July 2, 2026

 Hi there everybody, and welcome to my Countdown blog for July 2, 2026.

Colin starts off the show by telling us it's UFO Day.  Rachel says that life is more probable than not out there according to sensible scientists.  She says that we're not alone in the universe given the size of it.  Jon believes that alien civilization in life has existed for thousands of years, and the subject fascinates him.  Colin remembers being in his back garden and seeing a blue object fly past him.  It turns out that was a balloon from the birthday party next door to him.  Colin thinks that other civilizations have taken a look in the way past and thought we were fine.  Rachel admits her 6-year-old (Noa?) is very strange.

Karen Pearson is back today with 7 wins under her belt.  This is her final game, for now, whether she wins or loses.  She reminds us of her game in Series 53 when Richard Heald beat her by a country mile.  Colin reminds us that Patrick Thompson, this past series' champion, had the same thing happen to him.  Hopefully, Karen can seal the deal and become an Octochamp.  Saying "no way" to that is Paul McCormack, born and raised in Glasgow.  He has traveled the world, from the tundra to the Sahara.

Karen's first letters selection is NGLAEINDT.  

Karen finds DELATING, while Paul tries to find TAGLINED, but it's not in.

DC had TANGLED and TINGLED

Paul's first letters selection is EOISRBUTR

Paul declares BRUISER, while Karen declares ROUTIERS, which are long distance truck drivers in France and mercenary band members during the Middle Ages

DC had BURRITOS.  Another one that makes me hungry, but I just ate breakfast.

Karen's first numbers selection is 100, 1, 3, 7, 3 and 5, and the target is 333.

Karen and Paul both declare 333, but Karen goes wrong.

Paul does 3 x 100 + 7 x 5 - 2

The first Teatime Teaser is LONEROSE, and the clue is "He rose to open the bowling, but his first ball was way off the mark."

The solution is LOOSENER

Paul's next letters selection is STEUMICWA

Paul comes up with MUTIC, while Paul comes up with MISCUE

DC had CAESIUM, which is a soft and silvery metal which is extremely reactive

Karen's next letters selection is PTMOEOQDT

Karen has POTTED, and Paul declares MOOTED

DC had POOTED

Paul's next numbers selection is 50, 1, 9, 3, 3 and 5 and the target is 881.

Paul and Karen are both way off

Jon is thinking of impersonations, and the first person who comes to his mind is Martin Lewis, the money saving expert.  On the recent Dead Ringers tour, Jon was looking forward to the Martin Lewis sketch.  The audience really went for him in a lovable, evangelical way.  He says the sketch is fun to do because it allows you to step on the accelerator.  Jon then impersonates Martin Lewis, which I cannot do because he talks so fast.  Impressionism is an interesting thing to think about, let alone try to manage yourself.  That's one reason why

 Jon has been so much fun to have in Dictionary Corner, this week.

Then, Rachel works out 881.  She does 3 x 5 x 50 + 9 - 3 - 1.  That was amazing.  Rachel is a math expert for a reason, and she didn't get that math degree for nothing!

Karen's next letters selection is FNSLUEUHI

Karen has FLUSH, and Paul has UNLESS which is not in the selection because it needs 2 S's.

DC had SINFUL

Paul's next letters selection is RCEOLERDG

Karen and Paul both declare CODGER, which is perfect for Catsdown, and that's all I'm going to say about that

DC has LODGER

Karen's next numbers selection is 75, 50, 5, 4, 6 and 2 and the target is 537

Karen declares 535, while Paul is off

Karen does 5 + 2 x 75 + 6 + 4

The second Teatime Teaser is OMITCURD and the clue is "Perfectly positioned for an overhead smash."

The answer is MIDCOURT, perfect for Wimbledon

Paul's next letters selection is AEAECSMTL

Paul comes up with CALMEST, and Karen comes up with MALATES, which are salts you get from malic acid in unripe apples

DC had ESCALATE and CASEMATE, which is an armored enclosure

Karen's next letters selection is NRTIAEUGP

Karen came up with REPUTING, while Paul came up with UPRATING

DC had TAPERING

For Origins of Words, we go to something that Susie had messaged Colin about, and that is the plural of phenomenon.  Phenomenons doesn't sound right.  The plural form of phenomenon is phenomena.  It is not listed in the dictionary alongside phenomenons.  We are not as well versed as children were a long time ago.  It is alternative sense of the word cave (pronounced "cah-vay," which means beware according to schoolchildren that a teacher is coming.  Children conversed in Latin back in the day, which is not the case today.  The plural of octopus is actually "octipodes" because it comes from Greek.  The plural of child was "childre" in Middle English, but in modern times an n was addedon for good measure.

Paul's next letters selection is AIOSERYTN

Paul has NOTARIES, while Karen had NOTARISE.

DC had TYROSENE, which is an amino acid, which is important in synthesizing hormones in the body.

Karen's last letters selection is FWPSIOUIG

Karen and Paul both had PIOUS

And with that, Karen is an Octochamp!

Paul's last numbers selection is 6, 5, 7, 5, 8 and 10 and the target is 583.

Paul declares 585, while Karen declares 587.  Paul's method is 5 + 5 x 10 x 6 - 7 - 8

The conundrum is RATTLESAW.  Karen n buzzes in with 1 second to spare to say SALTWATER.  That is... the correct solution!

What a a way to end Karen's run! That was very dramatic.  Paul tried, but the dictionary didn't like him, and it wasn't quite enough.

Karen did it! She did pull a Megel Barker! We'll see her in the final in December.  I knew she could do it! Way to go Karen!

Speaking of going, that's what I'm going to do.  I'll be back tomorrow with two new players for Jon Culshaw's last day in Dictionary Corner, for now.

Good afternoon!