c4countdown

Philip Wilson

When asked why a particular word isn't in the dictionary Susie replies 'it isn't used enough'. For me there's no reason why that shouldn't apply to foods. Sometimes the fact that a word isn't in the dictionary appears harsh, but at least we would all know where we are.

Philip Wilson

Quite like the new 30-minute series of 'Celebrity' Lingo on Wednesdays. I guess it depends on the celebrities involved but so far, so good, and I prefer the shorter version.

Providing they don't get the dummies they had on from Coronation Street this week! They were from a different planet ...

Philip Wilson

A bit cheeky having Zero as the first number with 4 letters in its name! (21/2/26).

Philip Wilson

Quite like the new 30-minute series of 'Celebrity' Lingo on Wednesdays. I guess it depends on the celebrities involved but so far, so good, and I prefer the shorter version.

Providing they don't get the dummies they had on from Coronation Street this week! They were from a different planet ...

Philip Wilson

Also CUSHION in round 4.

Philip Wilson

Quite like the new 30-minute series of 'Celebrity' Lingo on Wednesdays. I guess it depends on the celebrities involved but so far, so good, and I prefer the shorter version.

Philip Wilson

Think there was a bit of attempted 'cheating' on the edition shown on itv1 on February 21st! "Pressing the button without knowing 'all' the words and hoping to work it out by the time you get that far"! He got away with it the first time but not the second. Well done adjudicator!

Philip Wilson

Callum seems OK at the numbers but doing (100-3)-7×3 and 50x8+9×8, wasting a number each time seems like he's at full stretch, especially the 472 one where it was 59×8, and which he made look quite hard.

Thought that too, but then I made my 59 by doing 50+7+1+1 despite having a spare 8!
I did ...

Philip Wilson

The minuter / minutest thing came up again today, but it wasn't explicitly discussed. MINUTEST was given as a beater in one round, and then in the very next letters round minuter was offered by a contestant but rejected by Susie. It would have made sense for her to say at that point about the ...

Philip Wilson

The minuter / minutest thing came up again today, but it wasn't explicitly discussed. MINUTEST was given as a beater in one round, and then in the very next letters round minuter was offered by a contestant but rejected by Susie. It would have made sense for her to say at that point about the ...

Philip Wilson

It could come up in the very next round.

Indeed. Am I right in thinking a teaser solution did that once?

Almost happened to me here with TTT1 and R5. Not an invalid word, but an annoying miss even 12+ years later.

https://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_5780

Oh no..... I'm so sorry to ...

Philip Wilson

That first numbers could be done more easily with 75×8-7+100/25 = 597.

That's the way I did it too.

Me too. Also, absolutely no offence to anyone who might be reading this of course, but as the challenger had already beaten Megel with 4L in rounds 3 and 9, it did seem a strange decision ...

Philip Wilson

Gavin Chipper wrote: Sat Jan 03, 2026 4:11 pm
Philip Wilson wrote: Sat Jan 03, 2026 3:34 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: Sat Jan 03, 2026 2:07 pm It could come up in the very next round.

Indeed. Am I right in thinking a teaser solution did that once?
Maybe, probably not an invalid one though?

Probably not, but shows strange coincidences happen.

Philip Wilson

Gavin Chipper wrote: Sat Jan 03, 2026 2:07 pm It could come up in the very next round.

Indeed. Am I right in thinking a teaser solution did that once?

Philip Wilson

They've done it again. Another invalid comparative not specified in the dictionary goes unchecked by Dictionary Corner. 'Littler' is not listed and 'little' has 2 syllables, so as per Countdown rules 'littler' is invalid. It should be in the dictionary (littlest pet shop) but it isn't! Why ...

Philip Wilson

They've done it again. Another invalid comparative not specified in the dictionary goes unchecked by Dictionary Corner. 'Littler' is not listed and 'little' has 2 syllables, so as per Countdown rules 'littler' is invalid. It should be in the dictionary (littlest pet shop) but it isn't! Why does ...

Philip Wilson

Howie Myers wrote: Thu Dec 04, 2025 4:25 am r6 alt: 5*((4*25)-9)+6=461
r14 alt: (5-1)*((9*7)-6)+10=238

R14 the first way I tried worked: (5-1)*6*10-(9-7)

Philip Wilson

With a few exceptions I generally prefer members of the public over celebrities in game shows, and I thought it was good that all of those involved this evening were 'easy to watch'.

Philip Wilson

Great to see a new episode of this. Still think they give too many letters in the big prize rounds, although the first one wasn't easy even with L N R S T and E. Having said that, there can't be that many 3-letter animals with none of those letters in!

Philip Wilson

Simon Haigh wrote: Sun Nov 23, 2025 8:16 am r3 fell out rather nicely for me 100+(9*10)+(9*5) -1=234

I did it another different way, as Rachel's 26 x 9 but made the 26 by doing (5-1) x 9 - 10, so no large.

Philip Wilson

While discussing that particular numbers round, I would just like to say that I really like how Rachel continued both contestant's methods to arrive at the correct answer. This is much better imo than using a completely different method, which is what she sometimes does. As a viewer I think it is ...

Philip Wilson

The "minuter" thing has come up a few times before including very recently . 803 was doable by 8*100+3 btw. (9-5)*2*100+5-2=803

The annoying thing about it in this episode is that the contestant only declared 'minuter' as in someone who takes minutes. It was Colin who added 'minuter' as in ...

Philip Wilson

Philip A wrote: Fri Oct 24, 2025 5:07 pm I got the conundrum in one second, but unless you've been practising, it's actually not an easy word to unravel. Common word doesn't always mean it's dead easy for everyone. It's quite a party trick, doing anagrams.

I got it about the same time as Rachel did.

Philip Wilson

Gavin Chipper wrote: Tue Oct 21, 2025 10:50 pm They've got a team working on it. Unfortunately they're not - well there's not a word to describe what they're not.

Haha

Philip Wilson

Superteam has to be a valid single word soon I would have thought! (last letters round).

Philip Wilson

Googling 'is it an unlevel playing field or an uneven playing field?' leads to an interesting description. Maybe uneven is more accurate to describe an unfair situation, whereas unlevel is more literal to an actual unlevel field. To my mind uneven means bumpy, unlevel implies not flat but sloping in ...

Philip Wilson

Unlevel (x) is the most ridiculously disallowed word since Minuters (x)!

Philip Wilson

Gavin Chipper wrote: Fri Aug 15, 2025 2:16 pm First numbers - (25*10+10-9)*4-6 = 998

I did (25*10-(9-6))*4+10 = 998 but out of time

Philip Wilson

Fiona T wrote: Fri Aug 15, 2025 4:38 pm gorsiest as offered by DC does not appear to be valid either. No comparative/superlative specified for gorsy.

I had gorsiest disallowed at an event about 10 years ago now so was happy to see it now 'apparently' in - except it was a mistake!

Philip Wilson

Rhys Benjamin wrote: Tue Aug 12, 2025 1:18 pm Did Colin get dressed in the dark?

His shirt reminded me of the tablecloths in an Egyptian restaurant.

Philip Wilson

If ever a player deserved to be a finalist it was Angus. Great play from Brett. Seems like 4 large is gonna feature heavily in this series! Speaking of which, no 4-large tricks needed for R6.

2nd Numbers:
100 + 75 + (50/25 x 6) = 187; 187 x 5 = 935

That was the way I went

I decided it was ...

Philip Wilson

Any computer analysis will tell you that 2 large is the easiest selection, but for humans it can indeed be tricky because with 1 large there is an obvious first plan of attack whereas with 2 large it's not always obvious where to start.

It's the Lotus 77 of number selections.

Whereas it's a ...

Philip Wilson

Same as contestants who aren't strong at numbers going for 2 large thinking it might be easier.

Thought it was interesting a few days before this episode Amy (I think) did 'risk' 2 large, and Rachel implied it wasn't much of a risk. 2 large has always been my most difficult selection, so much ...

Philip Wilson

Just watched this episode and Susie implied that HOORAYS is valid as a verb and quoted 'to shout hurrah', if that helps! Agreed it isn't mentioned as a verb in the premium oed though.

Philip Wilson

I thought my last numbers solution was easier than Rachel's too:
(10 * 10 - 3) x 7 - (6 - 5) = 678

Had Faithless for the conundrum then spent ages trying to work out what letter I'd used wrongly!

Philip Wilson

John Garcia wrote: Mon Apr 21, 2025 3:35 pm R4 - DISUSED as alt 7
R11 - GAROTTING for 9

Colin led me to GAROTTING by asking Susie if you could have Grotting

Philip Wilson

Round 9
937 from 50 75 1 5 9 8
I did
(75-8)*(5+9)-1=937
What a moment happening to spot that within the time and Rachel never got it!! Bit of a fluke (happened to randomly remember that 67*14 sum for 938) but still have to enjoy those moments!

Know what you mean. Did it Gavin's way in the 30 ...

Philip Wilson

Re Colin's preferred term for Tony after OOW, I have him down as being more of a 'Geezer!'

I'm pretty sure I've had DONUTS rejected at some point.

Philip Wilson

Simon Haigh wrote: Sun Mar 30, 2025 7:41 am R9 alt: (10*10-2)*(7+1)+25=809

Must be from a different day? R9 was a 4L with a 6 & 4.

Philip Wilson

Howie Myers wrote: Fri Mar 21, 2025 5:16 am I missed the 9 in round 1 - even after pausng the game...........

Only had a 7 until they showed the champ having a drink which made me look harder and found it.....in the time btw

Philip Wilson

Just to mention that Susie is a guest on Love Your Weekend on itv1 atm, along with Sheila Ferguson.
They've had a quick introductory chat where a clip of them together in DC was shown and Richard hosting.

Philip Wilson

There's a rather fine line between PRALINES (praline chocolates) being valid, and NOUGATS x not.

Agree, and indeed the dictionary says so as indicated by [COUNT NOUN] in the ‘praline’ page and this not being the case for ‘nougat’.

This is why some regular fans are calling for the restaurant ...

Philip Wilson

There's a rather fine line between PRALINES (praline chocolates) being valid, and NOUGATS x not.

Philip Wilson

There really should be a penalty incurred when, on a 5-letter lingo, letters 2, 3, 4 & 5 were all orange but still nobody could solve it! I know there's the pressure of being on tv and that, but this was bordering on questioning whether some of today's contestants were even auditioned!

Philip Wilson

New series, filmed in 2023, will commence on 6th January 2025. In a change to the format, winners can now return for the next edition and stay on for a maximum of 3 shows.

I've noticed recently that Radio Times, rather spoilerifically, sometimes lists the names of all 3 pairs in a particular ...

Philip Wilson

Tonight's final game was probably the first tricky one so far, specially the first word!

Philip Wilson

I also agree with Philip A about the commenting on promising selections, and with Ian that it also applies to numbers games. Seeing the 'co-host' standing at the board after 5 seconds having obviously solved it (unless it's obviously an easy one) doesn't help! In fact it makes it worse because I ...

Philip Wilson

Fair points, although with the various rounds - starters, normal rounds, common word, linked words etc, it doesn't 'feel' like it's on for an hour - which I have to say, some game shows do, to their detriment! I like that it is fast-moving and we get straight on with it.

I guess with automation it ...

Philip Wilson

I also agree with Philip A about the commenting on promising selections, and with Ian that it also applies to numbers games. Seeing the 'co-host' standing at the board after 5 seconds having obviously solved it (unless it's obviously an easy one) doesn't help! In fact it makes it worse because I ...

Philip Wilson

Anyone else really like this? Much better with the general public but fun to play along!

Philip Wilson

Gavin Chipper wrote: Wed Dec 04, 2024 9:07 am
Round 6 in the time:

(50-3)×(10+7)+25-5=819.

It 'was' possible as a multiple of 7 too, but out of time.

(25x5)-(50/10+3)x7=819

Philip Wilson

Anyone else spot a quick glimpse of the 4th numbers selection during round 3? Just saying

Philip Wilson

Think today was the first game where, if it had been played earlier in the series, would have had a different outcome.

minuter x was one of the words that the current #1 seed declared.

(note - it is still valid on aperous - slipped through the net on the dictionary purge! MINUTEST is specified ...

Philip Wilson

Philip A wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2024 12:11 pm R2 is proof that everyday words can still be found out of the maximum of 5 vowels; well found by the champion.

I thought the challenger had spotted it and was fishing for the A when he chose a fifth vowel. But no.

Philip Wilson

R3 alt: (75 - 10) x (9 - 5) - 9 = 251
R9 alt: 25 x 9 + 7 x 8 = 281

Philip Wilson

Yes, a very good game.

I find it helps to break the target figure down like so:

896 / 8 = 112

112 / 4 = 28

28 = 4 * 7

Therefore,

4 * 4 * 7 * 8 = 896

That’s four of the six cards drawn.

I use the bus stop method.

I started the same way but then did
112 / 2 = 56
56 / 7 = 8 (4 + 4)

Great ...

Philip Wilson

Pretty unlucky for Alex to come across Arthur like that. It's been a month since Jessica Pratesi octoed and Alex could have probably won any eight consecutive games since then until today.

Is it just being unlucky though? Colin said it was the luck of the draw too, but it seems common for ...

Philip Wilson

Eastings too in r7

Philip Wilson

Presume something happened to cause Jessica to have to go back another day for her 8th game. Might have believed they just changed guest in the afternoon if Colin's beard hadn't appeared :-)

One of the scheduled contestants didn't turn up, and they had already used their standby for that block ...

Philip Wilson

Presume something happened to cause Jessica to have to go back another day for her 8th game. Might have believed they just changed guest in the afternoon if Colin's beard hadn't appeared

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