If that doesn't scare you, then you're a normal person.
Enjoy.
Countdown recap for Wednesday 31 October 2012.
C1: Champion Lucy Grainge (1 win, 88 points.) From Darlington, County Durham, She is a full-time carer for her mother.
C2: Challenger Ivor Sorokin. An administrative director from Hove, East Sussex. Between the 1960's and 1995, he developed a leather goods shop chain. He also likes playing table tennis. He did also suggest that Anita Roddick's Body Shop chain wouldn't last longer than 6 months...........
DC: Susie Dent and Jo Brand.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: S F T O I E W C M
R02: N I B O G E S U T
R03: C V J R A E A G P
R04: R U L E R I D O N
R05: 2, 6, 1, 4, 10, 8. Target: 382.
TTT: MEDICNAP - "Medics won't have time for a nap during one of these"
R06: P A N O T E A N X
R07: L P S E I O R N E
R08: D U S O L A T U C
R09: S L D G A I E T S
R10: 100, 75, 8, 3, 1, 2. Target: 814.
TTT: IRONSTEP - "A few tips that will help to show you the way"
R11: T D N A U E R H I
R12: L A R I V O E S H
R13: N T S O E O D H A
R14: 50, 25, 1, 8, 4, 7. Target: 860.
R15: O B E S E D I D Y (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: S F T O I E W C M
C1: COMFIEST (8)
C2: finest
DC: fitcows COMFITS (7)
Score: 8–0 (max 8)
A superb darrenic start for Lucy, as Ivor mistakes the M for an N.
Round 2: N I B O G E S U T
C1: BOGIES (6)
C2: OUTINGS (7)
DC: bignuts
OT: BOUNTIES (8)
Score: 8–7 (max 16)
Ivor gets into the game at the next opportunity with his OUTINGS, but the BOUNTIES of the round are left in the treasure chest.
Round 3: C V J R A E A G P
C1: GRAPE (5)
C2: CRAVE (5)
DC: caprage GRAVE (5) GRACE (5)
OT: PAVAGE (6) RAVAGE (6)
Score: 13–12 (max 22)
Shocking double miss by DC there, as there are just plenty of 5's to go round the studio.
Round 4: R U L E R I D O N
C1: ROUNDER (7)
C2: ROUNDER (7)
DC: ROUNDEL (7) UNOILED (7) RULER (5 - Jo)
OT: LORINER (7) NURDIER (7)
Score: 20–19 (max 29)
That's a bit better from everyone, even Jo
Round 5: 2, 6, 1, 4, 10, 8. Target: 382.
C1: 382. (((8 x 4) + 6) x 10) + 2 (10)
C2: 382. (((8 x 4) + 6) x 10) + 2 (10)
Score: 30–29 (max 39)
I wasn't expecting 6 small, but it's definitely an easier one compared to some of late.
Jo talks more about words that irritate her, and today it's the word that seems to be the big buzz word on reality TV shows nowadays, "journey". She then talks about a journey in a London cab, where she went on a chase through Hackney chasing a car that had run into them.
Teatime teaser: MEDICNAP -> PANDEMIC
Round 6: P A N O T E A N X
C1: NOTE (4)
C2: panneta
DC: EXPAT (5) axepanto
Me: APNOEA (6)
Score: 34–29 (max 45)
A nasty round all round, but Ivor gave us a momentary lift when he said "seven", but it went down again when it wasn't in.
So, it's up to me to get the darren this time. APNOEA is a temporary inability to breathe.
Round 7: L P S E I O R N E
C1: SPOILER (7)
C2: SPOILER (7)
DC: snorepile PIONEERS (8)
OT: ISOPRENE (8) LEPORINE (8)
Score: 41–36 (max 53)
Lots of SPOILERs here, but DC are the PIONEERS in this round with their 8.
ISOPRENE is a colourless, volatile, water-insoluble liquid, C5H8, of the terpene class, usually obtained from rubber or from oil of turpentine by pyrolysis: used chiefly in the manufacture of synthetic rubber by polymerization.
Round 8: D U S O L A T U C
C1: CLOUTS (6)
C2: CLOUTS (6)
DC: cudslot DUCATS (6)
OT: ADULTS (6) CLOUDS (6) COSTAL (6) CULTUS (6) DOULAS (6) DUCTAL (6) DUCTUS (6) LOCUST (6) OCTADS (6) OCULUS (6) OSCULA (6)
Score: 47–42 (max 59)
It seems to be 6 o'clock with this letters round.
COSTAL is an adjective meaning pertaining to the ribs or the upper sides of the body.
A DOULA is a woman who assists women during labour and after childbirth.
OSCULA is the plural of OSCULUM, a small mouthlike aperture, as of a sponge.
Round 9: S L D G A I E T S
C1: GLASSED (7)
C2: -
DC: slidetag
OT: GLISSADE (8)
Score: 54–42 (max 67)
Oh dear, Ivor completely blanks out in this one, so Lucy now has a lead into double figures. A nice darrenic 8 was lurking away too.
GLISSADE is a skillful glide over snow or ice in descending a mountain, as on skis or a toboggan.
Susie's Origins Of Words takes a Halloween theme with the word "nightmare".
Round 10: 100, 75, 8, 3, 1, 2. Target: 814.
C1: 814. ((100 + 2) x 8) - (3 - 1) (10)
C2: 814. ((100 + 2) x 8) - (3 - 1) (10)
Score: 64–52 (max 77)
Another fairly straightforward numbers game here.
Teatime teaser: IRONSTEP -> POINTERS
Round 11: T D N A U E R H I
C1: HAUNTED (7)
C2: HAUNTED (7)
DC: URINATED (8)
OT: HAURIENT (8) INDURATE (8) UNTHREAD (8)
Score: 71–59 (max 85)
An appropriate double Halloween offering by the contestants, while Jo takes the P**s with her 8.
To INDURATE is to harden.
Round 12: L A R I V O E S H
C1: SHIVER (6)
C2: HOVELS (6)
DC: OVARIES (7) lavshoe
NH: SHOVEL (6)
OT: OVERSAIL (8) SHRIEVAL (8) VALORISE (8)
Score: 77–65 (max 93)
A few 6's and the odd 7 from the studio, but there were a trio of 8's waiting to be plucked here.
SHRIEVAL is an adjective meaning of, belonging to, or relating to a sheriff.
To VALORISE is to provide for the maintaining of the value or price of (a commercial commodity) by a government's purchasing the commodity at the fixed price or by its making special loans to the producers.
Round 13: N T S O E O D H A
C1: HONEST (6)
C2: HANDS (5)
DC: ODONATES (8)
Score: 83–65 (max 101)
An HONEST offering for Lucy extends her lead again, but the advantage is still not a winning one yet.
Round 14: 50, 25, 1, 8, 4, 7. Target: 860.
C1: -
C2: -
RR: 860. (((25 + 1) x 8) + 7) x 4 (10)
Score: 83–65 (max 111)
Well, it is as it happens, since both contestants draw a blank in this last numbers game.
Round 15: O B E S E D I D Y
No one buzzes. The answer was DISOBEYED.
Final Score: 83–65 (max 121)
Oh dear, another blank here, meaning it's left to a woman in the audience to give us the answer, and that woman happens to be Ivor's wife............. That'll be an interesting topic of conversation in the Sorokin household when they get home.
So, Lucy might not have been on as top form as she was yesterday, but she was never in much danger against Ivor, and has got another win under her belt.
To qualify for the finals, she'll probably need to get to 7 or 8 wins to definitely guarantee that place.
Join me tomorrow to see if she can make the hat-trick at least.
Till then, bye bye.
Statistics Corner
Lucy:
Total score - 83
Raw score - 89
Total % of max - 69
Raw % of max - 74
Total average score per round - 5.5
Raw average score per round - 5.9
Number of maxes - 5
Ivor:
Total score - 65
Raw score - 70
Total % of max - 54
Raw % of max - 58
Total average score per round - 4.3
Raw average score per round - 4.7
Number of maxes - 4
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=67