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This episode was kindly donated by Brett Richards.
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00:00Thank you
00:31Good afternoon and welcome to Countdown Studio.
00:34Yes, it's off again.
00:35The wonderful Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
00:38The greatest show on earth, they say.
00:41I've never been, Rachel, but apparently there are 3,000 events taking place all over the place.
00:47Theatres, pubs, one-man shows, many, you know, people involved on the streets and all the rest of it.
00:52I've never been, as I say, but I did go to one wonderful festival years ago in Ireland.
00:59It was called a Flaar Keol, which is a music festival.
01:02It was fantastic fun because the whole town turned into a pub.
01:06And only the Irish can do that, really.
01:08And every house had a short licence and there were guys with fiddles and little orchestras and all the rest
01:14of it.
01:15It was fantastic.
01:15And I went with a pal of mine and we were thrown out of the town, actually.
01:19Oh, right.
01:19Because he set fire to the dodgums.
01:21And why did he set fire to the dodgums?
01:23I think he crashed purposefully into the generator.
01:27I can't remember anyway what happened.
01:29But it was a terrible mess and we were asked to leave.
01:31But it was such a, such a party.
01:34So you didn't get a criminal record or anything?
01:35No, no, no.
01:36No, no.
01:37I left ahead of the Gardie Sheer Corner, which is the name for the Irish police.
01:41What about you?
01:42Have you been to...
01:42I've never been arrested.
01:43I've never set fire to anything.
01:45No current convictions.
01:47Have you been to Edinburgh?
01:49I haven't been to the festival.
01:50I've been meaning to go.
01:52Year on year, I say I want to go and something always crops up in August.
01:54But one day I will make it.
01:56Because so many of our eight out of ten cats does countdown.
01:59They're on there.
01:59They're on there.
02:00You know, there's loads of them doing one-man shows.
02:02So I'd absolutely love to go.
02:04And there's lots of countdown shows as well.
02:06Every year I get tweets.
02:07There's normally some bloke dressed up as me.
02:09Teddling letters.
02:11How interesting.
02:12Yes.
02:12How unusual.
02:14Keep the pictures coming.
02:14I quite enjoy those.
02:15We'll go.
02:16We'll go next year.
02:17We'll go next year.
02:17But first we've got to deal with Nathan Pace, our web developer from Southport on Merseyside.
02:24Good win yesterday.
02:25Well done.
02:26But you've now got to get past Barbara Luciani, a part-time blender.
02:32A blender of herbs and spices from Oakhampton in Devon.
02:36That's right.
02:36That just sounds extraordinary.
02:38It is fun.
02:39What are you doing it for?
02:41We literally blend.
02:42It's like my boss has given me recipes and I mix different proportions of herbs and spices
02:48into yummy, yummy little mixes and then people cook with them or they turn them into dips.
02:55Okay.
02:55But you and your boss package them and sell them.
02:58Yes.
02:58It's a business.
02:59Yes, that's right.
03:00What's it called?
03:01It's called Herbs and Spices Limited.
03:05You've obviously worked long and hard on that one.
03:08Let's have a round of applause for Nathan and Barbara Luciani.
03:16And over in the corner of course, Susie joined once again by the wonderful daring Richard Arnold.
03:22Have you been to Edinburgh?
03:23Yes, many times.
03:25I was at Edinburgh University.
03:26Of course you were.
03:27Yes.
03:27I studied law for four weeks.
03:29And very well.
03:31So I switched to English language and literature, which is why I'm in Dictionary Corner today.
03:35Obviously, the verbal gymnastics works better for me than the weave and the frock coat, I think.
03:40Good for you.
03:41Good for you.
03:41But now, let's pass on quickly to Nathan.
03:44Your letters game.
03:45Nathan.
03:45Thank you, Nick.
03:46Hi, Rachel.
03:47Hi, Nathan.
03:47I'll start with a consonant, please.
03:49Start today with H.
03:52Another one, please.
03:54L.
03:55And a third.
03:58Vowel, please.
04:01A.
04:02Another one.
04:03E.
04:05And a third.
04:06A.
04:07A consonant.
04:09B.
04:11Another consonant.
04:13P.
04:14And a final consonant, please.
04:17And a final W.
04:19Countdown.
04:21Vowel.
04:22A sometime.
04:39A.
04:51Yes, Nathan? Six. A six, Barbara? Six. Nathan? Herbal. Herbal. Interesting. Barbara? I should've got that. I've got warble. Warble.
05:02Yes. Warble. And parable. Very good. Susie, anything else?
05:06That was there for seven. Otherwise, for six, there's a whaler. That's when it goes out in a whale boat,
05:10unfortunately. It's a whaler. Thank you very much. Well done, Richard. Six points apiece. Barbara? A consonant, please, Rachel. Thank
05:17you, Barbara. H. And another one. D. And another one. B. And a vowel, please. U. And another one. A.
05:32And another one. O.
05:35And a consonant, please. Z. And another one. N. And a final vowel. And a final A. Stand by.
05:50Z. And another one.
05:51Z. And another one.
06:06Z. And another one.
06:07Z. And another one.
06:08Z. And another one.
06:09Z. And another one.
06:10Z. And another one.
06:11Z. And another one.
06:13Z. And another one.
06:15Z. And another one.
06:21yes Barbara six Nathan six to six is Barbara a bound a bound under bound as
06:28well yes now then Richard Susie a bound is here as well as yes we just a couple
06:34of fights otherwise and a Boona the Indian dish and yeah and bonzer bonzer
06:42yeah first rate you're excellent you can't spell it with an a as well as an
06:45ER in Australian slang all right 12 apiece and we turn now to Nathan it's
06:51numbers time Nathan a whitehall please Rachel thank you Nathan whitehall one
06:56two one and two and these five small ones are three five three nine ten and the
07:06large one fifty and the target to reach nine hundred ninety nine nine nine nine
07:19so
07:28so
07:43Nathan 1,000 1,000 Barbara 1,000 2,000 all right so Nathan okay
07:54temples 9 is 19 10 plus 9 19 and then if you say 3 over 3 is 1 yeah add
08:02that to 19 for 20 20
08:04multiply by 50 is 1,000 1,000 yes one away Barbara I did it exactly the same except I
08:12said 3 over 3 is
08:131 first and then 1 plus 9 is 10 times 10 that's fine no Rachel 999 how tricky is that
08:19it was harder
08:20than it looked eventually one way 50 minus 10 minus 3 is 37 and then the other 3 times 9
08:28is 27 and times
08:30them together 999 well done Rachel 19 plays 19 and the tea time teaser it's elm growl and the clue
08:41it sounds like it could have been Oliver's favourite plant it sounds like it could have been Oliver's
08:48favourite plant welcome back I left with the clue it sounds like could have been Oliver's favourite
09:10plant and that plant Gromwell Susie Gromwell Gromwell is a widely distributed apparently
09:18part of the borage family and has white or blue flowers and smooth hard nutlets thank you very
09:24much well done Susie 19 points apiece Barbara letters game a consonant please Rachel thank you Barbara W and
09:32another one and another one S and another one T and a vowel please E and another one O and
09:44another one E and a consonant please J and another one S and a final consonant please and a final
09:59C
09:59stand by
10:31Barbara.
10:32Six.
10:33Nathan.
10:34A risky six.
10:35Right.
10:36Barbara.
10:37Sweets.
10:38Sweets and?
10:40Cosset.
10:40Are you spelling it with the two S's?
10:42Yes.
10:42It's absolutely fine.
10:43If you cosset somebody, you spoil them, you overindulge.
10:46So it's absolutely fine.
10:47Very, very good.
10:48And in the corner there, Richard, Susie?
10:51Ejects.
10:52Susie?
10:53No, I love cosset, actually.
10:54I think that's the nicest one of the lot.
10:56Very good.
10:56Well done.
10:57All right.
10:5825 apiece.
10:59And Nathan.
11:00Letter time for you.
11:03Consonant, please, Rachel.
11:04Thank you, Nathan.
11:05R.
11:06A consonant.
11:08N.
11:09And a third.
11:11D.
11:12A vowel, please.
11:14O.
11:16Another vowel.
11:17E.
11:18And a third.
11:20U.
11:21A consonant.
11:24A consonant.
11:25A consonant.
11:27N.
11:29And a final consonant, please.
11:31And a final S.
11:33Countdown.
11:34A consonant.
11:35A consonant.
11:38A consonant.
11:43A consonant.
11:44A consonant.
12:00A horror.
12:02A снова.
12:03A thriller.
12:05Nathan eight and age Barbara nine maybe Nathan resounds now Barbara roundness it's in the dictionary
12:18fantastic what are the nine cases where we leave yes yes that was pretty much a resounding applause
12:29that was it all around this so 43 now place 25 as we turn back to you for numbers game
12:37Barbara
12:37could I have too large and any four small please thank you Barbara two from the top row and four
12:43little and for this round the small numbers are four one another one nine and the big ones 50 and
12:50100 and the target seven hundred and forty one seven four one
13:26Barbara seven four six seven four six five away yes seven four six seven four six as well
13:35Barbara nine minus one minus one seven yep times a hundred is seven hundred seven hundred plus 50
13:42seven fifty and minus four seven four six yep same way yep Rachel Riley seven four one what do you
13:52think just one way I could see but if you say one plus one is two times four eight times
13:58one hundred
13:59eight hundred and then take away the 50 and take away the nine now then I wish we go Richard
14:10Arnold
14:11Richard Arnold you know let's be blunt about it you're a big hit here in the UK but from what
14:17I hear your good morning Britain appearances take the whole world by storm yes this is possibly the
14:23only time with the exception I suppose of some of the bigger interviews that obviously find a
14:27platform on the internet the only time that I myself personally have gone viral and for all the wrong
14:32reasons I feel like you should cover your ears okay in your fragrant company because a less than
14:36fragrant moment actually happened on the sofa not so long ago I sat down and Ben Shepard and Susanna
14:43Reed my colleagues had neglected to give me my full intro so I said well where's my orchestra it was
14:50at
14:50the top of a three minute item but you need to you know obviously style it out and you know
14:53obviously had
14:54your part of it as I'm prone to do anyway a couple of minutes into the item I leant forward
14:58in the sofa
15:00squeaked it was the sofa I blushed clearly and said oh well at least you've got me a brass section
15:06at
15:06which point they corpsed and there was no recovery so I thought well I'm just going to leave a lady
15:12knows when to leave the times I've told you that as it happened it went viral because people thought I
15:19clearly broken wind which I hadn't but because I made such a sharp exit the blame fell on me but
15:25I didn't
15:25realize they would actually be the reason that I finally broke America in my own right I went to New
15:31York two days later and I was standing in a bar and this chap came up to me said you're
15:37the fart guy
15:40and I was told that they showed the clip the blooper if you like UK anchor talk about patting your
15:50part
15:50and it was shown on American breakfast television as well brilliant so yeah broken America which is
15:56great and now I think it's time for another sharp exit before I continue with that story so that's
16:01something that you and Gaddafi have got in common because apparently John Simpson once interviewed
16:07Gaddafi and apparently the whole interview he just did it all the time Paul Simpson was just sort of
16:15thinking how can I leave this tent spectacular that was 10 years from now I could be sat here and
16:22I
16:23won't even notice maybe that was Gaddafi's problem yes you will see come on big round of applause for
16:28the fart guy very funny very funny now 32 plays Barbara's 50 and Nathan time to catch up let us
16:40go
16:40okay consonant please Rachel thank you Nathan why another one please L and the third V vowel please O another
16:55one V a third I consonant R another consonant Q gosh and a final vowel please
17:10and a final time to you stand by
17:44Nathan Nathan five five Barbara five Nathan and choir choir and choir to choir yes yeah and ending in the
17:55corner
17:56Richard ropily ropily ropily yeah yeah yeah that's f6 and purely as another six and just tell you what a
18:06choir is four sheets of paper or parchment folded to form eight leaves you'll find them in medieval
18:12manuscripts etc jolly good 55 to 37 Barbara letters time a consonant please Rachel thank you Barbara T and
18:21and another one V and another one V and another one and and a vowel please I and another one
18:30E and another one I and a consonant L and another one D and another consonant please and the last
18:48one R
18:50and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I
19:09and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I
19:09and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I
19:09and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I
19:10and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I
19:10and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I
19:10and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I
19:10and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I
19:10and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I
19:12and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I
19:13and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I and another one I
19:18and
19:22Barbara. Seven. Seven, Nathan. Six. And your six? Driven. Barbara. Invited. Excellent. Can we beat it? No, we can't beat
19:33that. Tendril. A tendril. Indeed, a tendril of hair. Soft strand of hair, a tendril. Lovely. Thank you very much.
19:4162 plays, Nathan's 37, and it's numbers time for Nathan.
19:46Another white hole, please. Thank you, Nathan. One, two, one, and two. And for this round, your numbers are six,
19:54three, one, ten, another one, and 75. And the target, 287. 287.
20:35Nathan. 289. Barbara. 289. Both of you. So, Nathan.
20:42Okay. Three plus one is four. Yes. Times 75 is 300. 300. 10 plus one is 11. 10 plus the
20:51other one, 11. And subtract.
20:53Yeah, 289. 289. Same. Yes. Yeah, that's Barbara the same. Yeah. All right. 208. 287. Is it so tricky?
21:01Thank you. A couple of ways. You could have said 10 minus 6 is 4. 75 minus 3 is 72.
21:09Times the two together for 288. And take away the one.
21:14Yes. Well done, Rachel. Well done. So, Barbara, 69, plays Nathan's 44 as we turn to a tea time teaser,
21:22which is Len Cares.
21:24And the clue? Len Cares about his skin, so uses this. Len Cares about his skin, so uses this.
21:49Welcome back. I left with the clue. Len Cares about his skin, so he uses this.
21:54What does he use? He uses a cleanser. A cleanser. Now, Barbara, 69 to Nathan's 44.
22:03Good lead, but not that good. And it's your letters game now, Barbara.
22:07Have a consonant, please, Rachel. Gives with one hand, takes with the other. Thank you, Barbara.
22:11C. And another one. D. And another one. S. And a vowel, please. E. And another one. I. And another
22:25one. O.
22:27O. And a consonant. T. And another one. P. And another vowel, please.
22:37And lastly, E. Stand by.
22:40E. Stand by.
23:11Barbara?
23:12Seven.
23:13Seven, Nathan.
23:15A very risky eight.
23:17Right.
23:18Barbara?
23:19Deposit.
23:20And your risk?
23:22Despotic.
23:23Oh, not at all risky.
23:25That's good.
23:25It's a brilliant word, yes.
23:26To behave like a despot.
23:28Somebody who holds absolute power and is cruel and oppressive, et cetera.
23:32Very very good.
23:32Yeah, well done.
23:33Good shot.
23:36What is the corner guard?
23:38Mr. Arnold.
23:40Poetised.
23:41No.
23:42Poetised, yes.
23:43Can you?
23:43You can, yes.
23:44To turn into poetry?
23:45Yes, or to speak in verse or to write in verses, to poetise.
23:48I see.
23:49That's one.
23:49There's another eight, actually.
23:51Picotees.
23:52P-I-C-O-T-E-E-S.
23:54A type of carnation.
23:55The flowers have dark-edged petals.
23:58Thank you very much.
23:59Well done, Susie.
24:00So 69 plays 52.
24:02Nathan.
24:04Claude back a bit there.
24:05And now it's your letters game.
24:07Okay.
24:08Consonant please, Rachel.
24:09Thank you, Nathan.
24:10G.
24:11Another one.
24:13S.
24:14And a third.
24:16G.
24:17Okay.
24:18A vowel please.
24:19I.
24:20Another one.
24:22E.
24:24And a third.
24:26I.
24:27A consonant.
24:29R.
24:31A consonant.
24:34T.
24:35And a final consonant, please.
24:38And a final key.
24:40Countdown.
24:40One.
24:41Two.
24:43Two.
24:44Two.
24:47Three.
24:56Thin.
24:57One.
24:58Two.
24:58And a third.
25:03Three.
25:07One.
25:12Nathan? Six. Six, Barbara? Five. And your five? Sprig. Nathan? Gripes. Any gripes for Mr. Arnold?
25:23Piggies. Thank you. Anything else? I was looking for piggier, actually, if you say somebody has little
25:28piggy eyes, but it's not in. That's probably a blessing. That's it? Yeah, that's it. All right,
25:33so 58 to 69 as we turn to Susie and her wonderful origins of words. Thanks, Nick. Well, I had
25:42an email
25:42from Patrick Dixon, who is in Colchester, who asked, why do we describe a salt holder as a salt
25:49cellar? Has it got anything to do with where salt was stored? Which is a good guess. In fact,
25:54I was talking to Richard in the break, and you thought exactly that as well, didn't you, that salt
25:58was kept underground, which it was very often, but that's not the reason why we call it a
26:02cellar. Just to go back, for the Roman, salt was an incredibly precious commodity. It was
26:09used for preserving as well as flavoring food. It was an antiseptic for treating wounds, which
26:14made it incredibly useful during warfare. And the preservation of food was also incredibly
26:19useful, because obviously the soldiers had their rations, and on long marches, you needed
26:24something to keep the food intact and healthy. The Via Salaria, or the salt route, was one of
26:31the most important roads that led to Rome. And salarium meant relating to salt, and that
26:38is at the heart of our modern word salary, because it's believed that Romans were either unpaid
26:43in salt itself, or they used their allowance to go out and buy salt. That's how precious
26:48it was to them. Anyway, centuries later, in Old French, a salier from the same way it became
26:54the standard term for a salt box. And when we took it up in English, as so often, because we
26:59couldn't
26:59pronounce salier very well, we changed it to something that tripped a little bit more easily
27:03off our tongue. We knew cellar already, and so we changed it to salt cellar. That's the story of salt,
27:09but pepper's quite nice as well. That was also incredibly highly prized. That was adopted by the
27:15Anglo-Saxons even before they invaded England. It's Germanic in origin. It's related to pfeffer in German,
27:22but the phrase a peppercorn rent reflects that, if you like, that importance, really, in the daily
27:28life of the Anglo-Saxons and beyond, because the peppercorn rent was simply reflecting the fact that
27:34if you had to pay a nominal rent to somebody, you would give them one single peppercorn. And that's
27:39why today we talk about a tiny rent as a peppercorn one. Fantastic. So good. Thank you, Susie. Perfect.
27:48What a beautiful description. What a lovely essay, don't you think, Richard? I'm enchanted by you
27:53every time you open your mouth. Hypnotise. We all are. All right. 69 plays, Nathan's 58,
28:01as we turn now to Barbara. Penultimate letters game. All right. A consonant, please, Rachel.
28:06Thank you, Barbara. D. And another. S. And another. M. And a vowel, please. A. And another. I. And another.
28:23A. And a consonant,
28:27please. A consonant, please. R. And another. V. And a vowel, please. And the last one. O. And
28:38the countdown clock starts now.
29:11Yes, Barbara. Six. A six, Nathan. And a six. Barbara. A void. Nathan. Aromas. Very nice.
29:21Mm-hmm. Aromas. And the corner. Advisor. Yep. And there's another seven, an exotic seven,
29:28Samovar. S-A-M-O-V-A-R, which is one of those really decorated tea urns that you might
29:33find in Russia.
29:34Yeah. Excellent stuff. 75 plays 64. Nathan, final letters game.
29:40Uh, consonant, please, Rachel. Thank you, Nathan. D. And another.
29:46R. And a third, please. F. A vowel. E. Another. A. And another.
29:57A vowel. E. A consonant. T. Another consonant. G. And a final consonant, please. And a final L.
30:11Tantan.
30:13Tantan.
30:15Tantan.
30:15Tantan.
30:15Tantan.
30:16Tantan.
30:19Tantan.
30:20Tantan.
30:39Tantan.
30:43Nathan. A risky seven. Barbara. Seven. Yes Nathan. Legated. Barbara. Regaled. So you are spelling that how Nathan. L E
30:54G A T E D. You can have ligated which is a medical term for tying up an artery for
31:00example. Legate would be there as an emissary for example on its own but not there as a verb. Regaled
31:07very nice.
31:07Oh nice. Yep. And the corner for eight reflated not reinflated. No it's a very specifically financial term. It's to
31:17expand the level of output of an economy by government stimulus by monetary policy for example. Very good. 82 to
31:2464. Numbers time Barbara last one. Could I have two large and four small please. Thank you Barbara. Two large
31:32and four small and Nathan could still steal this yet so we shall see.
31:36The last numbers game of the day is one three ten five and the large two fifty and one hundred.
31:44And the target four hundred and four. Four zero four.
31:48A bunch of dragons.
32:19Barbara?
32:21405.
32:22405.
32:23Nathan?
32:24400.
32:26400.
32:27Barbara?
32:293 plus 1 is 4.
32:31Yes.
32:32Times 100.
32:33400.
32:34Plus 5.
32:35Four one away, and you're over the line.
32:36Well done.
32:37Now then, 404.
32:39Trickier?
32:40It was there.
32:41If you say 100 plus 1 is 101.
32:45And then 5 times 10 is 50.
32:48Divided by 50 is 1.
32:51Add that to the 3 for 4 and times them together.
32:54Oh, well done.
32:54That is perfect.
32:58Well done, Mitchell.
33:00So, 89 plays 64.
33:03Conundrum time.
33:04Nathan, Barbara, fingers on buzzers.
33:07Please let's reveal today's countdown conundrum.
33:11Who are you?
33:13Barbara?
33:15Impeached?
33:16Impeached?
33:18No.
33:19No.
33:19Nathan, you're on.
33:28You're on.
33:31Cheapened.
33:33Cheapened?
33:34Let's see.
33:35Well done.
33:42not quite enough on the day so Barbara Luciani is on 80 90 or 74 but you get a teapot
33:50and a
33:51goodie bag to take back to Southport on Merseyside with our thanks Barbara we shall see you tomorrow
33:57thank you well done so Richard are you dreaming up something to talk about tomorrow I will come up
34:04with something of a broadcast quality I promise more in the vein of Fartman it was Fart Guy Nick okay
34:12it was Fart Guy we'll come up with something a little bit more fragrant than that we'll see you
34:17tomorrow we'll see you tomorrow Susie tomorrow tomorrow see you tomorrow join us tomorrow if
34:22you possibly can if you dare to Richard Arnold will be here same time you'll be sure of it a
34:28very good
34:28afternoon contact us by email at countdown at channel 4.com by twitter at c4 countdown or write
34:37to us at countdown leads ls3 1js you can also find our webpage at channel 4.com forward slash countdown
34:48okay how to stop the fighting and the spittin the three-day nanny she's well busy eight o'clock
34:54tonight on channel 4 15 to 1 next on 4