C1: Champion David Barnard (1 win, 94 points) is a charity shop worker from Ross-on-Wye who, as well as having a golfing handicap of two, made an impressive debut yesterday. On apterous he goes under the cunning pseudonym David "B" Barnard.
C2: Challenger Snigdha Tiruvuru is an A-level student from Bristol studying Economics, History and English Literature.
DC: Susie Dent and Gyles Brandreth, who's making his 300th appearance in Dictionary Corner today.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: J N D T U E O P U
R02: T A C V M I E D U
R03: B R G N A I O D S
R04: H N F R E I A I S
R05: 100, 25, 50, 75, 8, 3. Target: 644.
TTT: MISSDENT - "It's about attitudes and the way people think."
R06: H L T O A R L U E
R07: R S Z M A E O S F
R08: N D H G A E I M E
R09: L F S P O A E I O
R10: 100, 25, 7, 1, 6, 4. Target: 905.
TTT: TRIMPINS - "On paper at least, it looks very wrong."
R11: Q T X R E I A N R
R12: D L T S O E A M I
R13: T Y D C E A I N V
R14: 100, 75, 8, 1, 1, 5. Target: 682.
R15: I T S C O G N A C (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: J N D T U E O P U
C1: POUTED (6)
C2: POUTED (6)
DC: PUNTED (6)
Score: 6–6 (max 6)
Fairly straightforward round to start with, as Gyles recalls punting on the river Isis in Oxford. The river Isis is actually the Thames, but in Oxford they call it the Isis. I've often thought someone should tell them it isn't called that.
Round 2: T A C V M I E D U
C1: VIADUCT (7)
C2: ACTED (5)
DC: TAMED (5)
OT: MEDIVAC (7)
Score: 13–6 (max 13)
Johnny B Goode takes the lead with one of the two sevens available. Gyles notes that if you write the letters down in both uppercase and lowercase, it helps you find words easier. Must try that, but it does sound like an easy way to declare words with phantom repeated letters in.
Round 3: B R G N A I O D S
C1: boardings
C2: DARING (6)
DC: ADSORBING (18)
OT: SIGNBOARD (18)
Score: 13–12 (max 31)
A stroke of bad luck for Harry S Truman here - BOARDINGS^ is easily spottable but not valid. It's worth remembering that you can have the less spottable SIGNBOARD and ADSORBING, though. Also, spottable isn't valid. Go with TABLETOPS instead. Snigdha (not valid, go with DASHING) reduces the gap to a single point.
Round 4: H N F R E I A I S
C1: HERNIAS (7)
C2: SHINIER (7)
DC: FINISHER (8)
OT: REFINISH (8)
Score: 20–19 (max 39)
Both players pull out sevens, but Gyles spots the eight FINISHER. REFINISH is also valid.
Round 5: 100, 25, 50, 75, 8, 3. Target: 644.
C1: 643. Mistake in working.
C2: 647. 75*8+50-3 (7)
RR: 644. 75*8+(25-3)*2 (10)
Score: 20–26 (max 49)
Lyndon B Johnson makes a mistake on the numbers - he meant to say 8*75+50-100/25-3, but accidentally subtracted 50 rather than added it, both on his paper and verbally. Snigdha makes the same error but had it right on her paper so her 3-away solution is accepted. This means she goes six points in front of Reginald D Hunter.
(I'll stop doing that now. Apparently David's middle name doesn't even begin with B, his apterous name is a typo.)
Teatime teaser: MISSDENT -> MINDSETS
Round 6: H L T O A R L U E
C1: TORULAE (7)
C2: leather
DC: LURE roar HOLT oval LOATHER (7)
OT: RATHOLE (7) REALLOT (7)
Score: 27–26 (max 56)
Snigdha sees a phantom E, and Gyles can initially only get fours, two of which aren't in the selection. He blames this on writing the letters in uppercase. As soon as he wrote them in lowercase he spotted LOATHER.
Round 7: R S Z M A E O S F
C1: foamers
C2: foamers
DC: FRAMES (6)
OT: FEMORA (6) FORMAE (6) FORMAS (6) FORMES (6) FOSSAE (6) MASERS (6) MAZERS (6) MORASS (6) RAMOSE (6) SEROSA (6) SMEARS (6)
Score: 27–26 (max 62)
Both contestants try for a seven, but there isn't one.
Round 8: N D H G A E I M E
C1: HEADING (7)
C2: DEEMING (7)
DC: ENDGAME (7)
OT: HEADMEN (7) HEEDING (7) MEHENDI (7) NEIGHED (7)
Score: 34–33 (max 69)
This is more like it - sevens each, and David is still narrowly in front.
Round 9: L F S P O A E I O
C1: SPOIL (5)
C2: polios
DC: FOLIOS (6)
OT: FLOOSIE (7) FOLIOSE (7)
Score: 39–33 (max 76)
David goes for five vowels, and it's a difficult selection. He finds SPOIL, and Snigdha ill-advisedly attempts to pluralise POLIO. Gyles points out you can have FOLIOS. The solver further points out that you can have FOLIOSE, which is an adjective referring to lichen which has a lobed, leaf-like shape.
Round 10: 100, 25, 7, 1, 6, 4. Target: 905.
C1: 907. (6+4-1)*100+7 (7)
C2: 907. (6+4-1)*100+7 (7)
RR: 905. (100-7)*(6+4)-25 (10)
Score: 46–40 (max 86)
This is why I don't like two large. It's very easy to miss something. David and Snigdha both end up two away, but Rachel finds 905.
Teatime teaser: TRIMPINS -> MISPRINT
Round 11: Q T X R E I A N R
C1: TRAINER (7)
C2: TRAINER (7)
DC: RETRAIN (7)
OT: TERRAIN (7)
Score: 53–47 (max 93)
Nick points out that this round "takes the biscuit". Once you've seen TRAINER there's not very far you can go with it using only a Q and an X.
Round 12: D L T S O E A M I
C1: MODISTE (7)
C2: DETAILS (7)
DC: ISOLATED (8) misolated
OT: ATOMISED (8) DIASTOLE (8) LOAMIEST (8) MELODIST (8) MISDEALT (8) MODALIST (8) SODALITE (8)
Score: 60–54 (max 101)
It looks like there should be a nine here, and Gyles goes with MISOLATED^ which he defines as isolating a misogynist. Sadly it's not in, but ISOLATED and its more show-offy brethren DIASTOLE and SODALITE are there along with a few other eights.
Round 13: T Y D C E A I N V
C1: DEVIANT (7)
C2: DAINTY (6)
DC: CYANIDE (7) DEVIANCY (8)
Score: 67–54 (max 109)
That's the breakaway David was hoping for. DEVIANT puts him 13 points ahead with two rounds left. Gyles asks about DEVIANCY, and that's fine too.
Round 14: 100, 75, 8, 1, 1, 5. Target: 682.
C1: 682. (5+1)*100+75+8-1 (10)
C2: 680.
Score: 77–54 (max 119)
David takes his second win by spotting how to do 682 just in time.
Round 15: I T S C O G N A C
C1 buzzes on 7 seconds to say ACCOSTING which is correct.
Final Score: 87–54 (max 129)
And now he's got his first conundrum solve, which takes him up to 87. Jack will be recapping his third game tomorrow, and then next week we'll do all our recaps in the right order again. Apologies to anyone who thought there weren't nearly enough emoticons in the Wednesday recap.
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=67