Enjoy.
Countdown recap for Wednesday 20 July 2016.
C1: Champion Stephen Fuller (6 wins, 480 points.) An Apterite and freelance author and editor from Basingstoke, Hampshire.
C2: Challenger Aidan Linge. An Apterite and student from Thetford, Norfolk. He says visiting the battleground of Ypres was one of the most amazing things he has ever done.
DC: Susie Dent and David James, making his DC debut.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: G C R T I U E S A
R02: H B T O I A P S L
R03: 75, 50, 100, 25, 3, 9. Target: 592.
TTT: ALSOBEAN - "Are these sea creatures fond of Swedish pop music?"
R04: Y S T U O A N G E
R05: D R M J A I E H U
R06: 6, 1, 1, 4, 10, 7. Target: 578.
R07: R T D L W O A I I
R08: R N E C O A D S I
R09: 50, 10, 9, 6, 2, 5. Target: 931.
TTT: OILYBINT - "She may have been an oily bint, but she was of high social standing."
R10: M T S U O E K T P
R11: R N T N D I E O I
R12: E F L U S R A T E
R13: D N F R O I E V A
R14: 25, 50, 10, 1, 7, 10. Target: 215.
R15: B L A I R R I T E (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Round 1: G C R T I U E S A
Stephen: STAGIER (7)
Aidan: GUSTIER (7)
DC: AGRESTIC (8)
OT: SURICATE (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 8)
7's apiece to start the day.
A SURICATE is a gregarious burrowing meerkat with dark bands on the back and a black-tipped tail, native to southern Africa. (Suricata suricatta, family Herpestidae)
Round 2: H B T O I A P S L
Stephen: bloatish
Aidan: ABOLISH (7)
DC: PHILOBATS (18)
Score: 7–14 (max 26)
An awesome 9 from DC, but I'm not sure if Stephen will be feeling bloatish after that.
Round 3: 75, 50, 100, 25, 3, 9. Target: 592.
Stephen: 602.
Aidan: 593. ((9 + 3) x 50) - ((100 + 75) / 25) (7)
RR: 592. (((75 - 9) x 3) - 50) x (100 / 25) (10)
Score: 7–21 (max 36)
The 4 large gamble backfires badly for Stephen, as Aidan doubles his lead early doors.
Teatime teaser: ALSOBEAN -> ABALONES
Round 4: Y S T U O A N G E
Stephen: notages
Aidan: OUTAGES (7)
DC: TONGUES (7) OUTSANG (7) NOSEGAY (7)
RR: YOUNGEST (8)
OT: AUTOGENY (8)
Score: 7–28 (max 44)
Rach beats everyone, but I think Stephen might be beating himself too with his illegal 7.....
AUTOGENY is origination or development with no external cause; self-generation, self-perpetuation.
Round 5: D R M J A I E H U
Stephen: ADMIRE (6)
Aidan: HARMED (6)
OT: HEDARIM (7) JUMARED (7) MUHAJIR (7) MUJAHID (7)
Score: 13–34 (max 51)
All 7's are missed by everyone concerned, but they were some nasty ones.....
A HEDER (plural HEDARIM) is a school for Jewish children in which Hebrew and religious knowledge are taught.
To JUMAR is to climb with the aid of a jumar, a clamp that is attached to a fixed rope and automatically tightens when weight is applied and relaxes when it is removed.
A MUHAJIR is a person who emigrates from a country which is, or has become, ruled by non-Muslims.
A MUJAHID is a person (especially a guerrilla) who strives or fights in support of Islam; specifically an Islamic fundamentalist guerrilla.
Round 6: 6, 1, 1, 4, 10, 7. Target: 578.
Stephen: -
Aidan: 572. Mistake in working.
RR: 580. (7)
OT: 580. (((7 + 1 + 1) x 6) + 4) x 10 (7)
Score: 13–34 (max 58)
Pffft, a real nasty and impossible 6 small appears, which completely foxes Stephen, and gets Aidan into a muddle.
David talks about a car that he and his Portsmouth F.C. teammates owned and modified as part of a forfeit system they had.
Round 7: R T D L W O A I I
Stephen: DILATOR (7)
Aidan: DILATOR (7)
OT: ROTALIID (8)
Score: 20–41 (max 66)
A pair of DILATORs appear, but there's a weird darrenic 8 hidden in the mix too.
ROTALIID is an adjective relating to ROTALID, a foraminiferan of the order Rotaliida, suborder Rotaliina, or superfamily Rotaliacea, having a perforate calcareous test, typically in the form of a globular spiral.
Round 8: R N E C O A D S I
Stephen: CRONIES (7)
Aidan: ANEROIDS (8)
DC: SCORNED (7) SCENARIO (8) SIDECAR (7)
OT: ACRIDONES (18) SARCODINE (18)
Score: 20–49 (max 84)
A pair of 9's missed by both, but Aidan's ANEROIDS are looking good.
An ACRIDONE is a crystalline heterocyclic compound which forms the basis of various biologically and pharmacologically active substances.
In sponges, SARCODINE is a mass of protoplasm that supposedly consists of a syncytium.
Round 9: 50, 10, 9, 6, 2, 5. Target: 931.
Stephen: 933.
Aidan: 931. (50 - (6 - 5)) x (10 + 9) (10)
Score: 20–59 (max 94)
The champion is now edging nearer and nearer to the exit door I feel......
Teatime teaser: OILYBINT -> NOBILITY
Round 10: M T S U O E K T P
Stephen: PUKES (5)
Aidan: MUSKET (6)
DC: OUTSTEP (7)
OT: MOUKETS (7)
Score: 20–65 (max 101)
A nice MUSKET from Aidan, while DC OUTSTEP from the line of fire which Stephen is clearly finding himself in......
A MUCKET (or MOUKET) is a North American freshwater mussel of the family Unionidae; specifically Actinonaias ligamentina of the eastern United States or a related species, usually of the genus Lampsilis or Leptodea.
Round 11: R N T N D I E O I
Stephen: DOTtIER (7)
Aidan: EDITION (7)
DC: RENDITION (18)
Score: 27–72 (max 119)
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. No-one mentions that Stephen uses a phantom 2nd T in his offering of dottier, and he erroneously gets a bonus 7 points, but either which way, it shouldn't make much of a difference as Aidan is close to dethroning Stephen.
Susie's Origins of Words talks about the origins of "toga" and "tunic".
Round 12: E F L U S R A T E
Stephen: faulters
Aidan: REFUTES (7)
DC: FALTERS (7) REFLATES (8) REFUTALS (8)
OT: FEATURES (8) RESALUTE (8)
Score: 27–79 (max 127)
Ouchy, ouchy, ouchy. Stephen ironically FALTERS with faulters, and that sends Aidan over the line.
Round 13: D N F R O I E V A
Stephen: FONDER (6)
Aidan: ANEROID (7)
DC: AVOIDER (7) INVADER (7)
OT: NAEVOID (7) RAVINED (7)
Score: 27–86 (max 134)
Stephen maybe growing FONDER by his forthcoming absence, but Aidan can't help but bring out another ANEROID.
NAEVOID is an adjective meaning of the nature of or resembling a naevus.
Round 14: 25, 50, 10, 1, 7, 10. Target: 215.
Stephen: 216.
Aidan: 215. ((10 - 1) x 25) - 10 (10)
Score: 27–96 (max 144)
Oh dear, a bad miss from Stephen just compounds his misery, and Aidan is in line for a debut century.
Round 15: B L A I R R I T E
Aidan buzzes on 5.25 seconds to say IRRITABLE which is correct.
Final Score: 27–106 (max 154)
And that's a composed and assured performance from the youngster. Stephen stays in 2nd place on the leaderboard for now, but his total of 507 points from 7 games is pretty poor, and anyone else who gets 6 wins will surely go above him..... He also has an unwanted record too, as his score of 27 is the lowest score by a champion in the show's 15-round history (and of course, it should've only been 20, cos of DOTtIER)
Still, let's see what Aidan can do in the coming day(s). I'll be back tomorrow for the next instalment. Till then, bye for now.
Statistics Corner
Stephen:
Total score - 27
Raw score - 64
Total % of max - 18
Raw % of max - 42
Total average score per round - 1.8
Raw average score per round - 4.3
Number of maxes - 0
Aidan:
Total score - 106
Raw score - 106
Total % of max - 69
Raw % of max - 69
Total average score per round - 7.1
Raw average score per round - 7.1
Number of maxes - 4
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=75