Tuesday 4th February 2020 (Series 82, Episode 24)

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Tom S
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Tuesday 4th February 2020 (Series 82, Episode 24)

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Countdown recap for Tuesday 4 February 2020.

C1: Champion John Barlow (2 wins, 172 points.). Retired Civil Servant from Glasgow looking for win #3 today.
C2: Challenger Craig Macauley. A Retired History Teacher from Preston. A Man United season ticket holder (which will undoubtedly put him in Rachel's good books) and a keen genealogist. Was led to believe that he was an only child, but later discovered that he had several brothers and sisters in Belfast who had all died at a young age.
DC: Susie Dent and Prue Leith.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: S U M A R D E C O
R02: E U A O R B S R G
R03: 25, 75, 3, 8, 8, 5. Target: 381.
TTT: ANFIELDIS - "Anfield is a better place to football than Old Trafford at the moment, I think this argument is settled."
R04: E A I O W M P C F
R05: D A T I Y E N L A
R06: 7, 9, 4, 9, 10, 1. Target: 277.
R07: F I R J E D I R C
R08: L N T H O A E O G
R09: 75, 9, 9, 3, 6, 8. Target: 787.
TTT: DANCEALOT - "All the evidence was based on his own account, without any irrefutable facts."
R10: S S R E X I E P K
R11: N I G S R A M V O
R12: L R T U E N Z A E
R13: M I N Q E S C A S
R14: 100, 3, 9, 2, 9, 5. Target: 765.
R15: T I C K B E G U N (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: S U M A R D E C O

John: COMRADES (8)
Craig: COMRADES (8)
DC: CAROUSED (8)
OT: DECORUMS (8) MERCADOS (8) RACEMOUS (8)
Score: 8–8 (max 8)

Strong start by both- DC gets Caroused, which has popped up for the 2nd game in a row.
Round 2: E U A O R B S R G

John: BROGUES (7)
Craig: bargers
DC: ARBOURS (7) BURGERS (7)
OT: GOBURRAS (8)
Score: 15–8 (max 16)

A reasonable guess from Craig, but it's not in, which will be painful for him, as he could have swapped his A for a U to get BURGERS.

Round 3: 25, 75, 3, 8, 8, 5. Target: 381.

John: 380. 5 x 75 + 8 - 3 (7)
Craig: 391.
RR: 381. 5 x 75 + 25 - 8 - 8 - 3 (10)
Score: 22–8 (max 26)

John gets to a rather straightforward method of 1 away, and extends his lead by doing so.

Teatime teaser: ANFIELDIS -> FINALISED

Round 4: E A I O W M P C F

John: WIMP (4)
Craig: CAMP (4)
DC: POMACE (6)
OT: COWPEA (6) PEACOW (6)
Score: 26–12 (max 32)

Tough selection leads both players to only get a 4.

Round 5: D A T I Y E N L A

John: daintly
Craig: TAILED (6)
DC: ANALITY (7)
OT: DENTALIA (8)
Score: 26–18 (max 40)

DAINTILY, but no daintly. All of which pushes Craig back into crucial territory, A rather rude suggestion from DC with ANALITY! :)

Round 6: 7, 9, 4, 9, 10, 1. Target: 277.

John: 277. (4 - 1) x 9 x 10 + 7 (10)
Craig: 279.
Score: 36–18 (max 50)

And just like that, Craig is no longer in crucial territory as his 6S gamble does not work in his favour.

Prue talks about her career as a novelist, as well as her new cookbook, The Vegetarian Kitchen.

Round 7: F I R J E D I R C

John: CRIED (5)
Craig: FIRED (5)
DC: DICIER (6) FERRIC (6)
OT: DEIFIC (6)
Score: 41–23 (max 56)

Round 8: L N T H O A E O G

John: LENGTH (6)
Craig: LENGTH (6)
DC: ETHANOL (7)
OT: HALOGEN (7) LOGHTAN (7) TANGELO (7)
Score: 47–29 (max 63)

Both players declare LENGTH- ironic as they've both equalled each other in most of the letters rounds so far.

Round 9: 75, 9, 9, 3, 6, 8. Target: 787.

John: 786. (75 + 3) x (9 + 9 - 8) + 6 (7)
Craig: 789.
RR: 786/788. (7)
OT: 787. (((9 x 8 - 9) x 75) - 3)) / 6 (10)
Score: 54–29 (max 73)

Craig's numbers letting him down in this game, but neither can be blamed for not getting this one spot on, as even Rachel is stumped!

Teatime teaser: DANCEALOT -> ANECDOTAL

Round 10: S S R E X I E P K

John: EXPRESS (7)
Craig: EXPRESS (7)
DC: EXPIRES (7) PRESSIE (7)
OT: PESKIER (7) PREXIES (7)
Score: 61–36 (max 80)

Round 11: N I G S R A M V O

John: SOARING (7)
Craig: MARGINS (7)
DC: ROAMING (7)
OT: MORINGAS (8) ORGANISM (8)
Score: 68–43 (max 88)

Susie's Origins Of Words talks about the origins of "pager".

Round 12: L R T U E N Z A E

John: RELATE (6)
Craig: NATURE (6)
DC: NEUTRAL (7) ALTERNE (7)
OT: ENTERAL (7) ETERNAL (7)
Score: 74–49 (max 95)

Round 13: M I N Q E S C A S

John: MINCES (6)
Craig: caseins
DC: CASEIN (6) AMNESICS (8)
Score: 80–49 (max 103)

Craig's CASEIN cannot be pluralised, but was worth a go in the circumstances.

Round 14: 100, 3, 9, 2, 9, 5. Target: 765.

John: 763.
Craig: 766. (100 + 9) x (9 - 2) + 3 (7)
RR: 765. ((100 / 2) + (9 + 9)) x 5 x 3 (10)
Score: 80–56 (max 113)

Craig plays 1L in order to get some numerical points to his name, and in doing that, he does so with 1 away.

Round 15: T I C K B E G U N

John buzzes on 2.5 seconds to say BUCKETING which is correct.
Final Score: 90–56 (max 123)

A good showing from John today, as he surpasses 86! The game would have been a lot closer if Craig had got more numbers points, but a solid show on the letters nonetheless!

Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=82
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