c4countdown

IT'S THE CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS! IT'S THE FIRST SEMI-FINAL!!

AND IT'S A BATTLE OF THE GIANTS!!!

Between these 2 semi-finalists, they have 25 televised victories, 3,087 points, 15 nine-letter words, 18 solved conundrums, and the 2 highest-scoring octochamps in the 33 year history of Countdown.

And to boot..........., they're PRETTY BOYS

Right, before I get hot and flustered, let's get the game underway! Enjoy.

Champion of Champions Semi-Final recap for Wednesday 20 January 2016.

C1: Series 68 Champion Giles "The Farnham Firestorm" Hutchings (13 games, 13 wins, 1,521 points.) He has already defeated Heather Styles 132-73 in the preliminary and Tom Cappleman 114-97 in the quarter-final.
C2: Series 69 Runner-Up Dylan "The Malpas Mutilator" Taylor (13 games, 12 wins, 1,566 points.) He has already defeated Tracey Mills 120-73 in the preliminary and Andy Platt 127-125 in the quarter-final.
DC: Susie Dent and Naga Munchetty.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: T R V O A E N I L
R02: O E B N T M U E O
R03: 75, 50, 8, 1, 4, 6. Target: 617.
TTT: LETSTRAP - "He lets his trap run away with itself"
R04: U I A S L G D T E
R05: L X P O I E U T K
R06: 5, 10, 2, 1, 8, 8. Target: 906.
R07: L R V A I O I A M
R08: P T E I P N E U O
R09: 25, 75, 5, 6, 4, 3. Target: 170.
TTT: VERBCODE - "You can pull this off when things start to get hot"
R10: A Y R S O F T U D
R11: W S N A A G I R H
R12: A S E D A M T G I
R13: N R L E E C R O I
R14: 8, 1, 6, 2, 10, 7. Target: 904.
R15: T E A R C L O T H (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: T R V O A E N I L

Giles: RELATION (8)
Dylan: INTERVAL (8)
DC: ORIENTAL (8)
OT: ORNATIVE (8) ORVIETAN (8) OVERLAIN (8) ROTALINE (8) VIOLATER (8)
Score: 8–8 (max 8)

A pretty impressive start by both players, but we wouldn't expect anything less from these 2 awesome contestants.

ORNATIVE is an adjective meaning to designate a verb with the sense ‘to adorn or supply with ——’
An ORVIETAN is a medicinal preparation held to be a universal antidote against poisons.
ROTALINE is an adjective meaning of, relating to, or characteristic of the foraminiferan genus Rotalia or a larger group to which it belongs.

Round 2: O E B N T M U E O

Giles: ENTOMB (6)
Dylan: OUBOET (6)
OT: BOOTEE (6) BOUTON (6) MOEONE (6) MOUTON (6) OBENTO (6) TONEME (6) UNMEET (6)
Score: 14–14 (max 14)

Just 6's from the players, but there's nothing better here....

A BOUTON is an enlarged part of a nerve fibre or cell, especially an axon, where it forms a synapse with another nerve.
In New Zealand, a MOEONE is the wreckfish or stone bass, Polyprion americanus (family Polyprionidae or Serranidae), a large marine food fish of temperate waters.
MOUTON is sheepskin cut and dyed to resemble beaver fur or sealskin.
An OBENTO (or BENTO) is a lacquered or decorated wooden Japanese lunch box.
A TONEME is a phoneme distinguished from another only by its tone.

Round 3: 75, 50, 8, 1, 4, 6. Target: 617.

Giles: 617. ((75 + 6 - 4) x 8) + 1 (10)
Dylan: 617. ((75 + 6 - 4) x 8) + 1 (10)
Score: 24–24 (max 24)

Simple numbers from our far from simple minds.

Teatime teaser: LETSTRAP -> PRATTLES

Round 4: U I A S L G D T E

Giles: SALUTED (7)
Dylan: DETAILS (7)
DC: DILATES (7) DILUTES (7) GAUDIEST (8)
Score: 31–31 (max 32)

Hmmm, a surprising miss by both our players, although they notice it just after Susie tells them that an 8 is there.....

Round 5: L X P O I E U T K

Giles: EXPLOIT (7)
Dylan: EXPLOIT (7)
Score: 38–38 (max 39)

Well, they both EXPLOITed this situation

Round 6: 5, 10, 2, 1, 8, 8. Target: 906.

Giles: 905. (((8 + 2) x 10) x (8 + 1)) + 5 (7)
Dylan: 905. (((8 + 8 + 2) x 10) + 1) x 5 (7)
Score: 45–45 (max 46)

Giles might be keeping it simple with 2 large, but Dylan's policy seems to be to maintain 6 small, which does bring up a toughie, which is actually impossible, but both Giles and Dylan got 1 away, so well done to both.

Naga talks about her love of golf and how she always tries to better her husband, including getting a hole-in-one before he did.

Round 7: L R V A I O I A M

Giles: RAVIOLI (7)
Dylan: RAVIOLI (7)
DC: AIRMAIL (7) VARIOLA (7)
OT: OVARIAL (7)
Score: 52–52 (max 53)

Yummy RAVIOLI....

Round 8: P T E I P N E U O

Giles: POUTINE (7)
Dylan: PEPTONE (7)
DC: OPINE (5)
OT: EPITOPE (7)
Score: 59–59 (max 60)

Yucky POUTINE, I think I'd rather have a PEPTONE actually.

An EPITOPE is the part of an antigen molecule to which an antibody attaches itself.

Round 9: 25, 75, 5, 6, 4, 3. Target: 170.

Giles: 170. (25 x 6) + (5 x 4) (10)
Dylan: 170. ((4 + 3) x 25) - 5 (10)
Score: 69–69 (max 70)

Can we give these guys a challenge please

Teatime teaser: VERBCODE -> BEDCOVER

Round 10: A Y R S O F T U D

Giles: FORAYS (6)
Dylan: FROSTY (6)
DC: FRAUDS (6)
OT: OUTYARDS (8)
Score: 75–75 (max 78)

That's better!! The new ODO strikes with a magnificent darrenic EIGHT

In beekeeping, an OUTYARD is a site for hives away from the main hive.

Round 11: W S N A A G I R H

Giles: SHARING (7)
Dylan: SHARING (7)
DC: WASHING (7) HANGARS (7)
OT: RAINWASH (8)
Score: 82–82 (max 86)

Well, SHARING seems to be the buzzword today, and it's another 7 points to both players, but the ODO comes up trumps once again with another darrenic 8.

RAINWASH is the washing away of soil or other loose material by rain.

Susie's Origins of Words talks about the origins of the shoes, "brogue", "clog", "mule", "sandal" and "stiletto".

Round 12: A S E D A M T G I

Giles: DIASTEMA (8)
Dylan: DIASTEMA (8)
DC: stigmata MIDGETS (7) DAMAGES (7)
OT: ADAMITES (8) ADAMSITE (8) AGATISED (8)
Score: 90–90 (max 94)

A darrenic 8 from both players, gets them up to the top of the shop......., or rather a pre-ODO darrenic 8 does what I just said.

ADAMITE is a zinc mineral occurring as yellow, green, or colourless crystals or crystal aggregates. Adamite is a hydrous zinc arsenate, Zn2AsO4(OH).
ADAMSITE is an organic arsenic compound which induces vomiting and is irritating to the eyes and lungs, used in the form of an aerosol in chemical warfare, riot control, etc.; also called DM (diphenylaminechlorasine).
To AGATISE is to convert into agate or a form containing agate.

Round 13: N R L E E C R O I

Giles: RECOILER (8)
Dylan: RECLINER (8)
OT: RECOINER (8)
Score: 98–98 (max 102)

Nice and easy yet again, even if Giles tried to make it a bit dramatic with his risky sounding declaration.

So, unsurprisingly, a crucial conundrum is guaranteed, but will either player have an advantage..... No-one has had one yet, more on that in a second....

A RECOINER is quite simply a person who recoins money.

Round 14: 8, 1, 6, 2, 10, 7. Target: 904.

Giles: 904. ((10 x 6 x 2) - 7) x 8 (10)
Dylan: 904. (((10 + 6) x 7) + 1) x 8 (10)
Score: 108–108 (max 112)

2 similar methods, but 2 lots of ten points, and for the first time in Countdown 15-round, ALL of the first 14 rounds have been level. No player has had the lead, but that will change shortly, as whoever takes the first lead, will also have the winning lead......

It literally comes down to this SUPER CRUCIAL CONUNDRUM to see who will take part in Friday's grand final.....

Here we go.............

Round 15: T E A R C L O T H




1 SECOND




2 SECONDS



BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

An audible gasp is heard from the audience

Dylan buzzes on 2.5 seconds to say CHARLOTTE which is CORRECT.
Final Score: 108–118 (max 122)

HE'S DONE IT, HE'S DONE IT

DYLAN TAYLOR HAS REACHED THE CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS GRAND FINAL!!!

Just 2 years after missing out on the Series 69 championship, Dylan now has the chance to be not just be known as a Countdown points record holder, he now has the chance to add a very important title to his name, when he takes on Jen Steadman or Dan McColm in Friday's final.

A big mention to Giles Hutchings as well, who put in 2 superb performances in his earlier games, and also contributed to this phenomenal game. I suppose losing his unbeaten record in this manner isn't too bad in context, but I'm sure he would've liked to be in Friday's final too. He did admit that he wasn't close to the conundrum though, so that's not too bad either, I guess.

So, tomorrow will see Jen Steadman takes on Cool Dan McColm for the right to take on Dylan in Friday's grand final. Join Tracey for that one.

Speaking of Jen, I wish her the best of luck for the future, after she did her final recap yesterday. Maybe winning this series might be a nice present to go out with.

So, that's me done for the CoC. I'll be back next week when normality resumes as Series 74 gets underway.

So, till then, bye for now, and good luck to Dylan and whoever joins him in Friday's final.

Statistics Corner

Giles:
Total score - 108
Raw score - 108
Total % of max - 89
Raw % of max - 89
Total average score per round - 7.2
Raw average score per round - 7.2
Number of maxes - 11

Dylan:
Total score - 118
Raw score - 118
Total % of max - 97
Raw % of max - 97
Total average score per round - 7.9
Raw average score per round - 7.9
Number of maxes - 12

Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=-17

"I think 'ow-bwwt' probably." I had to look it up.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/defin ... ish/ouboet does give the pronunciation. So it looks like we were wrong, and this isn't the dictionary the show uses after all.

Stewart Gordon wrote:"I think 'ow-bwwt' probably." I had to look it up.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/defin ... ish/ouboet does give the pronunciation. So it looks like we were wrong, and this isn't the dictionary the show uses after all.

Is that a quote from Susie? Is the point you're making that because she didn't know the pronunciation even though it's specified, she must have been using a different dictionary? I don't think that's really evidence that they use a different dictionary. Have they ever disallowed a word in the dictionary we think is used or come up with a word not in it? Susie frequently pronounces words wrongly anyway. I'm not sure she ever uses the pronunciation guide.

Gavin Chipper wrote:Is that a quote from Susie? Is the point you're making that because she didn't know the pronunciation even though it's specified, she must have been using a different dictionary?

Of course.

Gavin Chipper wrote:I don't think that's really evidence that they use a different dictionary.

What alternative explanation do you have then?

Before this game I sat in Susie's chair for a few minutes and Safari was open on oxforddictionaries.com

Stewart Gordon wrote:

Gavin Chipper wrote:Is that a quote from Susie? Is the point you're making that because she didn't know the pronunciation even though it's specified, she must have been using a different dictionary?

Of course.

Gavin Chipper wrote:I don't think that's really evidence that they use a different dictionary.

What alternative explanation do you have then?

That Susie doesn't look at the pronunciation guide.

Giles wrote:Before this game I sat in Susie's chair for a few minutes and Safari was open on oxforddictionaries.com

How was that allowed to happen? Why weren't you forcibly ejected from the building?

Gavin Chipper wrote:That Susie doesn't look at the pronunciation guide.

That isn't an explanation at all. It's really just saying the same thing I'm querying (that she guessed the pronunciation rather than referring to any pronunciation guide) in different words.

Stewart Gordon wrote:

Gavin Chipper wrote:That Susie doesn't look at the pronunciation guide.

That isn't an explanation at all. It's really just saying the same thing I'm querying (that she guessed the pronunciation rather than referring to any pronunciation guide) in different words.

Well it's an explanation for why she might not know the pronunciation despite it being there. Basically there are two possible explanations:

1. She uses the same dictionary as us but doesn't use the pronunciation guide, or at least didn't use it on this occasion.

2. She has her own secret dictionary that seems to have exactly the same words but no pronunciation guide. And on top of this she has the dictionary we use open on her laptop for no particular reason.

Gavin Chipper wrote:1. She uses the same dictionary as us but doesn't use the pronunciation guide,

How does this explain why she refuses to use the pronunciation guide?

Gavin Chipper wrote:or at least didn't use it on this occasion.

How does this explain why she decided not to use it on this occasion?

Please stop this silliness.

Stewart Gordon wrote:

Gavin Chipper wrote:1. She uses the same dictionary as us but doesn't use the pronunciation guide,

How does this explain why she refuses to use the pronunciation guide?

Gavin Chipper wrote:or at least didn't use it on this occasion.

How does this explain why she decided not to use it on this occasion?

Please stop this silliness.

We don't have to know literally everything to come up with a "best explanation". My version has the gap of why Susie doesn't/didn't use the pronunciation guide. Yours has the gap of why there is this whole secret dictionary that has the same words but no pronunciation guide. Also that Susie has the public dictionary open on her laptop. You have no explanation of these.

Based on all this, which is most likely - that Susie uses the public dictionary or that she doesn't? That's what it boils down to.

Stewart absolutely destroying Gev in here,

Jon Corby wrote:Stewart absolutely destroying Gev in here,

No room for mindless hecklers here. Back it up or find another thread.

Gavin Chipper wrote:We don't have to know literally everything to come up with a "best explanation". My version has the gap of why Susie doesn't/didn't use the pronunciation guide.

Which is the whole thing I was asking in the first place. Hence my point.

Stewart Gordon wrote:

Gavin Chipper wrote:We don't have to know literally everything to come up with a "best explanation". My version has the gap of why Susie doesn't/didn't use the pronunciation guide.

Which is the whole thing I was asking in the first place. Hence my point.

Well I know, but I disagree with the conclusion you drew because it comes from an even more unlikely set of circumstances.