c4countdown

We’ve all heard about the words that regularly crop up on Countdown, such as LEOTARD, GOITRED, DACOITS etc. However, how often do contestants come up with a word that is unique to Countdown, having never previously been declared before?

I’ve just checked Wiki against some of the words I declared in my Countdown appearances. The following were all winning words in the letters rounds that do not seem to have been used before in the 30 year history of Countdown:

6 March 2013 – Round 7 – OAKIEST http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_5657
6 March 2013 – Round 8 – DUMPIEST http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_5657
6 March 2013 – Round 13 – GOURAMIS http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_5657
7 March 2013 – Round 6 – PROMISEE http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_5658

Having played 4 games, that’s an average of 1.0 silver pencil per game.

I also thought ANDISOL might have a chance (6 March 2013 – Round 4). However, it seems this has been declared once before – by Charlie Reams against Junaid Mubeen in Round 11 of the Series 59 Grand final on 12 December 2008. http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_4732

What other silver pencils did former contestants manage to get whilst on Countdown?

Interesting question. Just had a sweeping look at mine...

For the record, I'm including words I got as maxes that have never been declared before on TV (irrespective of maxes or not, but contestants only), so things like FRIAR and EDIFY miss out. I was first to declare those as a max but they've been played before.

G1: AGONISTIC UPROOT POTENCY
G2: CONGEE QUEENIEST OCTUPLET VAPOURED TURIONS
G3: MEATUSES CRENULATE
G4: LONICERA UNROPED TAUTOGS LOERIE
G5: HIDALGO DUENNAS LEAKIER
G6: none!
G7: ADIOSES ISOBUTANE
G8: CAESIUM SUSTAINED SERENATA OVERFINE

4 April 2003 - Round 7 - COBBLED http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_3454 (Jointly with Ian Buckley, so not quite a winner. )
21 April 2009 – Round 6 – NEUTRINO http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_4800. (I actually only learnt that word a couple of days before I recorded this show, as I was looking up the Wiki on this game: http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_S20. That was literally just a couple of days after I found the Wiki site. )
22 April 2009 - Round 6 - RANTINGS http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_4801 (Interestingly, it wasn't the first time it had been declared on the show, but in the previous attempt, it wasn't in the dictionary................. http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_1689)
22 April 2009 - Round 8 - FOAMLESS http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_4801 (I'd even forgotten that Neil Zussman had missed it just weeks earlier )

Quite surprised by that in honesty

Here are mine, I've included every word which I got as a max which had never been declared as a max by a contestant before. I've put those that have been declared as non-maxes before in italics and words with an asterisk are those that my opponent got too.

Prelim 1: None
Prelim 2: FOIST, NEUROMA, ATROPINE
Prelim 3: MOCKER*, INDURATES (Surprisingly, this was only the second time the word had come up on the show, with the other time being in Series 65. This makes me wonder if the word is a fairly recent addition.)
Prelim 4: HANDOUT, LOGGED* (HANDOUT had been declared on the show before but it was disallowed. Had it not been, it would have been a max. http://www.wiki.apterous.org/Episode_530)
Prelim 5: SLEAZING
Prelim 6: None
Prelim 7: OUTSIZE
Prelim 8: MASHED, LORIMERS
QF: PATROONS, ATRIUM
SF: MOTIONS*, TRIAGES
Final: None
30BCR1: IODATES (Andy Platt's had it as a max since), ENFILADE*, POOJA, DAIMIOS*, BORANES*
30BCR2: RUDDIES, OUTGO, ROSALINE, CURBED
30BCQF: IDEOGRAM*, OSPREYS, DISABUSE* (unique), JONESING*

That's 28 in total, averaging two a game. If you exclude the words in italics, that's 23.

This looks fun:

Prelim 1: PORTIERE; HEPTAGON; FORAGERS (I also had STRAYS, MEMOIR and COLLUDE here, but they weren't maxes.)
Prelim 2: ANORTHITE (only time it's ever been on the show );
Prelim 3: PENDANTS; TONNEAU
Prelim 4: GENITOR; FIELDSMAN (another only-timer ); INSOURCE; ALLURED
Prelim 5: OPERATIC; TAMBOTIE (still have no idea how I knew this word); RUMINATE (DEPLORE was a first, but wasn't a max)
Prelim 6: INUNDATES (another only-timer)
Prelim 7: POLEWARD (this was on a show of mine 2 days before, and was only the 3rd (and then 4th) time it's been on!); REVOKES; ENTRESOL; PTOMAINES
Prelim 8: MANNOSE; VERMINOUS
Quarter-Final: IMAMATE; VIRAGOES; TOTALISED (CENSURE was a first, but wasn't a max)
Semi-Final: SEMINARS (CONCEAL and TORULAE were firsts, but weren't maxes.)
Grand Final: SNEEZE; POETICAL

So that's 26 pencils in 11 games (and an additional 7 that were first-declarations but not maxes). This has been a great morale booster!

None in my first game.
None in my second either!
Two in game 3: CRAZIES and LOONIEST (check out the maturity on me)
One in game 4: SCAMPER
One in game 5: SPROUTED, two with CARNAGE depending on how you interpret round 6 of this game
4- as many as the previous 5 games put together- in game 6: PESETA, BRISTLED (still unique!), BAWDIEST, GORGERS (also unique!)
Sod all in my QF.
One in my SF- RIVULETS (still, in my mind, my best-ever on-screen spot)
Two in the Final- FRISSON and the ever-controversial BONNIES.
Four in c of c round 1- SLOUCHED, MOSHING, GODETIAS and ELONGATE (shared with my opponent) (would also have had WARMEST if it hadn't been snatched a couple of months earlier by someone reasonably skilled at the game
Two in c of c round 2- FACETIOUS (shared with my opponent) and MARBLED
And, somehow, three in my 30BC game (despite there being over 2200 games since my previous appearance)- STOTTY, HOAGIES (shared) and CAPSULES.

So, 20 (or 21) out of 12 games. Can be relatively happy with that.

An honourable mention to the words "pencilled" by my opponents that I didn't get:

Barry Williams (P4): TOADY
Abi Maher (P6): GADDING, KINETICS (unique appearance)
Alan Paterson (P8): POTENCE, also thought LAXATIVE would be but it's been spotted before.
Peter Lee (SF): DOUBLERS
Jonathan Rawlinson (GF): NOONERS
Graeme Cole (30BCR1): PUKIEST
Jon O'Neill (30BCQF): DRUPELET (unique appearance), OBELIAS, SWIPERS (amazingly a unique appearance too, could be a recent addition).

My Countdown pencils. These were words I got as maxes which had not previously been offered as maxes. * means the pencil was shared with my opponent.

Game 1: RECOMBINE*, EUCHRING, PINATA, LORICATE
Game 2: SPATE, BRUSHES*, UNROLL, CAUDATE
Game 3: POETISES
Game 4: MAHOUTS, POKIES
Game 5: CARIOUS, COME, GRAINIEST
Game 6: NURSEMAID, URBANISE
Game 7: TIGHTS, MODISTE
Game 8: TROIKA, HEAPED
Quarter-final: DOMICAL, DRAGLINES, BORAGES, JAPANS, UNCRATE
Semi-final: NEARED, EXHAUST, BORGATE, OCCULTED
Final: WORRISOME*, CUTOVER
Special against Ed: TENURIAL*, INGROWN, ADIPATES, IMAGINER
30BC against Jack: ENFILADE*, DAIMIOS*, PUKIEST, BORANES*

Graeme Cole wrote:My Countdown pencils. These were words I got as maxes which had not previously been offered as maxes. * means the pencil was shared with my opponent.

Game 1: RECOMBINE*, EUCHRING, PINATA, LORICATE
Game 2: SPATE, BRUSHES*, UNROLL, CAUDATE
Game 3: POETISES
Game 4: MAHOUTS, POKIES
Game 5: CARIOUS, COME, GRAINIEST
Game 6: NURSEMAID, URBANISE
Game 7: TIGHTS, MODISTE
Game 8: TROIKA, HEAPED
Quarter-final: DOMICAL, DRAGLINES, BORAGES, JAPANS, UNCRATE
Semi-final: NEARED, EXHAUST, BORGATE, OCCULTED
Final: WORRISOME*, CUTOVER
Special against Ed: TENURIAL*, INGROWN, ADIPATES, IMAGINER
30BC against Jack: ENFILADE*, DAIMIOS*, PUKIEST, BORANES*

Very interesting, would have though NEARED would have been declared as a max before S65!

All very interesting. Goes to show that there's a lot of available pencils out there.