Monday 9th March 2009, series 60, game 26

[Howard Somerset]

Countdown recap for Monday 9 March 2009.

C1: Champion Kirk Bevins (5 wins, 591 points.)
C2: Challenger Anne Adams.
DC: Susie Dent and Colin Murray.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

For our only game of Countdown this week, we have Kirk fully refreshed after his relaxing weekend break, now only 334 points away from a place in history.
Challenging him today is Anne, a part-time accounts clerk from Harrowbarrow in Cornwall, just across the border from Tavistock. (There must have been some worthwhile auditions in the West Country recently; I'm sure this is about the fourth contestant from Devon or Cornwall in the last couple of weeks.) Anne is learning tap and jazz dancing, and enjoys playing in a ladies' darts team. Will Anne join the ever increasing band of people trying in vain to take on Kirk, or will she be the one to succeed where all else have failed.
New dictionary guest Colin Murray is someone who I, for one, have never heard of. Maybe that's just a reflection on my age. I have, however, heard of his Uncle Pete, remembering when he was an up and coming DJ on Radio Luxembourg.

R01: B N R A O U N O D
R02: L P H A I E X R S
R03: N N C O I A T A S
R04: H D M P E O I T V
R05: 50, 6, 1, 10, 6, 9. Target: 794.
TTT: EDGETART - "Set your sights on the bullseye, maybe."
R06: S T G N O I U S L
R07: S T L E E O T E J
R08: M R D R A E A D E
R09: W P N A O E Q G U
R10: 100, 9, 7, 7, 1, 6. Target: 716.
TTT: PIECHIPS - "Where carpenters might buy their pie and chips."
R11: L C R O E U R E K
R12: Z T N T I E A R E
R13: D R Y O A I S O O
R14: 100, 2, 10, 6, 9, 9. Target: 922.
R15: I R I S H T A R T (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: B N R A O U N O D

C1: AROUND (6)
C2: BRAND (5)
DC: ABOUND (6)
OT: BOURDON (7) BRADOON (7)
Score: 6–0 (max 7)

A bourdon is an organ stop.
Bradoon is a variant spelling of bridoon, a snaffle bit used with a curb bit in a double bridle.

Round 2: L P H A I E X R S

C1: HARELIPS (8)
C2: SPIRAL (6)
DC: HAILERS (7)
Score: 14–0 (max 15)

A good darren for Kirk there opens up a nice lead.

Round 3: N N C O I A T A S

C1: ONANIST (7)
C2: SATANIC (7)
DC: CONTAINS (8) (Jeff) SANCTION (8)
OT: SANTONICA (18)
Score: 21–7 (max 33)

Anne gets on the scoreboard at last, but everyone misses the niner.

An onanist is a masturbator. What a shame that Kirk was not asked if he knew the meaning.
Santonica (mass noun) is the dried flower heads of a wormwood plant.

Round 4: H D M P E O I T V

C1: ETHMOID (7)
C2: VOTED (5)
DC: VOMITED (7)
OT: PIVOTED (7)
Score: 28–7 (max 40)

Round 5: 50, 6, 1, 10, 6, 9. Target: 794.

C1: 794. (10 + 6) x 50 - 6 (10)
C2: 800.
Score: 38–7 (max 50)

A very good lead for Kirk as we go into the first break.

Colin Murray tells us about how disappointed he was on his 16th birthday to find that all he'd got was a Beatles LP, but then said how it got in interest in music and lead on to his later career.

Teatime teaser: EDGETART -> TARGETED

Perhaps the clue was designed with our two darts-playing contestants in mind.

Round 6: S T G N O I U S L

C1: OUSTING (7)
C2: OUSTING (7)
DC: TOUSLING (8) OUTSINGS (8)
OT: TUSSLING (8) (Innis)
Score: 45–14 (max 58)

Round 7: S T L E E O T E J

C1: TELEOST (7)
C2: JOSTLE (6)
Score: 52–14 (max 65)

Another darren for Kirk as he pulls away even further. He's obviously learnt all about fish.

Round 8: M R D R A E A D E

C1: DREAMED (7)
C2: DREAMED (7)
OT: DEMERARA (8) (Dinos)
Score: 59–21 (max 73)

Round 9: W P N A O E Q G U

C1: WEAPON (6)
C2: NAPE (4)
DC: QUANGO (6)
OT: OPAQUE (6)
Score: 65–21 (max 79)

Susie talked about various definitions of NUTS and words containing NUT, such as NUTCASES. I was waiting to hear the origin of one particular use of NUTS, but was disappointed.

Round 10: 100, 9, 7, 7, 1, 6. Target: 716.

C1: 716. (100 + 1) x 7 + 9 (10)
C2: 716. 100 x 7 + 9 + 1 + 6 (10)
Score: 75–31 (max 89)

Teatime teaser: PIECHIPS -> CHIPPIES

Round 11: L C R O E U R E K

C1: LOCKER (6)
C2: LOCKER (6)
DC: LURKER (6) CURLER (6) crueler - admitted by DC to be invalid, as it's a US spelling
OT: COLURE (6) CORKER (6) RECORK (6) ROCKER (6) COULEE (6) CREOLE (6) KERERU (6) RELOCK (6) RUCKLE (6)
Score: 81–37 (max 95)

The colures are the two circles which pass through the celestial poles, and cross the ecliptic. one at the two solstices and the other at the two equinoxes.
A coulee is a deep ravone.
A kereru is a New Zealand pigeon.

Round 12: Z T N T I E A R E

C1: NITRATE (7)
C2: RETAIN (6)
DC: TETANIZE (8)
Score: 88–37 (max 103)

And with three rounds remaining, that clinches it for Kirk today.

Round 13: D R Y O A I S O O

C1: ARIOSO (6)
C2: RADIOS (6)
OT: AROIDS (6)
Score: 94–43 (max 109)

An arioso is a vocal performance slightly less formal than an aria.

Round 14: 100, 2, 10, 6, 9, 9. Target: 922.

C1: 922. (100 + 2) x 9 + 10 - 6 (10)
C2: 922. 100 x 9 + 2 x 6 + 10 (10)
Score: 104–53 (max 119)

Round 15: I R I S H T A R T

C1 buzzes on 2 seconds to say ARTHRITIS which is correct.
Score: 114–53 (max 129)

Yet another good win for Kirk. Two more scores like today, and he overtakes Julian Fell as highest scoring octochamp. For some strange reason, the bosses at Channel 4 feel that the viewers would rather watch horses running around in a field than seeing Kirk, so we all now have to wait until Monday next week to see how he gets on.


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

[Paul Howe]

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I thought Monday was going to be horsey day and totally missed this.

Well played again, Kirk.