Sliotar revealed as an answer on Countdown. (Picture: Channel4)
SLIOTAR, the Irish word for the ball used in hurling matches, made an appearance on a game show earlier this week.
The word appeared as an answer for Countdown, a TV game show on Channel 4 where contestants compete against each other in mathematical and linguistic challenges, last Wednesday, June 22.
The contestants, Paul Erdunast and Conrad Teixeira, were asked to make the longest word possible from the letters S, L, R, T, A, I, A, O, and U.
Both contestants found words that were seven letters long - Teixeira found 'sliotar' straight away but mispronounced it, and Erdunast found 'rituals'.
The game show's etymologist, Susie Dent, then explained what the word meant but struggled to pronounce it.
Nick Hewer, the show's presenter, was sure the pronunciation was 'slither'. 'slit-er'.
Actually, the correct pronunciation is closer to 'slit-er'.
Countdown is one of the longest-running game shows in Britain, having started in 1982.
Watch the countdown presenters attempt to pronounce 'sliotar'...
