Monday 12th October 2015 (series 73, prelim 69)

[Andy McGurn]

Countdown recap for Monday 12 October 2015.

C1: Champion John Hardie (4 wins, 419 points.) Four time winner John beat apterite James Ro in his last game on a crucial and lightning quick conundrum. I was hoping James would be here today, but well done to John on getting the win.

C2: Challenger Fiona Currie. -A retired teacher from Newton Hill. Loves tennis and skiing, her 98 year old mother persuaded her to appear on countdown.

DC: Susie Dent and Charlie Stayt.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: R T H X U O U A R
R02: L Z I E M R O E P
R03: 8, 9, 50, 100, 75, 25. Target: 315.
TTT: TURNRUDE - "turned into a rude young boy it must be how he was brought up"
R04: T S H U A Y T U A
R05: D N S F E U E A N
R06: 9, 7, 5, 10, 2, 50. Target: 396.
R07: B G V M E A E I K
R08: P M O I T R O E D
R09: 10, 1, 5, 8, 4, 50. Target: 900.
TTT: TOESCORE - "no body armour or masks but it will give protection for fencing"
R10: T S P O U E R A F
R11: R L Q D E I E S W
R12: G P A E D L A E R
R13: S C G R O I E I T
R14: 3, 9, 10, 5, 2, 25. Target: 985.
R15: N A T T Y B A L L (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: R T H X U O U A R

John: AUTHOR (6)
Fiona: HOUR (4)
DC: THORAX (6)
Score: 6–0 (max 6)

John will have been pleased to see the back of James Ro on the previous show and round one suggests he won’t be having as difficult a time today.


Round 2: L Z I E M R O E P

John: EPIMER (6)
Fiona: EMPIRE (6)
DC: IMPLORE (7)
Score: 12–6 (max 13)

John surprisingly misses IMPLORE, a fairly standard word, enabling Fiona to score points as they both get sixes.


Round 3: 8, 9, 50, 100, 75, 25. Target: 315.

John: 315. (((100*75)-50)/25)+9+8 (10)
Fiona: 315. ((100+8)*(75/25))-9 (10)
Score: 22–16 (max 23)

John uses a stratospheric method while Fiona proves you don’t need to.


Teatime teaser: TURNRUDE -> NURTURED


Round 4: T S H U A Y T U A

John: THUYAS (6)
Fiona: SHUT (4)
DC: TUSHY (5)
Score: 28–16 (max 29)

An obscure one from John and Fiona is SHUT out in this round.



Round 5: D N S F E U E A N

John: DEAFENS (7)
Fiona: FANNED (6)
DC: SNAFUED (7)
OT: DUENNAS (7) ENNEADS (7)
Score: 35–16 (max 36)

The champion wins another round and leads by 19 already.


Round 6: 9, 7, 5, 10, 2, 50. Target: 396.

John: 396. ((50+5)*7)+9+2 (10)
Fiona: 396. ((10-2)*50)-(9-5) (10)
Score: 45–26 (max 46)

Both players retain their 100% records on todays numbers games.


Dc Guest – Charlie tells us about a time when he was a junior reporter and his first time in the presence of Margaret Thatcher.


Round 7: B G V M E A E I K

John: IMAGE (5)
Fiona: IMAGE (5)
DC: GEEK
OT: BEIGE (5) KEEMA (5) KIEVE (5) MIKVA (5) VEGIE (5)
Score: 50–31 (max 51)

Five is the max here and its the easiest of the maxes that the contestants get.
A KIEVE is a tub or vat for holding liquid, especially in brewing or bleaching.
A MIKVA is a pool of water — some of it from a natural source — in which observant married Jewish women are required to dip once a month, seven days after the end of their menstrual cycle

Round 8: P M O I T R O E D

John: IMPORTED (8)
Fiona: ROMPED (6)
DC: MITRE (5) PROMOTED (8)
Score: 58–31 (max 59)

Charlie offeres MITRE and one certainly can’t accuse Charlie of getting help from Susie or from the boffins backstage


Round 9: 10, 1, 5, 8, 4, 50. Target: 900.

John: 900. (10+8)*50 (10)
Fiona: 900. (10+8)*50 (10)
Score: 68–41 (max 69)

Thats 30 out of 30 for both contestants on the numbers


Teatime teaser: TOESCORE -> CREOSOTE


Round 10: T S P O U E R A F

John: APTEROUS (8)
Fiona: SPOUTER (7)
Score: 76–41 (max 77)

Susie defines APTEROUS as describing an insect without wings. I wonder how long it will be before another definition of that word appears in the ODO?


Round 11: R L Q D E I E S W

John: WIELDERS (8)
Fiona: SLIDER (6)
Score: 84–41 (max 85)

With more than double his opponents score John has secured his fourth win, barring a miraculous performance from Fiona in the remaining rounds.


OoW – Susie tells us about the origin of the word GORGEOUS, which goes back to a Latin word meaning whirlpool



Round 12: G P A E D L A E R

John: LAAGERED (8)
Fiona: PLEADER (7)
Score: 92–41 (max 93)

And now his fifth win is a certainty...


Round 13: S C G R O I E I T

John: GORIEST (7)
Fiona: costier
DC: SCROTE (6)
OT: EGOISTIC (8)
Score: 99–41 (max 101)

No costier in the dictionary, but thats not costy for Fiona as she had already lost the game.


Round 14: 3, 9, 10, 5, 2, 25. Target: 985.

John: 985. (((10-8)*25)-3)*5 (10)
Fiona: 985. Mistake in working.
Score: 109–41 (max 111)

Sadly Fiona couldn’t max the numbers games as she blobs her method at the final hurdle.


Round 15: N A T T Y B A L L

John buzzes on 6 seconds to say TANTABLY which is incorrect.
Fiona buzzes on 25 seconds to say BLATANTLY which is correct.
Final Score: 109–51 (max 121)

But the champion’s miss on the conundrum gives Fiona time to search for the answer and she manages to get the conundrum to score the same against John as Matt Le Tissier.

John may prove a handful for the apterites already in the finals. No matter what happens tomorrow he will push Matty Artell down a place in the standings...



Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=73

[Thomas Carey]

The round 4 selection was actually T S H U A Y T U A so THUYAS was the darren. (Also if John loses tomorrow with 12 or less then he won't overtake Matty, unlikely as that may be)

[Andy McGurn]

The round 4 selection was actually T S H U A Y T U A so THUYAS was the darren.

EDITED

(Also if John loses tomorrow with 12 or less then he won't overtake Matty, unlikely as that may be)

Retrospective now of course, but that would be a billion to one shot (which to me is the same as certainty)