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00:31Good afternoon and welcome to the Countdown Studio and the last of the Series 73 quarterfinals.
00:37Just one semi-final place left.
00:40Now, here we are, 18th of December.
00:43I've mentioned before that I'm a particularly lazy person when it comes to the domestic role at home.
00:49In fact, I do absolutely nothing and at Christmas even less.
00:52The only job that I've got to do is to go and buy the bird for Christmas lunch.
00:58And people have got their own views as to which particular bird, if any, they should be eating at Christmas
01:02time.
01:03I suppose the most popular is the turkey, but other people would say, no, the goose.
01:07And traditionally, of course, the goose was what one had at Christmas time.
01:11And we tried it a couple of years ago.
01:12The trouble with geese, or the goose, is that they're very big, very expensive.
01:16There's not much on them.
01:17It's all bone.
01:18And if you've got a lot of people, then you need two geese.
01:20And now who's got an oven big enough to...
01:23And so it goes on.
01:24So one of our cats actually brought a pheasant in the other day.
01:30And I was summoned to deal with this pheasant, which looked very dead to me.
01:34The cat was staring at it, and it was lying on its back.
01:36It was a hen pheasant.
01:37And I went to pick it up.
01:39I thought, ah, a little warm breast.
01:41And with that, it popped up on its hind legs and shot off down the corridor.
01:47And then it went up into a rafter.
01:49I teased it down.
01:51It shot out of the front door.
01:53And it ran into a sort of dog run.
01:55And I said to myself, well, I'll come and kill it later.
01:59That's a lovely festive story.
02:00Anyway, the good news is that when I went to kill it, it looked at me and took off without
02:08any tail feathers and flew off.
02:10So I thought, that's me out of a job.
02:12I didn't want to have to break his neck.
02:15Aw.
02:16There.
02:17I've got a heart after all.
02:19Aw, lovely.
02:21Who's with us today?
02:23We've got John Hardy, after that little story.
02:25Maths tutor from Willoughby in Yorkshire, amassing an impressive 845 points over eight victories.
02:31Good to see you back, John.
02:32And you became our number four seed way back in October.
02:37Good luck to you today.
02:38And you're joined by our fifth Octo champ, none other than Matthew Tessier, a statistical consultant from Ealing.
02:47Good run in November, 799 points.
02:51You happy to be back?
02:52Thrilled, yes.
02:53Yeah, well, it's good to see you both back, and I remember you both very well.
02:56Good contestants.
02:57Let's have a big round of applause, then, for John and Matthew.
03:05And over in the corner, of course, Susie, as ever, joined by a wonderful man who joined us for the
03:12first time yesterday,
03:13after many, many years, none other than Tim Rice, the multi-award-winning lyricist,
03:16the greatest lyricist that we've had.
03:19Any musical that's worth a damn has got your name on it.
03:22Don't argue.
03:24You're dead right.
03:27Good, good to have you back.
03:29Good to have you back, Tim.
03:29All right, John, take us away.
03:31Hello, Rachel.
03:32Hi, John.
03:33Could I have a consonant, please?
03:35Of course, thank you.
03:35Start today with N.
03:38And another, please.
03:41And another, please.
03:42And a third.
03:44Q.
03:46And a fourth.
03:48T.
03:49And a vowel.
03:51I.
03:52And a second.
03:53A.
03:54And a third.
03:56E.
03:59And a consonant.
04:01G.
04:05And the fifth consonant plays.
04:08And the last one.
04:10L.
04:11And here's the countdown clock.
04:12T.
04:14T.
04:43Yes, John Hardy? Eight.
04:45An eight, Matthew? Eight.
04:47Right, John. Integral.
04:49And? Relating.
04:51And relating.
04:53Can't argue with that, can we?
04:55No, excellent. It was a nice one, this one.
04:56And eight. Well done.
05:01And the corner's eight?
05:04Yes, the Q is a rogue, which is...
05:06I mean, you can't fit Q into a long word here.
05:09Altering, triangle, alerting.
05:12They're all eight.
05:12Good.
05:13And they're all great.
05:15All right, eight apiece.
05:16And Matthew?
05:18Letters again. Matthew.
05:20Good afternoon, Rachel.
05:21Hi again, Matthew.
05:21Can I start with a consonant, please?
05:23Thank you. Start with D.
05:26Vowel.
05:27A.
05:29Consonant.
05:30F.
05:32Consonant.
05:34P.
05:35Vowel.
05:36I.
05:37Consonant.
05:39T.
05:40Vowel.
05:42O.
05:43Vowel.
05:45E.
05:47And a final vowel, please.
05:49And a final A.
05:51Stand by.
05:52Oh, my God.
06:23Matthew 7 7 John 7 right we've got scrap on that with Matthew opiate it and adipate adipate thank
06:36you for John for giving us an alternative which is nice is a salt or ester of adipic acid and
06:43adipic acid is I think I've had it quite recently it's using the manufacture of nylon it's a fatty
06:49acid yes indeed yeah thank you all right and Tim and Susie Tim that's it really opiate it is the
06:56best we got all right thank you very much 15 apiece and it's numbers time for you John John
07:02Hardy could I have one from the top please right sure you can indeed keeping it possibly simple
07:06for the first selection one large five little and they are eight seven four two three and the big
07:15one twenty five and the target one hundred and eighty nine one eight nine
07:21so
07:36so
07:37so
07:51now then john 189 189 matthews 189 right john um 25 add 2 25 add 2 27 uh times 7
08:03189 more done
08:05and matthew i did it the same way there we go just a little consultation oh i'm not sure
08:11yeah all right all right very good so 25 apiece 25 apiece as we go into our first tea time
08:21teaser
08:22which is the acres and the clue the acres have had a metric conversion the acres have had a metric
08:45conversion
08:46warm welcome back i left with the clue the acres have had a metric conversion and the answer is
08:52hectares hectares which remember is 10 000 square meters per hectare i think but there we are 25
08:58apiece and where should we go should we go to matthew why not matthew uh consonant please
09:04thank you matthew h vowel i consonant m consonant s vowel e consonant p vowel
09:23you uh vowel o and a final consonant please and a final r stand by
09:42so
09:54so
09:54so
09:54so
09:54so
10:08Matthew?
10:09A seven.
10:10A seven, John?
10:11Seven.
10:12Two sevens.
10:13Yes, Matthew?
10:14Promise.
10:15John Hardy?
10:16Mouse-seer.
10:17Mouse-seer?
10:18Very good.
10:20Mouse-seer.
10:22And Tim and Susie?
10:23There's also a last-minute eight.
10:26Murphy's.
10:26Potatoes.
10:27Oh, yes.
10:29Absolutely.
10:29I've got a friend called Murphy.
10:31He's known as Spud.
10:32Oh, there you go.
10:33Yeah, Spud Murphy.
10:34Right.
10:3432 each apiece.
10:37John Hardy.
10:38Letters game.
10:40Could I have a consonant, please?
10:42Thank you, John.
10:43V.
10:44And another.
10:47C.
10:48And a third.
10:50D.
10:51And a fourth.
10:53T.
10:54And a vowel.
10:56I.
10:57And a second.
10:59A.
11:00And a third.
11:02E.
11:03And a fourth.
11:06I.
11:07And a final consonant, please.
11:09And a final D.
11:11Countdown.
11:13And a half.
11:16I.
11:16And a third.
11:42And a third.
11:42And a third.
11:43Yes, John?
11:44I'll stick with a six.
11:46A six. And Matthew?
11:48I have a nine.
11:50The breakaway.
11:52John?
11:54Yeah, I'd beck.
11:56And Matthew?
11:58Addictive.
11:59Pretty good. In fact, very good.
12:04Very good.
12:06My word, has that done you some good?
12:0950 points now to John's 32.
12:11And Tim, you have a nine?
12:12We have another word which is also nine, didactic.
12:17Oh, that's good.
12:18I never knew what didactic meant.
12:21Oh, OK. Well, it means having moral instructions.
12:24That's something that teaches you, really.
12:27That's the simplest thing.
12:28It goes back to the Greek meaning to teach.
12:29So it has a moral in it.
12:31I see.
12:31Very good. Well done. Thank you, Tim.
12:36Very good.
12:36So 50, my word, plays John's 32.
12:41Matthew, we're back with you, Matthew, for a numbers game.
12:44Could I try six more numbers, please, Rachel?
12:46You can, indeed, up in the game for this quarterfinal.
12:49Thank you, Matthew.
12:50Six little ones, and they are eight, one, three, another eight, seven, and ten.
12:59And the target, 544.
13:02Five, four, four.
13:03Five, four, four, five, four.
13:34Matthew 544 and John 544 right Matthew I did 10 times 7 10 times 7 is 70
13:44then I took away the 3 and I did the 1 3 take yep 68 and multiplied by 8 perfect
13:50well done 544 and John exactly the same way
13:56well done
14:00well done so 60 60 for Matthew playing John's 42 as we turn to Tim and Tim's a great lover
14:09of words
14:10obviously here in Countdown we love words too but when it comes to writing which comes first
14:15your lyrics or the music to which your lyrics work well over the years I would say most composers I
14:23work with like to do the tune first the big exception is Elton John who only writes his
14:29wonderful music when he's got a lyric so all those great hits that we know and love written by Bernie
14:33Taupin yeah with Elton sorry seems to be the hardest word sacrifice candle in the wind all these great
14:42songs came with Bernie's words first and when I work with Elton I had to work that way around for
14:47the first time but whether or not you have the music first or the lyrics first if you're writing
14:53a show you've got to get the story before either in the composer knows what sort of music to write
15:00before he comes up with a tune tone of the thing yeah exactly fascinating what one of your one of
15:08my
15:08favorites great favorites is Evita I thought it was just genius I saw the stage show twice and the film
15:17was also great in fact it took me to Argentina really and it took me to the Duarte tomb yes
15:25yes
15:25which is like a small house you go in you can wander about yes extraordinary it's it's a fascinating
15:32tribute to Eva Peron and but when we wrote Evita she was not buried there her body was in exile
15:38with
15:39her husband yeah it was in what it was in Spain then it was buried in Italy and it only
15:45came back to
15:46Argentina after Peron died and the tomb was which has the words on it don't cry for me Argentina which
15:54I assume they nicked from the show which was put up after our piece really that was that was that
16:01was
16:01quite fun to think that there we go well done thank you Tim very very good now what should we
16:09do let's go to you
16:11John John John for a letters game so could I have a consonant place thank you John ah and another
16:20s and a third g and a fourth k and a vowel e and a second o and a third
16:35a and force e and a final
16:42consonant place and a final M stand by
16:47the does
16:57so
16:59and
17:00and
17:14and
17:18well John six a six Matthew a 60 John smoker a smoker Matthew grease grease
17:28yes indeed what have you got in the corner there Susie and Tim I came up I
17:34thought brilliantly with a six makers yes only to be trumped by Susie who's
17:39come up with meegers which I didn't know was yes it's not actually the
17:44adjective that we know is in something being poor or small but a meegers a
17:50noun is another word for a carpool Jew and that is a large predatory marine fish
17:54it's a South African term so you can't put nests on that one for seven there we
17:59go 66 base 48 and it's Matthew's letters game Matthew I start with a consonant
18:05please thank you Matthew ah vowel you consonant L consonant N vowel a consonant T
18:22vowel a vowel please oh add another vowel and the last one I here's the countdown clock
18:41so
18:54so
19:09Matthew?
19:10Eight.
19:11An eight, John?
19:13I'll stick with an eight.
19:15All right.
19:16Matthew?
19:17Relation.
19:18Relation and?
19:19Oriental.
19:20Oriental, that's a good one.
19:22Always go together, that's good.
19:23Yeah, well done.
19:25Very nice.
19:28Oriental.
19:28Wonderful word.
19:29Jim?
19:32Outliner is also an eight.
19:33Yes.
19:34And that equals the brilliance of our contestants.
19:38Very good.
19:38It's a computer program, just to let you know, which allows its user to edit the logical structure of a
19:46document.
19:46That is an outliner.
19:48All right.
19:4874 to 56, and we're back with Rachel.
19:52John, it's your numbers game.
19:54Could I have six from the bottom, please?
19:56Six from the bottom.
19:57It's gambling time now, isn't it?
19:58Thank you, John.
19:59Six little ones for the maths teacher.
20:01And this time the little ones are one, five, two, nine, ten, and six.
20:09And the target, 462.
20:12Four, six, two.
20:44John?
20:454-6-2.
20:464-6-2. Matthew?
20:474-6-2.
20:48So, John?
20:505 times 9 times 10.
20:515, 9, 10, 450.
20:546 times 2.
20:55Here's 12.
20:564-6-2 one way.
20:59There we go. Matthew?
21:00The same again.
21:02Same?
21:03Yeah.
21:03All right.
21:04Well done.
21:06So, only one break so far, but what a break it was.
21:10It's 84-66.
21:12Matthew in the lead.
21:13And here's a Tea Time teaser for you.
21:15It's going far.
21:17And the clue, going far into the forest to search for food.
21:20Going far into the forest to search for food.
21:39Welcome back.
21:40I left with the clue, going far into the forest to search for food.
21:44They're foraging, foraging for food.
21:4984-66.
21:50Matthew in the lead.
21:51And it's Matthew's letters game now.
21:53Matthew?
21:53Consonant, please, Rachel.
21:54Thank you, Matthew.
21:56F.
21:57Vowel.
21:58E.
21:59Consonant.
22:01P.
22:02Consonant.
22:04R.
22:05Vowel.
22:07I.
22:08Consonant.
22:09M.
22:11Vowel.
22:13A.
22:14Vowel.
22:16O.
22:18And vowel, please.
22:19And lastly, E.
22:22Stand by.
22:24Vowel.
22:47And lastly, E.
22:54Matthew?
22:54Seven.
22:55A seven, John?
22:56Seven.
22:57Matthew?
22:58Emporia.
22:59Emporia.
23:00Emporia too.
23:01You two.
23:02All right.
23:02Well done.
23:04Joint at the hip, these two.
23:05Yeah.
23:06And Tim?
23:07We can equal seven.
23:08Yes.
23:09With phomia.
23:11Phomia.
23:11As in lots of bubbles in the bath.
23:14Yes.
23:15And Susie, anything else?
23:16No.
23:17Phomia.
23:18I was just trying to think how he'd use it in a sentence, but you just supplied it.
23:21I like a phomia bath in you.
23:23Well done.
23:23Thank you, Tim.
23:24Ninety-one to seventy-three.
23:25Now, John, your letters game.
23:28So, could I have a consonant, please?
23:30Thank you, John.
23:31W.
23:32And another?
23:34S.
23:35And a third?
23:37N.
23:39And a fourth?
23:40B.
23:42And a vowel?
23:44I.
23:45And a second?
23:47U.
23:48And a third?
23:50B.
23:51And a consonant?
23:55P.
23:56And a vowel, please?
23:59And the last one.
24:00O.
24:02Countdown.
24:03And a vowel.
24:34John.
24:35Sex.
24:36A sex, Matthew.
24:37Sex.
24:38John.
24:39Sapine.
24:40Supine, Matthew.
24:42Opines.
24:43Opines.
24:44Very nice.
24:44That's good word, isn't it?
24:45Very good word.
24:46Opines.
24:47And what of the corner?
24:49Tim and Susie?
24:50I think that's our maximum as well.
24:53Supine, opines.
24:54Any others, Susie?
24:55There's a strange-looking legal term, which is an anagram of supine, and that's pune.
25:00It's French.
25:01P-U-I-S-N-E.
25:02And it is denoting a judge of a superior court, inferior in rank to the Chief Justice.
25:11Yeah.
25:11I've never heard it down the Magistrate's Court.
25:14No.
25:15I know, for good reason, I think.
25:16Or I make regular appearances.
25:18All right.
25:1997 to 79.
25:21Susie, we're back with you again so soon for your wonderful origin of words, or indeed origins of words.
25:28Origins, yes, because I kicked off yesterday with a quick A to Z of some of my favorite word origins.
25:34And I got up to D yesterday, so I'm going to kick off with E.
25:38And E is for egregious.
25:40And you don't hear that so much these days.
25:43But it used to be used for something outstandingly good.
25:45Now it means shocking or outstandingly bad.
25:47And it goes back to the Latin ex grex.
25:51And ex grex meant standing outside of the flock, so outstanding in some way, not within the norm, if you
25:58like.
25:59F is for fridge, because I'm always getting asked why there's a D in fridge and not in refrigerator.
26:04And the likely answer is that the proprietary name Frigidaire in the 1920s influenced the abbreviation of fridge.
26:13And because Frigidaire also got a D in it, we do too.
26:16My grandpa had a factory for Frigidaire.
26:20He had the rights.
26:21Oh, really?
26:21Made fridges in the 40s, yeah.
26:23Gosh.
26:25G is for gallant.
26:27And I mentioned gallant because women could be particularly gallant in the 16th century.
26:34If they were very elegant, they were described as gallant.
26:36It's actually linked to gala and the idea of rejoicing and joy.
26:41And I just like the idea of a gallant.
26:43It's also linked to gallivant to go about in a sort of spirited, joyful way.
26:47H is for horror, which goes back to a Latin word meaning having your hair stand on end.
26:52And is in fact linked to the Latin word eris for hedgehog.
26:55And I is for idiot.
26:58And the original idiot was somebody in ancient Greece who stood outside again of the flock, a bit like egregious.
27:03But they did so by not taking part in democratic discussions, etc.
27:07They stood outside because they weren't interested in public affairs.
27:11They were only interested in their own.
27:13I see.
27:13Very good.
27:14Which, of course, is frowned on.
27:16That was frowned on.
27:18All right.
27:22Exciting stuff.
27:23Thank you, Susie.
27:2397 plays 79 and we turn now to Matthew.
27:27Penultimate letters game.
27:29Go, Matthew.
27:30Consonant, please, Rachel.
27:31Thank you, Matthew.
27:32S.
27:33Vowel.
27:35A.
27:36Consonant.
27:37T.
27:39Consonant.
27:40R.
27:42Vowel.
27:43O.
27:44Consonant.
27:46V.
27:47Vowel.
27:49E.
27:50Vowel.
27:52I.
27:53And a final vowel, please.
27:55And a final A.
27:58Stand by.
27:59Vowel.
28:00Vowel.
28:02Vowel.
28:27For more information, please.
28:30Matthew?
28:31Eight.
28:32John?
28:33Eight.
28:34Sir Matthew?
28:35Aviators.
28:37Now, yes, John?
28:39Very eights.
28:40I see.
28:40Very eights.
28:41Very good.
28:42Yes.
28:44Two.
28:46Two exceptional players, really.
28:49Jim, Susie?
28:50Well, we haven't got a nine, have we?
28:52Sadly not.
28:53We can just rival them or match them with the votaries.
28:57V-O-T-A-R-I-E-S, and they are people such as monks or nuns
29:01who've made vows of dedication to religious service.
29:06Anything else?
29:07No.
29:07All right.
29:08105 to 87, and it's John's final letters game.
29:13John?
29:14Could I have a consonant, please?
29:16Thank you, John.
29:17S.
29:17And a second.
29:20L.
29:21And a third.
29:22D.
29:23And a fourth.
29:26N.
29:26And a vowel.
29:29E.
29:30And a second.
29:31U.
29:32And a third.
29:34A.
29:35And a fourth.
29:37I.
29:39And a final consonant, please.
29:41And a final Z.
29:43Standby.
29:44And a third.
30:15Well, John,
30:16Eight, not written down.
30:18Eight, not written down, Matthew.
30:21Seven.
30:22And you're seven?
30:23Denials.
30:25What are you up to, John?
30:26I don't know which one to go for.
30:27I'll go for Unsailed.
30:31What do you think about that, Susie?
30:33Unsailed?
30:34Yeah.
30:34It's not in.
30:36I'm so sorry, John.
30:37I don't know what your other one was.
30:39Well, I had Dualises with the Z and Ali Undies.
30:43Dualises?
30:44Yes.
30:44Um, that would have been okay, because you can, um, have the Z or the S.
30:49I'm so sorry.
30:50What a bad luck.
30:52What a bad gamble, really.
30:53Or an unfortunate one, anyway.
30:55Jim.
30:56Uh, for seven, Denials and Sundial.
31:00Yes.
31:01But, um, that's...
31:02That was a statistic.
31:03Yeah.
31:04That's it, Susie?
31:05Yeah.
31:05All right, let's call it there.
31:06112 plays 87, and Matthew, it's your final numbers game.
31:13Let's have six more again, please.
31:15Six more, just for fun.
31:16Yeah.
31:16Thank you, Matthew.
31:17Six little ones.
31:18And the final numbers game of the week is two, six, four, six, seven, and ten.
31:27And the target, 458.
31:30Four, five, eight.
31:58See you later.
32:03Yes, Matthew?
32:044, 5, 8.
32:054, 5, 8, John?
32:074, 5, 8.
32:08Here we go.
32:09Yes, Matthew?
32:11I did 7, 10s are 70.
32:1370.
32:13Plus the 6.
32:1576.
32:16Multiplied by 6.
32:17Is 456.
32:19And add on the 2.
32:20Perfect.
32:214, 5, 8.
32:22Yes, John?
32:23Exactly the same way.
32:24Of course.
32:24Well done.
32:27Good score there, Matthew.
32:28Matthew, 122 and more to be gained on the final round,
32:32which of course is the conundrum round.
32:34So fingers on buzzers, please, John and Matthew.
32:36Let's reveal today's countdown conundrum.
32:43Good Lord.
32:44Yes, John?
32:45Paracrine.
32:47Unbelievable.
32:48Unbelievable.
32:49Let's see whether you're right.
32:52Extraordinary.
32:57Extraordinary.
33:00I think they're sort of under a second.
33:02I can't believe it.
33:03Anyway, it's extraordinary, really.
33:06But unfortunately, Matthew...
33:08Well, for you.
33:09Not for Matthew.
33:10Matthew takes the day.
33:12122 to your 107.
33:14So well done, John.
33:15It was a great performance.
33:17Particularly on the conundrum.
33:19I think last time we saw you,
33:20you were extraordinary on the conundrums, weren't you?
33:22Very, very, very fast.
33:24So I'm presenting you on behalf of the countdown team
33:27with this priceless piece of kryptonite
33:30to take back to Willoughby in Yorkshire
33:33with our very best wishes.
33:35And congratulations, too, for getting this far.
33:37Brilliant stuff.
33:38So who beat the number four seed?
33:40The number five seed.
33:41That's you, Matthew.
33:43Well done.
33:43Brilliant score.
33:45122.
33:45So have a very quiet weekend, will you?
33:48Because on Monday, we're seeing you back here.
33:50And it's your good fortune to be taking on the number one seed.
33:54That'll be Thomas Carey.
33:55So no carousing over the weekend.
33:59All right.
33:59We'll see you then.
34:00See you then.
34:00Lovely stuff.
34:01Well, we shall see and greet Tim Rice once again on Monday.
34:06I'm going to come back then.
34:07All right.
34:08And Susie, too, of course.
34:09See you then.
34:09Brilliant stuff.
34:11Yep.
34:11Wow.
34:12The rest of the nation will be hitting Christmas parties this weekend,
34:14but our four semi-finalists will be reading the dictionary.
34:17Absolutely.
34:18Have you ever seen a conundrum crack that fast?
34:21I know.
34:21I don't think the clock music even had time to start then.
34:23Amazing.
34:24Yeah, very, very good.
34:25Brilliant stuff.
34:26See you on Monday.
34:27See you Monday.
34:27Same time, same place.
34:28You be sure of it.
34:29A very good afternoon.
34:31Contact us by email at countdown at channel4.com,
34:35by Twitter at C4Countdown,
34:37or write to us at countdown leads LS3 1JS.
34:41You can also find our webpage at channel4.com forward slash countdown.
34:49Spending time with family tonight?
34:51Very Christmassy.
34:52Join the Malones, the Siddiquis,
34:53Leon and June quality time with the Gogglebox clans at nine o'clock tonight.
34:58Next is afternoon, horses for courses in posh pawnbrokers.