So, enjoy.
Countdown recap for Wednesday 30 November 2011.
C1: Champion Phyllis Styles (1 win, 76 points.) An Apterite (under the name Phyl) from Sevenoaks, Kent. Her favourite place is Scotland (appropriate for today), especially the West Coast and the Highlands & Islands, mainly to escape from it all and enjoy the wildlife and scenery.
C2: Challenger Mark Robinson. From Leeds, West Yorkshire. (No relation, I would like to point out.) After working for 10 years, he has returned to university to do a degree in Sports Development & Primary PE. He went back to university, mainly because he was fed up of working. He also coaches the Pontefract Collieries Under-10's football team.
DC: Susie Dent and Robin Cousins.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: S D E O L T A U D
R02: N S O L D A I F R
R03: T S A E G T I A N
R04: R E I D G Y E O D
R05: 100, 10, 8, 9, 3, 8. Target: 679.
TTT: BULLCAPE - "If you can't get this, you've only yourself to blame"
R06: W U N D E O J T I
R07: R G E E W Z U O T
R08: S A R M O A H B A
R09: M S O A V N I E T
R10: 25, 75, 10, 8, 9, 3. Target: 304.
TTT: BOMBDEED - "The bombing deeds were over, so the troops broke up"
R11: C S M A I A G O C
R12: E E I N L R I V N
R13: S M E U H T A E N
R14: 75, 9, 2, 7, 8, 6. Target: 502.
R15: V I K I N G S Y D (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: S D E O L T A U D
C1: LOADS (5)
C2: LOUDEST (7)
DC: TODDLES (7) SALUTED (7)
OT: STADDLE (7) TOUSLED (7)
Score: 0–7 (max 7)
Phyllis seems to have started slow today, but Mark seems to be making the biggest noise here.
A STADDLE is the lower part of a stack of hay or the like.
TOUSLED is an adjective meaning disordered or disheveled.
Round 2: N S O L D A I F R
C1: FLORINS (7)
C2: radions
DC: ORDINALS (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 15)
Mark mistakenly substitutes the 2nd A for an O to give an illegal word, letting Phyllis equalise and letting DC go darrenic.
Round 3: T S A E G T I A N
C1: TANGIEST (8)
C2: SEATING (7)
DC: AGITATES (8)
OT: ASTATINE (8) STAGNATE (8)
Score: 15–7 (max 23)
A very good 8 spot by Phyllis gives her the lead, although that's only the 2nd time in her 2 games that's she has been in the lead.
ASTATINE (Symbol: At) is a rare element of the halogen family.
Round 4: R E I D G Y E O D
C1: EDGIER (6)
C2: DODGIER (7)
Score: 15–14 (max 30)
Now it's Mark's turn to go darrenic, clawing him right back in it.
Round 5: 100, 10, 8, 9, 3, 8. Target: 679.
C1: 674. ((9 - 3) x 100) + (8 x 8) + 10 (7)
C2: 670.
RR: 679. (100 - 3) x (9 + 8 - 10) (10)
Score: 22–14 (max 40)
A tricky numbers game if you don't spot the trick like Rachel did, but Phyllis just sneaks in 7 points to give her some more breathing space.
Robin tells us about the interesting fact that if ice dancing had existed in the Olympics between 1952 upto when it first existed in 1976, we would've had plenty of medals (based on the fact that the World Championships take place in the same year as the Olympics) including a clean sweep in 1956 and 1960.
Teatime teaser: BULLCAPE -> CULPABLE
Round 6: W U N D E O J T I
C1: JOINTED (7)
C2: TWINED (6)
OT: WIDEOUT (7)
Score: 29–14 (max 47)
Another good 7 for Phyllis takes her lead to 15.
Round 7: R G E E W Z U O T
C1: OUTGREW (7)
C2: towager
Score: 36–14 (max 54)
And Phyllis goes darrenic as Mark goes phantom.
Round 8: S A R M O A H B A
C1: HARMS (5)
C2: BRASH (5)
DC: BRAHMAS (7)
OT: ABOMASA (7) ASHRAMA (7) SAMBHAR (7)
Score: 41–19 (max 61)
There was thinking I'd done well by spotting BRAHMAS, but Susie has kept up with me on that one, while the contestants stick with their 5's.
A ABOMASUM (plural ABOMASA) is the fourth or true stomach of cud-chewing animals, lying next to the omasum.
A SAMBHAR (or SAMBAR) is a deer, Cervus unicolor, of India, Sri Lanka, southeastern Asia, the East Indies, and the Philippines, having three-pointed antlers.
Round 9: M S O A V N I E T
C1: moaniest
C2: MOANS (5)
DC: AMNIOTES (8)
Score: 41–24 (max 69)
Oh dear, Phyllis goes for the wrong arrangement of letters, giving Mark a faint sniff of a comeback here.
Susie's Origins Of Words tells about the origins of the similes "as daft as a brush", "as drunk as a lord" and "as fit as a fiddle".
Round 10: 25, 75, 10, 8, 9, 3. Target: 304.
C1: 302. ((9 + 3) x 25) + 10 - 8 (7)
C2: 297.
RR: 304. ((25 - 3) x 10) + 75 + 9 (10)
Score: 48–24 (max 79)
How the heck do you get to 297 when 300 is right there
Either way, Phyllis is closer, and now has double Mark's score.Teatime teaser: BOMBDEED -> DEMOBBED
Round 11: C S M A I A G O C
C1: MAGICS (6)
C2: MAGICS (6)
DC: COSMIC (6) IMAGOS (6)
OT: AGAMIC (6) AMIGOS (6) ASIAGO (6) CACAOS (6) COMICS (6) MOSAIC (6)
Score: 54–30 (max 85)
A flat round, even though there was some debate about whether you needed the K, but that's the other definition, not this one.
AGAMIC is an adjective meaning occurring without sexual union, or in other words, asexual.
An ASIAGO is either of two varieties (ripened or fresh) of a cow's-milk cheese produced in NE Italy.
A CACAO is a small tropical American evergreen tree, Theobroma cacao, cultivated for its seeds, the source of cocoa, chocolate, etc.
Round 12: E E I N L R I V N
C1: ENLIVEN (7)
C2: ENLIVEN (7)
DC: VEINIER (7)
OT: NERVINE (7)
Score: 61–37 (max 92)
Both contestants get an ENLIVENing 7, as this game edges closer to Phyllis.
Round 13: S M E U H T A E N
C1: emanates
C2: methanes
DC: METHANE (7) ANTHEMS (7) ENTHUSE (7) MEANEST (7)
Score: 61–37 (max 99)
Oh dear, the game is now Phyllis', but both contestants' 8's are not there for different reasons, while DC make a clean sweep of all the 7's.
Round 14: 75, 9, 2, 7, 8, 6. Target: 502.
C1: 506.
C2: 502. ((75 + 7) x 6) + 8 + 2 (10)
Score: 61–47 (max 109)
After the debacle of his previous 2 numbers games, it's nice to see Mark get the numbers.
Round 15: V I K I N G S Y D
No one buzzes. The answer was SKYDIVING.
Final Score: 61–47 (max 119)
The 3rd -ING conundrum in 4 days, but neither contestant is anywhere close to it.
But, it's Phyllis, who despite not scoring in any of the last 3 rounds, has won today, but it wasn't that brilliant a game in fairness, and any half-decent player on here would probably have won easily in all honesty.
But, hey-ho, she'll be back on tommorow as the last month of the year begins.
Till then, bye bye.
Statistics Corner
Phyllis:
Total score - 61
Raw score - 79
Total % of max - 51
Raw % of max - 66
Total average score per round - 4.1
Raw average score per round - 5.3
Number of maxes - 5
Mark:
Total score - 47
Raw score - 70
Total % of max - 39
Raw % of max - 59
Total average score per round - 3.1
Raw average score per round - 4.7
Number of maxes - 5
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=65