c4countdown

End of the week, new month, new Champion.

Yup after several close shaves Andrew has finally been displaced from the Champions chair, which is quite unfortunate for him as one or two more wins would've made him a shoe in for the finals.

Find out in just over two hours how the new champ Gareth Lee fares today.

Douglas Wilson wrote:which is quite unfortunate for him as one or two more wins would've made him a shoe in for the finals.

Don't be so sure, there have been occasion where 5 or 6 wins were nowhere near enough.

Series 47 is a good case in point.

PILOTAGES IN r3?

Tony Atkins wrote:PILOTAGES IN r3?

Nope, thought I had it myself and checked it on apterous, turns out it's only valid in the singular.

(Yes, I have a way to watch it from the states now)

Jordan F wrote:I have a way to watch it from the states now

I think it'd be better if you explained it rather than showed off! - I'm sure Jason and Steve et al would love to be made aware

Matt Morrison wrote:

Jordan F wrote:I have a way to watch it from the states now

I think it'd be better if you explained it rather than showed off! - I'm sure Jason and Steve et al would love to be made aware

There's a site called TVPC that shows live streams of various shows all over the world. Not sure if the site is legal, but you as far as I know will not be downloading the show, just watching a stream (not exactly the highest quality though).

Jordan F wrote:

Tony Atkins wrote:PILOTAGES IN r3?

Nope, thought I had it myself and checked it on apterous, turns out it's only valid in the singular.

ODE3 just says "noun" and not mass noun or plural noun, so why not? Is this another one for the list of ODE3 errors?

CASELOAD in round 9, HEGIRA in round 13.

2nd Numbers Alt. (The Super Difficult Method): (75 x 7) + 25 + 6 = 556
3rd Numbers Alt.: ((75 - 4) x 7) + 100 - 2 = 595

Is it me or is that Gareth very annoying (I normally wouldn't speak out on little things, but there haven't been that players recently who have annoyed me as much as he has.)

Not just you, there's something of the school prefect about him, which is fine when you are one but not several years after you've left.

He seems kind of uneasy, I didn't find that annoying though. Quite like him actually.

He has the same mouth as Charlie and also the same expressions. See 6:03 for example.

James Robinson wrote:Is it me or is that Gareth very annoying (I normally wouldn't speak out on little things, but there haven't been that players recently who have annoyed me as much as he has.)

No, it's you. (Deliberate double meaning there )
I like Gareth a lot (and I thought the Charlie thing too Ryan)
There has been a very annoying contestant recently...

Tony Atkins wrote:

Jordan F wrote:

Tony Atkins wrote:PILOTAGES IN r3?

Nope, thought I had it myself and checked it on apterous, turns out it's only valid in the singular.

ODE3 just says "noun" and not mass noun or plural noun, so why not? Is this another one for the list of ODE3 errors?

Technically correct, Tony, and DC might well have to allow it if offered - although I wouldn't like to be the contestant in that position! I'd much rather Oxford specified these kind of things as mass nouns, but they don't seem to bother too often with derivates (as opposed to headwords). It's almost tempting to suggest there should be a Countdown rule stating derivative words ending in -AGE, -NESS (et al?) should be treated as mass nouns, but I suspect there are some exceptions that would spoil that idea as well, although I can't think of any off the top of my head.

Jordan F wrote:There's a site called TVPC that shows live streams of various shows all over the world. Not sure if the site is legal, but you as far as I know will not be downloading the show, just watching a stream (not exactly the highest quality though).

Found the site, thanks a lot for sharing it. If it's live this might be a problem if it's on at 8 AM or something , because that's about the one time I'm never awake

It's on at 3:10 (GMT?), and I'm GMT -5 right now I think (lol daylight savings) which makes it on at 10:10 AM here. I'm up at that time sometimes, at least.

Mike Brown wrote:It's almost tempting to suggest there should be a Countdown rule stating derivative words ending in -AGE, -NESS (et al?) should be treated as mass nouns, but I suspect there are some exceptions that would spoil that idea as well, although I can't think of any off the top of my head.

SPILLAGES? Sorry, these things always bug me.

A Facebook friend posted on her status the 'fact' that when an English noun is used as a verb, the emphasis changes from the first to the second syllable - e.g. PROJECT. I then spent the rest of the evening finding a pile of ones that inconveniently didn't fit this 'fact'. Most tiresome of me, I'm sure.

Brian Moore wrote:

Mike Brown wrote:It's almost tempting to suggest there should be a Countdown rule stating derivative words ending in -AGE, -NESS (et al?) should be treated as mass nouns, but I suspect there are some exceptions that would spoil that idea as well, although I can't think of any off the top of my head.

SPILLAGES? Sorry, these things always bug me.

Thanks, Brian, my suspicions are confirmed!

Mike Brown wrote:

Brian Moore wrote:

Mike Brown wrote:It's almost tempting to suggest there should be a Countdown rule stating derivative words ending in -AGE, -NESS (et al?) should be treated as mass nouns, but I suspect there are some exceptions that would spoil that idea as well, although I can't think of any off the top of my head.

SPILLAGES? Sorry, these things always bug me.

Thanks, Brian, my suspicions are confirmed!

ILLNESSES? WEAKNESSES?

Thomas Carey wrote:

Mike Brown wrote:

Brian Moore wrote:SPILLAGES? Sorry, these things always bug me.

Thanks, Brian, my suspicions are confirmed!

ILLNESSES? WEAKNESSES?

My first guess would be that -AGES and -NESSES are valid when it's possible to have different varieties of the -AGE or -NESS in question, or the -AGE or -NESS is a physical thing, rather than a concept.

Brian Moore wrote:My first guess would be that -AGES and -NESSES are valid when it's possible to have different varieties of the -AGE or -NESS in question, or the -AGE or -NESS is a physical thing, rather than a concept.

Still a bit woolly, though, I think you'll agree, which is why only clearer definitions from Oxford or an official (and properly checked) word list will ever resolve these issues. Ho hum.

Steve Balog wrote: It's on at 3:10 (GMT?), and I'm GMT -5 right now I think (lol daylight savings) which makes it on at 10:10 AM here. I'm up at that time sometimes, at least.

At present it's 3:10 BST (GMT+1) - daylight saving here, too - so 11:10 AM for you

Peter Mabey wrote:

Steve Balog wrote: It's on at 3:10 (GMT?), and I'm GMT -5 right now I think (lol daylight savings) which makes it on at 10:10 AM here. I'm up at that time sometimes, at least.

At present it's 3:10 BST (GMT+1) - daylight saving here, too - so 11:10 AM for you

Significantly better

Mike Brown wrote:

Brian Moore wrote:My first guess would be that -AGES and -NESSES are valid when it's possible to have different varieties of the -AGE or -NESS in question, or the -AGE or -NESS is a physical thing, rather than a concept.

Still a bit woolly, though, I think you'll agree, which is why only clearer definitions from Oxford or an official (and properly checked) word list will ever resolve these issues. Ho hum.

I'm a few dictionaries out of date, but a word that came up once as a possibility was NAILERIES. Is NAILERY a mass noun like CARPENTRY, a count noun like WINERY, or both, like POTTERY?

David Williams wrote:

Mike Brown wrote:

Brian Moore wrote:My first guess would be that -AGES and -NESSES are valid when it's possible to have different varieties of the -AGE or -NESS in question, or the -AGE or -NESS is a physical thing, rather than a concept.

Still a bit woolly, though, I think you'll agree, which is why only clearer definitions from Oxford or an official (and properly checked) word list will ever resolve these issues. Ho hum.

I'm a few dictionaries out of date, but a word that came up once as a possibility was NAILERIES. Is NAILERY a mass noun like CARPENTRY, a count noun like WINERY, or both, like POTTERY?

NAILERY isn't in the ODE3.

Graeme Cole wrote:

David Williams wrote:I'm a few dictionaries out of date, but a word that came up once as a possibility was NAILERIES. Is NAILERY a mass noun like CARPENTRY, a count noun like WINERY, or both, like POTTERY?

NAILERY isn't in the ODE3.

Now we'll never know what it meant.

David Williams wrote:

Graeme Cole wrote:

David Williams wrote:I'm a few dictionaries out of date, but a word that came up once as a possibility was NAILERIES. Is NAILERY a mass noun like CARPENTRY, a count noun like WINERY, or both, like POTTERY?

NAILERY isn't in the ODE3.

Now we'll never know what it meant.

You're probably being rhetorical, but according to Chambers, it's a place where nails are made.