remembering a word sometimes looking up the definition helps. A good example is MEDULLA, which I was struggling to remember, getting it mixed up with possibilities such as mulleda and mudella. When I looked up the definition and saw the phrase MEDULLA OBLONGATA^, which was a phrase I remembered from a film, the correct orders of the letters was immediately embedded in my brain.

[Kirk Bevins]

When I looked up the definition and saw the phrase MEDULLA OBLONGATA^, which was a phrase I remembered from a film, the correct orders of the letters was immediately embedded in my brain.

So you didn't know the meaning, you just looked up the word to help you remember the pattern of letters. I have done that before but the meaning isn't necessary - when I learnt to spell "weird" I didn't look it up in a dictionary, I wrote it down 10 times. Nowadays I just write it down a maximum of once and commit the pattern of letters to memory.

[Innis Carson]

Clearly if that works for you then there's no arguing with that, but I think for many people it would be easier to get inflections right by associating a meaning with a word and working it out logically from there (as you would do naturally) than by painstakingly memorising "verb/adjective/noun/etc." for each word without any context at all.

[Kirk Bevins]

than by painstakingly memorising "verb/adjective/noun/etc." for each word without any context at all.

How is that painstaking? It's not difficult to remember ORDINATE is a noun, regardless of its definition. Trying to remember its definition may be more difficult and in some cases it's really hard to understand what the dictionary is trying to say!

[Jon Corby]

than by painstakingly memorising "verb/adjective/noun/etc." for each word without any context at all.

How is that painstaking? It's not difficult to remember ORDINATE is a noun, regardless of its definition. Trying to remember its definition may be more difficult and in some cases it's really hard to understand what the dictionary is trying to say!

Apparently there are other arenas beyond Countdown where these collections of letters, or "words" as they are sometimes called, can also be used.

Improving your vocabulary = win

[Kirk Bevins]

Apparently there are other arenas beyond Countdown where these collections of letters, or "words" as they are sometimes called, can also be used.

Improving your vocabulary = win

Well, obviously, but that wasn't what we were discussing.

[Charlie Reams]

Apparently there are other arenas beyond Countdown where these collections of letters, or "words" as they are sometimes called, can also be used.

Crosswords, Scrabble...

[Jon Corby]

Apparently there are other arenas beyond Countdown where these collections of letters, or "words" as they are sometimes called, can also be used.

Crosswords, Scrabble...

Hex quiz machines