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Teatime Teaser

From Countdown
Revision as of 17:35, 29 March 2016 by JohnnyCanuck (talk | contribs) (MB's notes give the Seven Seas teaser scrambles and answers (for Series 40 anyway); tonight I'll be adding them.)

The Teatime Teaser is an anagram presented for the viewers to solve during each commercial break.

This feature was introduced at the beginning of Series 46 along with the 15-round format. Initially, seven-letter anagrams were used, then on 8 December 2003, the show went to eight-letter anagrams. When the presenter introduces the commercial break, he reads out the teatime teaser and a clue for it. The puzzle then appears on the Countdown logo screen; at the end of the commercial break, the solution is displayed.

Before the name "Teatime Teaser" was decided, this feature was known at different times by the names "Granagram", "Intergram" (from "interval") and "Telegram". It was also briefly renamed the "Santagram" during at least one Christmas season.

A forerunner to the Teatime Teaser was used from Series 40 through 42, when Countdown was sponsored by Seven Seas Cod Liver Oil, whose sponsorship screen presented an anagram, between six and nine letters in length, for viewers to solve during the 9 round format's single commercial break.

Unlike conundrums, Teatime Teasers can have more than one solution, for example NUDEMAN could give MUNDANE or UNNAMED. The clue would most likely indicate that one is more acceptable than the other.