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The Countdown Jargon Page

This page is designed with the specific intention of aiding those first time viewers (and, indeed, some regular ones) who tune in and wonder what on Earth Richard, Carol et al are talking about. 
"Cecil? Who the bloody hell's Cecil?" On this page, you will find out exactly who he is, along with definitions and (in some cases assumed) etymology of other Countdown terms/sayings.

The first and most obvious one is the CONUNDRUM- not exactly a conundrum as such, it's a nine-letter anagram (usually created by Michael Wylie) which was designed to act as a tie-breaker. They can all be unscrambled (even the ones that were spelt wrong, like in the 1000th programme) and whoever buzzes in first correctly gets ten points. CRUCIAL CONUNDRUMS come into play when the difference between players is below ten points, and theoretically, whoever gets the conundrum wins the game. This used to happen quite often, but hasn't since the show changed to the 15-round format. A SUDDEN-DEATH CONUNDRUM is an extremely rare occurrence, and it happens when all 15 rounds (including original conundrum) have been played and the scores are still level. Conundrums will be played over and over until a winner can be determined.

CECIL stands for "Countdown's Electronic Calculator In Leeds"- again, a mislabelling as it doesn't actually calculate anything, but instead crunches a random number between 100 and 999 inclusive to be solved in the numbers game rounds. With the exception of the scoreboards, the infamous clock and the conundrum buzzers, Cecil is the only piece of electronic equipment on the show (and probably the most sophisticated).

THE MAYOR IN THE CHAIR is none other than the mayor of Wetwang himself- the inimitable J. Richard Whiteley.

Likewise, THE VORD AT THE BOARD stands for Countdown's finest, the one and only Carol Vorderman.

An OCTOCHAMP is that rare (but increasingly more common) breed of Countdowner who wins the maximum amount of 8 games in the heats, and therefore retires undefeated before returning for the knockout rounds.

A VISCOUNT is like an Octochamp, only the Countdowner in question only won 6 games in a 3-month series (usually series last 6 months). These, so far, have only been implemented in series 46. The writer of this page, incidentally, was a Viscount.

And while I'm on the subject, a COUNTDOWNER is simply someone who has appeared as a contestant on the show, regardless of whether he or she won or lost.

The term COUNTDOWN CHAMPION has a double meaning- either it's whoever the current winner is in Countdown's "winner-stays-on" format (daily champion), or the overall winner of a series (series champion).

The "NODDY" (NODE) is the New Oxford Dictionary of English- for a word to be on Countdown, it has to be in this book. Even if it's in common usage (like FORELEG), if it's not in the book, it's not allowed.

The term DICTIONARY DWELLERS basically refers to the two-person team, consisting of celebrity and lexicographer, who scan the dictionaries (with external help or without...) for better words than the ones the contestants offer. However, as they have no electronic equipment, they aren't infallible, and thus can be beaten, and often are.

The CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS (coc, C of C) is a rare series of matches, usually occuring every two or three years. It's basically a knock-out tournament in the style of the final rounds of a series (only without seeding, although it has been implemented in past C of C) in which past champions, runners-up and high-scoring finalists pit their Countdown wits against each other.

The SUPREME CHAMPIONSHIP was more or less the same, except it lasted 3 months (the whole of series 33, discounting C of C VIII) and was again a knock-out tournament, only the former champions (practically ALL of whom returned) were sorted into 7 groups (plus the 8th C of C, which acted as a qualifying group in it's own right), from which whoever won all the knock-out games went through to the final rounds. The series was eventually won by Harvey Freeman, beating Allan Saldanha in the 14-round final 82-79 (see the Countdown Greats page for more details).

GAMES OF DIFFERENT LENGTH- ah, yes, a toughie, this. Right from Countdown's inception in November 1982 to the end of series 45 in September 2001, all games were 9 rounds (half an hour) long- 6 letters games, 2 numbers games and a conundrum, except for series/C of C finals (apart from the first ones of each), which were 14 rounds (45 minutes)- 8 letters games, 4 numbers games and, bizarrely, 2 conundrums, and often opened with Mr. Whiteley delivering his greeting standing in front of the iconic clock. Since September 2001 and the start of series 46, however, ALL games (except for the 3-game junior masters series, which were in the old 9 round format) adopted the new 15-round (45 minute) system- 11 letters games, 3 numbers games and 1 conundrum, and had the teatime teasers, which I will go into later. There is much debate as to which system is best, and I'm sure it's not going to be resolved any time soon.

The MASTERS games aired during the defunct C4 daily between 1990 and 1991- the last few never being aired due to the gulf war. Mike Brown's Site has further details, including a list of all the games (even the ones which weren't broadcast).

A TEA-TIME TEASER is the name for the 7-letter anagram at the start of every ad break, to which the answer revealed at the end of the break. The DICKTIC CLUE is a cryptic clue to the anagram given by Mr. Whiteley himself. Other names for Tea-time teasers have included Granagrams, Adagrams, Tellygrams and Dickagrams (the last one being part of the inspiration for my Yahoo Countdown forum handle).

Neb 2003