c4countdown

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 asymmetry of the situation and tie the rounds together in some way. But it's like they happened weeks apart. See previous discussion.

Gavin Chipper wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 4:21 pm 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 asymmetry of the situation and tie the rounds together in some way. But it's like they happened weeks apart. See previous discussion.

It’s bloody annoying, isn’t it?

TOHUNGA in R10

ARSEHOLE as a R2 equaller

A bit surprised that HANGOUT isn't valid

Howie Myers wrote: Wed Jan 14, 2026 2:26 pm A bit surprised that HANGOUT isn't valid

Yes, it is surprising, especially when considering DUGOUT is one word.

In one context, ‘hang out’ is two words and in another, ‘hang-out’ it’s hyphenated. No one word entry in ODP at all.

One of those where only experienced Apterites would go for its correct anagram, TOHUNGA.

I think the hyphen is slightly less prevalent in America.

Gavin Chipper wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 4:21 pm 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 asymmetry of the situation and tie the rounds together in some way. But it's like they happened weeks apart. See previous discussion.

At least on this occasion it was nice to see Mark in DC saying in a very definite way what a 'minuter' is and that the situation needs to change. I believe in the past Susie just says something along the lines of 'it's not in unfortunately', not even acknowledging what the word might even mean. I remember the same spelling meaning 'smaller' Was briefly discussed by Colin once, but that's not the word the argument is about.

Philip Wilson wrote: Fri Jan 30, 2026 9:39 am

Gavin Chipper wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 4:21 pm 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 asymmetry of the situation and tie the rounds together in some way. But it's like they happened weeks apart. See previous discussion.

At least on this occasion it was nice to see Mark in DC saying in a very definite way what a 'minuter' is and that the situation needs to change. I believe in the past Susie just says something along the lines of 'it's not in unfortunately', not even acknowledging what the word might even mean. I remember the same spelling meaning 'smaller' Was briefly discussed by Colin once, but that's not the word the argument is about.

Well it's about both really because a contestant is essentially just declaring a string of letters so if either meaning/pronunciation is valid then the word is OK, however they pronounce it.

Gavin Chipper wrote: Fri Jan 30, 2026 12:56 pm

Philip Wilson wrote: Fri Jan 30, 2026 9:39 am

Gavin Chipper wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 4:21 pm 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 asymmetry of the situation and tie the rounds together in some way. But it's like they happened weeks apart. See previous discussion.

At least on this occasion it was nice to see Mark in DC saying in a very definite way what a 'minuter' is and that the situation needs to change. I believe in the past Susie just says something along the lines of 'it's not in unfortunately', not even acknowledging what the word might even mean. I remember the same spelling meaning 'smaller' Was briefly discussed by Colin once, but that's not the word the argument is about.

Well it's about both really because a contestant is essentially just declaring a string of letters so if either meaning/pronunciation is valid then the word is OK, however they pronounce it.

True, but I wouldn't object so much if the 'comparison' meaning wasn't specified. Although even that doesn't add up when the superlative is valid!

Gavin Chipper wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 4:21 pm 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 asymmetry of the situation and tie the rounds together in some way. But it's like they happened weeks apart. See previous discussion.

Agreed. Two further things I'd like to know:

• Are there any other adjectives like this - superlative but no comparative or vice versa?
• How is this bizarre fact notated in the actual dictionary?

Stewart Gordon wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2026 1:30 pm

Gavin Chipper wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 4:21 pm 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 asymmetry of the situation and tie the rounds together in some way. But it's like they happened weeks apart. See previous discussion.

Agreed. Two further things I'd like to know:

• Are there any other adjectives like this - superlative but no comparative or vice versa?
• How is this bizarre fact notated in the actual dictionary?

In my print dictionary it's simply
minute adjective (minutest) extremely small
I've never come across any others.
With all of these it's not really that one is right and the other is wrong. They just specify which usage is the more common. If it's 50/50, who knows?

David Williams wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2026 2:57 pm

Stewart Gordon wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2026 1:30 pm

Gavin Chipper wrote: Tue Jan 13, 2026 4:21 pm 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 asymmetry of the situation and tie the rounds together in some way. But it's like they happened weeks apart. See previous discussion.

Agreed. Two further things I'd like to know:

• Are there any other adjectives like this - superlative but no comparative or vice versa?
• How is this bizarre fact notated in the actual dictionary?

In my print dictionary it's simply
minute adjective (minutest) extremely small
I've never come across any others.
With all of these it's not really that one is right and the other is wrong. They just specify which usage is the more common. If it's 50/50, who knows?

I think David is right: minuter is simply not used enough.

I too don’t know of any other instances of the comparative not being in and the superlative being in, but it is what it is. FTR, most (but not all) definitions in the online Oxford dictionaries are identical to the print ones.

Also - just remember Susie can’t explain absolutely everything, otherwise they would have to do lots of re-takes. There simply isn’t enough time.

Countdown is on for 35 minutes, not 35 hours, and they have lots of shows to do, so they can’t possibly say everything correctly. TV doesn’t work that way, so it’s inevitable that mistakes will happen in cuts. That’s showbiz.

We've discussed all this before. MINUTEST is in as its own thing for emphasis when something is really small. It's not there as superlative, even if it happens to take that form. (It's arguably a bizarre stance but that's why they've skipped the comparative.)

As for the not enough time thing, it doesn't stack up at all. There's loads of time for other explanations, some of which we've heard before. We're talking about oversights that happen maybe once or twice a month. They're oversights.

It's also a bit like MERER, MEREST. No-one ever says MERER but it's just valid because MERE is one syllable.

David Williams wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2026 2:57 pmThey just specify which usage is the more common. If it's 50/50, who knows?

That makes no sense. Why does the dictionary have to give one xor the other? Normally we expect both the comparative and the superlative to be in if either is.

Philip A wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2026 3:05 pmAlso - just remember Susie can’t explain absolutely everything

So what? This doesn't mean she has to say absolutely nothing about it.