Countdown | Thursday 26th July 2018 | Episode 6875
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00:00This programme contains strong language and adult humour.
00:20APPLAUSE
00:32Good afternoon and welcome to the Countdown studio
00:35and a particularly happy day.
00:38Indeed, a birthday, a 75th birthday for the great Mick Jagger.
00:42Sir Mick Jagger. What a guy.
00:45He's been running with the Stones for, I don't know, in the early 60s.
00:48And they're still at it, still drawing. He's amazing.
00:51I don't know what it is about today's date, because apart from Mick Jagger,
00:55here are some other people sharing his birthday.
00:58None other than Helen Mirren, Sandra Bullock, remember her?
01:01Jeremy Piven and Stormzy.
01:04Do you know Stormzy? Well, I've been told about Stormzy,
01:07but that's all I know. He's got a funny spelling to his name.
01:10Has he got a first name, Stormzy? I don't know.
01:13What is he, a climber? Oh, you'd have to check...
01:16I wouldn't know the definition, but, yeah, he's a musician.
01:19Now, do I share a birthday with anybody of note?
01:22A few.
01:24I looked them up. Ed Sheeran, good. Good.
01:27Got to be proud about that. Michael Jordan.
01:30Rebecca Adlington. Right.
01:33And how about Paris Hilton?
01:36Now, who wouldn't want to share a birthday with Paris Hilton?
01:39I could imagine the joint birthday party. What about you?
01:42Who do you share your birthday with?
01:44I share mine with Brian Robson... Yes.
01:47..Emil Hersky, Jamie Vardy and Ashley Taylor Dawson.
01:51I shall just remain inordinately proud of Paris Hilton.
01:56Who's here? Bob Lantis here. How are you, Bob?
01:59Fine, thank you, Nick.
02:01You dealt with... You took a big scalp yesterday
02:04with Brian Harrison, who had already won three times.
02:08So, well done. Thank you.
02:10Chris Kilbride, a retired teacher from Norsel in Cornwall.
02:14Welcome. Thank you.
02:16And you've always said, since you've been a teacher, I think,
02:19you were in IT and then you switched to teaching.
02:22That's right. I was about 40. I thought I needed a change.
02:25And now you've retired and you like to go bird-walking and walking.
02:29Walking, bird-watching at the same time, yeah.
02:32What have you seen that's special down there in the south-west?
02:35A couple of years ago I saw a glossy ibis.
02:37Oh, really? No less, yeah.
02:39A rare thing. What was it doing down there?
02:41I don't know. I think it was lost because it normally comes from North Africa.
02:45Oh, right. It was a bit out of the way, yeah.
02:47It got confused. It was very confused.
02:49Well, I hope it got home safely. I hope so.
02:51All right. Listen, good luck to you both. Thank you.
02:54Good luck. Big round of applause for Bob and Chris.
02:57APPLAUSE
03:00I'll go from the corner.
03:01Susie's there once again, joined by sports reporter and presenter
03:04John Inverdale. Welcome back, John. Hello, Nick.
03:07APPLAUSE
03:11Now, Bob, let's get down to business.
03:14It's a letters game, Bob.
03:16Hello, Rachel. Hi, Bob. Consonant, please.
03:18Thank you. Start today with D.
03:21A second.
03:23R.
03:25A third.
03:27M.
03:29A vowel, please.
03:30E.
03:32Another vowel.
03:33I.
03:34And a third vowel.
03:36A.
03:37Consonant.
03:39T.
03:41Consonant.
03:43S.
03:45And a consonant, please.
03:47And lastly, Z.
03:49And here comes the Countdown Clock.
04:03CLOCK TICKS
04:21Now, Bob.
04:22Seven.
04:23A seven, Chris.
04:24Six.
04:26And your six, Chris.
04:27Is madder.
04:29Madder, Bob.
04:31Misread.
04:32Yes.
04:33Yeah, pretty good. Why not?
04:34Can we match that, John?
04:36Yeah, well, actually, the moment the Z came up,
04:38I was hoping that Stormzy would be there, but sadly it wasn't.
04:41But we came up with Disarmed, which was eight.
04:44Disarmed, indeed. Very good.
04:46Thank you. Thanks, John.
04:48Seven points to Bob, and it's Chris' letters game. Chris.
04:51Right, good afternoon, Rachel. Good afternoon, Chris.
04:53Can I have a consonant, please? You can indeed, thank you.
04:55Start with N.
04:57And another.
04:59D.
05:01One more.
05:03S.
05:04Vowel, please.
05:06E.
05:08Another vowel.
05:09U.
05:11Another vowel.
05:13I.
05:14Consonant, please.
05:16H.
05:18Consonant, please.
05:20Q.
05:21And I'll finish with a vowel.
05:24And finish with another U.
05:27Stand by.
05:57Yes, Chris.
05:59Six.
06:00And Bob?
06:01Six.
06:02Yes, Chris.
06:03Shamed.
06:04Now then, Bob.
06:06Sequin.
06:07Yeah, we've got sequin, we've also had unique,
06:10but actually you can go one up on unique and put an S on the end.
06:14Really?
06:15Yes. Archaic, so probably very rare these days,
06:18but a unique person or thing.
06:20So, some of his writings were so memorably beautiful
06:23as to be uniques in their class.
06:25Well, well.
06:27Thank you for that. 13 plays six.
06:29Bob on 13 and it's Bob's numbers game.
06:32One large and five small, please, Rachel.
06:35Thank you, Bob. One from the top five little coming up for you.
06:38And the first numbers of the day are
06:40four, seven, five, two, nine,
06:45and the large one, 100.
06:47And your target, 932.
06:49932.
06:51Here we go.
07:22Yes, Bob?
07:23932.
07:24Chris?
07:25932.
07:26Bob?
07:27100 plus four.
07:28104.
07:30Times nine.
07:31936.
07:33Seven minus five.
07:35Is two.
07:36And add the other two and take it away.
07:38Perfect. 932, lovely.
07:40And Chris?
07:41I'm afraid I've made a mistake.
07:43Oh!
07:44I used the forward place.
07:45Sorry, Chris.
07:46Bad luck.
07:47Now, let's have our first teatime teaser, shall we?
07:51It's I Must Talk and the clue.
07:53I must talk, eat and read all at the same time.
07:56I've got so much to do.
07:58I must talk, eat and read all at the same time.
08:00I've got so much to do.
08:03BELL
08:18Welcome back.
08:19I left with the clue, I must talk, eat and read all at the same time.
08:22I've got so much to do.
08:24And the answer to that one is that, well, it's multitask.
08:28It's got to be multitasking.
08:30But multitask is the answer.
08:3223 plays six.
08:33Bob on 23.
08:34It's Chris's letters game. Chris?
08:37Yeah, I'll give a consonant, please.
08:39Thank you, Chris.
08:40P.
08:41And another?
08:43T.
08:45And a third?
08:47N.
08:49A fourth?
08:51F.
08:53A vowel, please?
08:54A.
08:56And another?
08:57O.
08:58And a third?
09:00E.
09:02And a consonant?
09:05N.
09:07And a final consonant, please?
09:09And a final T.
09:12Stand by.
09:43Yes, Chris.
09:45Six.
09:46Bob?
09:47Six.
09:48Well now, Chris.
09:50Erm, patent.
09:52Bob?
09:53Potent.
09:54Yes.
09:55And John and Susie?
09:57Well, you know, it's one of those sort of things where a six word hits you instantly,
10:01so you write it down and you think, there must be something better,
10:04and then there wasn't.
10:05Well, no.
10:06We have lots of sixes.
10:08Notate, teapot, another couple.
10:10Pantone.
10:12You talk about Pantone colours, but it's capital P.
10:15It's a trade name, yeah?
10:16It is, so we had to stop at six.
10:18Pantone, thank you.
10:1929-12 sees Bob in the lead, and it's Bob we turn to now.
10:23Letters game, Bob.
10:24A consonant, please, Rachel?
10:26Thank you, Bob.
10:27R.
10:28And another?
10:30W.
10:31And a third?
10:34D.
10:36A vowel, please?
10:38I.
10:39And another?
10:40A.
10:41And another?
10:43E.
10:45Consonant?
10:46G.
10:48Consonant?
10:50S.
10:51And a consonant, please?
10:53And the last one, T.
10:55And the clock starts now.
11:10CLOCK TICKS
11:29Bob.
11:30Seven.
11:31A seven, Chris?
11:32I'll try a seven.
11:34Nah, Bob.
11:35Wasted, with an I.
11:38Wasted.
11:40Wasted, certainly, with the I, but not waster.
11:44Bad luck.
11:45Yeah.
11:46John?
11:47We got widgets.
11:48Yes.
11:49That sounds like one of those words that was probably a trade name,
11:52was it, and it's become into the language, or not?
11:54I think it's an alteration of gadget,
11:56but it became known for that device in beer cans, do you remember?
11:59Yeah.
12:00I think it was nitrogen that went into the beer,
12:02and it kept the phone, et cetera.
12:04And there's also a word, widger.
12:06Yes, that's used...
12:08It's all used for planting seedlings.
12:11Gators astride.
12:13There is a plethora of sevens in there.
12:1636, please.
12:1712.
12:18And, Chris, the numbers game has come around for you.
12:22Right, could I have one, two, one, two, please?
12:26You can indeed, thank you, Chris.
12:28One, two, one, and a two.
12:30And the five small ones are six,
12:33one, nine, three, and four,
12:37and the large one, 50.
12:39And the target, 612.
12:41612.
13:03612.
13:15Well, Chris?
13:16612.
13:18And Bob?
13:19613.
13:20613.
13:21Now, Chris.
13:22Four times three is 12.
13:24Four threes are 12.
13:2650 plus one is 51.
13:2851.
13:29Multiply them together.
13:30Perfect. 612. Well done.
13:33So up to 22 against Bob's 36 as we turn to John.
13:39Now, John.
13:41Where in the world are we going to go today?
13:43Because we've set up a sort of sporting travel agency
13:47to suggest places that people might like to go later in the year,
13:50to go and see an event.
13:51But the thing I'm going to propose today,
13:53you're going to have to be quick off the mark,
13:55because it's actually next week on the west coast of America.
13:58So if you fancy going to this, you're going to have to go sharpish.
14:01And that is the World Dog Surfing Championships.
14:05Now, you might say, only in America.
14:07When I was looking at this, I thought, really?
14:09But some of the pictures are quite fantastic.
14:11They have all sorts of different categories.
14:13Small dogs, medium-sized dogs, big dogs.
14:15There's a person and dog tandem event as well,
14:18where you're strapped on the surfboard with your dog
14:21and you go as far as you can go together.
14:23Anyway, the whole point about this really is to say
14:25that the defending overall champion is this Australian Kelpie,
14:29who's a sort of mixture of dogs looking at it,
14:32with all due respect to Kelpie's watching at the moment, called Abby.
14:36I mean, she's won it for the last two years.
14:38But honestly, she holds the world record
14:40for the longest continuous wave surfed by a dog, 60 metres.
14:45I mean, that is phenomenal, isn't it?
14:48And she is the only dog at the moment
14:51who has been enrolled into the Surfing Hall of Fame.
14:54So how about that?
14:56Anyway, so you've got a few days to book your flight
14:59to a place called Pacifica in California,
15:02and then when they have the winning podium set up
15:05and all the dogs are on there wagging their tails
15:08with all the rosettes going round their neck,
15:10they play the Beach Boys' Good Alsatians over the tannoy.
15:14I made that bit up.
15:16But anyway, it's happening next week in California.
15:18Go, take your dog.
15:20Lovely. Thanks, Josh.
15:22APPLAUSE
15:2636 vs 22. Bob on 36.
15:28And it's Bob's letters game.
15:30A consonant, please, Rachel. Thank you, Bob.
15:32G
15:34Second.
15:36M
15:37And a third.
15:39R
15:40A vowel, please.
15:42O
15:43And another.
15:45A
15:46And another.
15:47E
15:48Consonant.
15:50T
15:52Consonant.
15:54D
15:56And a consonant, please.
15:58And lastly, R.
16:00Countdown.
16:25Well, Bob?
16:27Six.
16:28Chris?
16:29Six.
16:30And Bob?
16:31Roared.
16:32Chris, your six?
16:34Morted.
16:35Yeah.
16:36Nothing to argue about.
16:38John?
16:39We thought we had garrotted, but you actually need two Ts.
16:42For the British spelling, yes.
16:44Otherwise it's American spelling.
16:46But there is an eight there.
16:48Morted.
16:49Morted.
16:51Forty-two to 28. Bob on 42.
16:54Chris, your letters game.
16:57Could I have a vowel, please?
16:59Thank you, Chris. A.
17:01And another.
17:02O.
17:04And a third.
17:05A.
17:07And a fourth.
17:09O.
17:11Consonant, please.
17:13L.
17:15Another one.
17:17L.
17:19Another one.
17:21C.
17:23And a third consonant.
17:26T.
17:29Consonant.
17:31M.
17:33And a consonant.
17:35And lastly, B.
17:37Countdown.
17:49CLOCK TICKS
18:09Yes, Chris?
18:11Just the four. Bob?
18:13Six.
18:15Four and a six. Chris?
18:17And Bob? Combat.
18:19Very good.
18:21That's the best we had.
18:23We also had cabal, which was leading at five for us
18:26until we came up with combat.
18:28Cabal's an interesting word, isn't it?
18:30What's the derivation of that?
18:32It was the five ministers under Charles II
18:34whose surnames began with C-A-B-A-L.
18:36Is that right? Yeah.
18:38That's fascinating.
18:40Can I honestly say, that is the most interesting thing
18:43I've ever learnt on this programme, ever.
18:45I've heard that a few times. That's fantastic.
18:47Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley and Lauderdale.
18:50And they were his council?
18:52Yes, they were. They were five ministers under his rule.
18:56It's got a very sinister sense nowadays.
18:59It probably did under Charles II, actually.
19:01Yeah, I think it did. Thank you.
19:03So, Bob on 48, Chris on 28, and we turn to Bob.
19:06Bob, it's your numbers game.
19:08One large and five small, please, Rachel.
19:10Same again, thank you, Bob.
19:12Five not from the top, and your five small ones for this round
19:16are two, six, four, nine and five,
19:21and the large one, 75.
19:23And this target, 553.
19:25553.
19:42CLOCK TICKS
19:59Well, Bob? 555, not written down.
20:02Chris? 555.
20:04So, Bob?
20:06Five plus two.
20:08Five plus two is seven.
20:09Times 75.
20:11Times 75, 525.
20:14Six times four.
20:1624.
20:19I think I've gone wrong.
20:21Bad luck. Over to you, Chris.
20:23Right, I've got the 525 the same way.
20:26Yep.
20:28And then I've got four nines of 36.
20:31So, four times nine, 36.
20:33Take six is 30.
20:35Minus the six, which we haven't used.
20:37And I add that on.
20:39So, two away.
20:41Not bad, not bad, but still two away.
20:43Rachel, can you close the gap?
20:46They may kick themselves, guys,
20:48if you say 75 plus four is 79,
20:53and then five plus two is seven, and times those together.
20:57Ah, well done.
20:59Thanks, Rachel.
21:03Perfect, perfect as ever.
21:05Bob on 48, Chris, 35,
21:07as we turn to our second Tea Time teaser,
21:09which is train, gent and the clue.
21:12The gent on the train won't stop talking.
21:14I wish he'd shut up.
21:16The gent on the train won't stop talking.
21:18I wish he'd shut up.
21:30APPLAUSE
21:36Welcome back. I left with the clue.
21:38The gent on the train won't stop talking.
21:41I wish he'd shut up.
21:43Because he's, um, nattering.
21:46That's the answer. Nattering.
21:5048 plays 35. Bob on 48.
21:53What shall we do? Chris, letters game?
21:55Give a consonant, please.
21:57Thank you, Chris. S
21:59And another?
22:01T
22:03And a third?
22:05V
22:07A vowel, please.
22:09A
22:11And another vowel?
22:13I
22:15And a third vowel?
22:17A
22:19Consonant?
22:21T
22:23Vowel?
22:25I
22:27And a vowel, please.
22:29And the last one?
22:31O
22:33Stand by.
23:02Chris?
23:04Four.
23:06Not easy. Bob?
23:08Five. Chris is four.
23:10Tots? No, Bob.
23:12Stoat.
23:14Our friend the stoat.
23:16And we have one six, which is?
23:18Um, otitis, which is inflammation of the ear.
23:21Oh, really?
23:23Otitis? Yes.
23:25Well, well, well.
23:2753 to 35.
23:29Bob, your letters game.
23:31Consonant, please, Rachel.
23:33Thank you, Bob. V
23:35And a second?
23:37S
23:39And a third?
23:41L
23:43A vowel?
23:45A
23:47And another?
23:49I
23:51And a third?
23:53A
23:55Consonant?
23:57S
23:59And a vowel, please.
24:01And the last one?
24:03E
24:05Stand by.
24:27Yes, Bob?
24:29Eight.
24:31Chris?
24:33Eight.
24:35And Bob?
24:37Salaries.
24:39Yes, Chris?
24:41A bit of a guess. Availers.
24:43Ah.
24:45Availer of your hospitality.
24:47It doesn't seem to be specified, Chris.
24:49You're not having much luck.
24:51That is bad luck.
24:53Salaries is a definite.
24:55No availer. I'm sorry.
24:57It's a really, really good try.
24:59John and Susie?
25:01No, that's it.
25:03That's it?
25:05Yes.
25:07So 61 to 35.
25:09And Susie, your origins of words?
25:11Well, thank you to Margaret Evans
25:13who wrote in with a few questions, actually.
25:15But I'm going to try and cover
25:17a couple of them today.
25:19One was, what does it mean to be told
25:21you look like mutton dressed as lamb
25:23and where does this saying come from?
25:25So I'll start with mutton
25:27and it came to us
25:29via French, so
25:31many words in English do that, actually.
25:33It's a slightly circuitous route, but that's just the way that English
25:35has travelled. So mutton
25:37is technically the meat of sheep
25:39that are more than one year old.
25:41Mutton dressed as lamb is somebody
25:43who is dressed
25:45in a style that is suitable for a much younger
25:47person. Never a compliment.
25:49But there is a long, long
25:51tradition in English, if you look at dictionaries
25:53of slang, of using mutton for
25:55women in a very derogatory
25:57way. So if you go back
25:59to the 1500s, it was used as slang
26:01for prostitutes.
26:03And to hawk your mutton, if you were
26:05a woman, was to be
26:07flirtatious, basically.
26:09To be flaunting your sexuality, if you like.
26:11Or, of a prostitute, it was to
26:13solicit for clients.
26:15Margaret's second question is,
26:17and I have to say, I've never heard this one before
26:19but it was really intriguing.
26:21What does it mean to look like a monkey up a stick?
26:23Have you heard that one? No, I haven't.
26:25OK. Lots of records
26:27though, of it, if you look in language
26:29databases. So again, I'll start with monkey.
26:31That goes
26:33back probably to Arabic, but you'll find it
26:35in medieval beast stories
26:37and legends. But before monkey,
26:39ape was used as the general word
26:41for all apes, all monkeys.
26:43And that's much, much earlier.
26:45But people have always associated monkeys
26:47with mischief and mimicry.
26:49So we talk about monkey tricks on
26:51monkey business. Monkey shines, as it's
26:53called in America.
26:55If you don't give a monkey, you don't
26:57care at all. That is a euphemism for something
26:59a little bit ruder. But to
27:01Margaret's question, a monkey
27:03up a stick. If you look like a monkey
27:05up a stick, you are essentially
27:07restless or agitated,
27:09rather than stiff as a poker.
27:11And it goes back to toys
27:13that you would find in the 19th and 18th century
27:15that consisted of a figure of a monkey that was
27:17indeed attached to a stick, and the
27:19monkey could be moved up and down the stick.
27:21But I was intrigued by that, and I think
27:23it must be probably now preserved in dialect
27:25rather than general English. But there you go,
27:27Margaret. Mutton dressed as a lamb and a monkey
27:29up a stick, neither of which I think are particularly
27:31complimentary.
27:33APPLAUSE
27:3761 to 35.
27:39Bob's in the lead, and it's
27:41Chris we turn to. Chris. Right, could I have
27:43a consonant, please? Thank you, Chris.
27:45Y. And
27:47another?
27:49N. And a third?
27:51R.
27:53And a vowel, please?
27:55A.
27:57Consonant?
27:59P.
28:01Vowel?
28:03V. Vowel?
28:05O.
28:07Consonant?
28:09L.
28:11And a final consonant, please?
28:13And a final K.
28:15Stand by.
28:41MUSIC
28:47Well, Chris?
28:497.
28:517, Bob? 7.
28:53Chris?
28:55Plenary.
28:57Plenary and?
28:59Plonker. Both excellent, yes.
29:01Very nice. A plonker.
29:03We homed straight in on the plonker, I have to say.
29:05There was something about that.
29:07Anything else?
29:09No. Thank you.
29:1168 to 42. Bob, final
29:13letters game for you. Consonant, please,
29:15Rachel? Thank you, Bob. J.
29:17And a second?
29:19S.
29:21A third?
29:23M.
29:25A vowel, please?
29:27E.
29:29And another?
29:31A. And a third?
29:33O.
29:35Consonant? G.
29:37Consonant?
29:39T.
29:41And a consonant, please?
29:43And lastly, X.
29:45And the clock starts now.
29:47MUSIC
30:07MUSIC
30:17Yes, Bob?
30:195.
30:215 for Bob, Chris?
30:236. So, Bob?
30:25Goats. No, Chris.
30:27Gamest?
30:29Gamest, absolutely fine. Gamest, yeah.
30:31Well spotted. John and Susie?
30:33Yeah, we had Jetsam, as in Flotsam Man.
30:35Susie? There was a rather strange
30:37seven there, Nick. Oxgates.
30:39And they were measures of
30:41land formerly in use in parts
30:43of northern England, and it was everything to do
30:45with how much land
30:47a team of oxen could plough.
30:49Yeah, an old one, now obsolete.
30:51Indeed. 68 to 48, and
30:53it's your numbers game.
30:55Chris? Can I have
30:57two large
30:59and four small, please?
31:01Two large, four small. This is the gamble.
31:03You can still do this, Chris.
31:05Two large, four little. Good luck.
31:07The final numbers game is
31:092, 7, 1,
31:114, and the large
31:13to 75 and 25.
31:15And the target,
31:17414.
31:19414.
31:21MUSIC
31:33MUSIC
31:49Well, Chris?
31:51414. Bob?
31:53414.
31:55Now, Chris.
31:5725 plus 75
31:59is 100.
32:017 times 4? 400.
32:037 times 2 is 14? Yep.
32:05Well done. 414.
32:07And Bob?
32:0975 minus 25?
32:1175 minus 25 for 50.
32:13And minus 4?
32:15Minus 4, 46.
32:177 plus 2?
32:19And 7 plus 2 you haven't used.
32:21Is 9, and multiply?
32:23Perfect. 414. Well done.
32:25APPLAUSE
32:28Well done. All right.
32:30So, 78 plays 58
32:32as we go into the final round.
32:36Fingers on buzzers, chaps.
32:38We're rolling today's Countdown Conundrum.
32:41MUSIC
32:57MUSIC
33:04BUZZER
33:06Yes, Chris?
33:08Is there a word symphoria?
33:10I wonder whether there is. Let's see whether it's known to us.
33:13No? No.
33:15Down to you, Bob.
33:17MUSIC
33:24No.
33:27Who in the audience will take on this challenge?
33:29Do I see anybody?
33:31Oh, come.
33:33No? No?
33:35Let's roll it and see, then.
33:37Mayorship. The mayorship.
33:39All right. Well done, Bob.
33:4178. Good score.
33:43Well challenged there by Chris Kilbride at 58.
33:46But, Chris, we have to say cheerio to you.
33:48Back to the beautiful countryside of Cornwall.
33:51And good luck with the bird watch.
33:53You take this dictionary.
33:55The birds are in there, too, actually.
33:57So I hope it will be useful to you.
33:59You travel safely. Thank you very much.
34:01Thank you. Thanks for coming.
34:03Bob, what's going on? Look at this.
34:05Two wins. Two wins.
34:07Well done. See you tomorrow.
34:09Thank you very much. We'll see you tomorrow, both.
34:11John and Susie, of course.
34:13Yes. And Rachel, too.
34:15I thought that was a word, symphoria.
34:18I was ready to clap.
34:20Sorry, Chris. Great effort. Well done.
34:22See you tomorrow. See you tomorrow.
34:24All the time, same place. You'll be sure of it.
34:26A very good afternoon.
34:54At nine, we're off to a rather large Georgian house
34:56with lots of guests as we're back inside HMP Durham
34:59for the concluding part of prison.
35:01Next, though, we're off to Florida looking for a place in the sun.