Monday, 9th February 2009 (Series 60 Prelim 6)

[Howard Somerset]

Countdown recap for Monday 9 February 2009.

C1: Champion Mike Spellar (1 win, 82 points.)
C2: Challenger Janet Scowcroft.
DC: Susie Dent and John Sergeant.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

Today we see Mike, a forum member, who in his first game last Friday just edged out Lisa, another forum member, by a split second on a crucial conundrum. Mike, a 30 year old, is ten years to the day older than our Dinos, a fact I find hard to believe, as he only looks five years older. He loves football, extreme sports, and karaoke, and surprisingly has a taste in music which is almost approching acceptable, something very surprising for a person so young. His ambition is to gain his sky diving instructor's licence.

In his second game he comes up against Janet, a modern languages teacher from Bridgewater. She plays the piano, and likes walking, reading, and searching for strange things with her GPS. She has three ambitions, to visit New York, to visit San Francisco, and to win one game of Countdown.

So, is Mike going to continue his run, or will Janet be one third of the way to achieving her ambitions by the end of the show?

R01: D R T A E N L E O
R02: M D S I I U R C E
R03: N D H Z A U O N E
R04: R S J O E T A S M
R05: 100, 6, 10, 5, 9, 1. Target: 790.
TTT: HASTYRED - "Conceal the charges for watering, perhaps."
R06: B R T O U S P I A
R07: L N D R O I A T I
R08: Q M R O E A G S T
R09: N E I R S S E I P
R10: 75, 6, 4, 8, 2, 3. Target: 626.
TTT: SOSFLIRT - "They might make a delivery after a delivery."
R11: F L Y E I V T E N
R12: H G W U I O N D E
R13: R K L C A O E M T
R14: 100, 10, 4, 8, 6, 6. Target: 457.
R15: T I N Y D E L V E (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: D R T A E N L E O

C1: LEARNED (7)
C2: LEARNED (7)
DC: LEOTARD (7) REDOLENT (8)
OT: ANTLERED (8) OLEANDER (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 8)

Round 2: M D S I I U R C E

C1: CURSED (6)
C2: CRUISED (7)
DC: SUICIDE (7)
OT: CRUISIE (7) DIMERIC (7) MISCUED (7) MURICES (7)
Score: 7–14 (max 15)
First blood to Janet

cruisie, variant spelling of crusie - a small oil lamp with a handle
dimeric, adj derivative of dimer - a molecular complex consisting of two identical molecules linked together
murices, pl of murex - a predatory tropical marine mollusc

Round 3: N D H Z A U O N E

C1: UNDONE (6)
C2: UNHAND (6)
DC: HENNA (5) DOZEN (5) ZONED (5)
OT: DUENNA (6)
Score: 13–20 (max 21)

henna - a dye, made from powdered leaves of a tropical shrub, and used to decorate the body
duenna - a chaperone in Spain

Round 4: R S J O E T A S M

C1: JETSAM (6)
C2: MASTERS (7)
DC: MAESTROS (8)
Score: 13–27 (max 29)
Janet now building up a comfortable lead

Round 5: 100, 6, 10, 5, 9, 1. Target: 790.

C1: 790. 100 x (9 - 1) - 10 (10)
C2: 790. (6 + 1) x 100 + 9 x 10 (10)
Score: 23–37 (max 39)

Teatime teaser: HASTYRED -> HYDRATES

John Sergeant tells us all about how he came to be a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, and has promised to disclose his thoughts about the judges later in the week.

Round 6: B R T O U S P I A

C1: SPROUT (6)
C2: SPOUT (5)
DC: ROBUSTA (7)
OT: SUBTOPIA (8)
Score: 29–37 (max 47)
Refreshed by the break, Mike now starting his comeback.

robusta - coffee or coffee beans

Round 7: L N D R O I A T I

C1: raidon
C2: ADROIT (6)
DC: ORDINAL (7) DILATION (8)
Score: 29–43 (max 55)
... only for Janet to pull away again.

Round 8: Q M R O E A G S T

C1: MAESTRO (7)
C2: STREAM (6)
DC: STORAGE (7)
OT: TOERAGS (7)
Score: 36–43 (max 62)
Mike remembers one of Susie's offerings from an earlier round to get back in the game.

Round 9: N E I R S S E I P

C1: RIPENESS (8)
C2: INSPIRES (8)
OT: PIERISES (8) PINERIES (8)
Score: 44–51 (max 70)

pierises, pl of peiris - a variety of heather
pineries, pl of pinery, a derivative of pine, as in pine tree

In Susie's spot, we hear about a number of slang terms for money.

Round 10: 75, 6, 4, 8, 2, 3. Target: 626.

C1: 626. 75 x 8 + 6 x 4 + 2 (10)
C2: 626. 75 x 8 + 6 x 4 + 2 (10)
Score: 54–61 (max 80)

Teatime teaser: SOSFLIRT -> FLORISTS

Round 11: F L Y E I V T E N

C1: LIVEN (5)
C2: EVENT (5)
DC: LEVITY (6) FELINE (6) EVENLY (6)
OT: VEINLET (7)
Score: 59–66 (max 87)

veinlet - a small vein

Round 12: H G W U I O N D E

C1: WINGED (6)
C2: WHINGED (7)
OT: WENDIGO (7) WIDGEON (7)
Score: 59–73 (max 94)
Janet pulls away again, with only three rounds remaining.

wendigo, variant spelling of windigo - a cannibalistic giant in the folklore of northern Algonquian Indians (how could I have forgotten that?)

Round 13: R K L C A O E M T

C1: LOCATE (6)
C2: CALMER (6)
DC: TACKLER (7)
OT: ARMLOCK (7) CORMLET (7) CROTALE (7) EARLOCK (7)
Score: 65–79 (max 101)

cormlet - a little corm
crotale - a small tuned cymbal

Round 14: 100, 10, 4, 8, 6, 6. Target: 457.

C1: 458. 4 x 100 + 8 x 6 + 10 (7)
C2: 458. 4 x 100 + 8 x 6 + 10 (7)
OT: 457. (10 x 6 - 6) x 8 + 100 / 4 (10)
Score: 72–86 (max 111)
And that gives the game to Janet.
Everyone misses what is rated as a very difficult numbers game (rating 87%), which has just three solutions. However, forum members Lesley, Jonwitts and Ray between them manage to find all three.

Round 15: T I N Y D E L V E

No one buzzes. The answer was EVIDENTLY.
Score: 72–86 (max 121)

So it is Janet who lives to fight another day. Mike, on the other hand is now free to work on getting that sky-diving licence, though he has now admitted a fear of clowns, which John Sergeant mis-heard as clouds.


Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=60

[Dinos Sfyris]

She likes searching for strange things with her GPS.

I read this as GPs!

[Phil Reynolds]

She likes searching for strange things with her GPS.

For those who didn't see the show, she was actually talking about geocaching.

[Howard Somerset]

She likes searching for strange things with her GPS.

For those who didn't see the show, she was actually talking about geocaching.

I thought about mentioning geocaching, and even giving this link, but thought most people wouldn't be interested.

[Kai Laddiman]

She likes searching for strange things with her GPS.

I read this as GPs!

Same lol. I reckon he edited it after we read it.

[Howard Somerset]

Same lol. I reckon he edited it after we read it.

What - me do anything so underhand as that! The very idea.

Strangely, I'd never realised the similarity between GPs and a GPS. I'm well familiar with a GPS and use one a lot (not for geocaching, I should add, though have thought about it). Indeed, I'll be using it a fair bit next week when off skiing, and the person I'll be skiing with most of the time is one of my daughters, who is a GP. I don't think even she has associated GPs with a GPS.

[Lesley Jeavons]

Round 14: 100, 10, 4, 8, 6, 6. Target: 457.
C1: 458. 4 x 100 + 8 x 6 + 10 (7)
C2: 458. 4 x 100 + 8 x 6 + 10 (7)
OT: 457. (10 x 6 - 6) x 8 + 100 / 4 (10)
Everyone misses what is rated as a very difficult numbers game (rating 87%), which has just three solutions. However, forum members Lesley, Jonwitts and Ray between them manage to find all three.

Oh fabulous to be name checked in a recap! Thanks Howard.