Thursday 21st March recap (Series 68, Prelim 10)

[Conor]

Countdown recap for Thursday 21 March 2013.

With James having his own Inbetweeners-style holiday in Magaluf there was a recap spot going for this week and I've stepped in to write to my first recap since May 2006. It's good to be back!

C1: Champion is our own Andy Platt (2 wins, 226 points), a bilingual telesales rep who's walked all the way from Salford. He also used enjoy ten-pin bowling before weekend work shifts made it difficult (or he decided he'd rather play apterous). He's blazed onto the scene with two wins scoring 112 and 114 points, both by comfortable margins and both with a nine letter word.

C2: Challenger Jacqui Kemp, an HR consultant from Cambridgeshire who was previously a hypnotherapist (though we're informed hypnotherapy doesn't involve a swinging watch or saying 'look into my eyes') after being a pet sitter (though we're not informed this doesn't involve sitting on pets).

DC: Susie Dent and Jon Culshaw.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: R M B L E I A O K
R02: M U N E D T P O A
R03: S J S T U A E E M
R04: S O H A I D L E G
R05: 75, 50, 25, 100, 10, 2. Target: 378.
TTT: RATPUREE - "There might be an opening for you if you can solve this"
R06: Z R U A C T O D S
R07: F G R L A U E A R
R08: Q D T E U O N I S
R09: C N L R E A E T U
R10: 75, 9, 7, 4, 4, 5. Target: 845.
TTT: BLESSDAN - "He's not got a lot of hair left"
R11: P G L S I E A E W
R12: H G U O T I P S E
R13: R N Y R A I O A T
R14: 75, 10, 9, 1, 8, 1. Target: 509.
R15: D O N E W E I R D (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: R M B L E I A O K

C1: EMBROIL (7)
C2: blokier
DC: BALMIER (7)
OT: BALKIER (7) LOAMIER (7)
Score: 7–0 (max 7)

A strong start from Andy, though Jacqui's 'blokier' is very plausible.

Round 2: M U N E D T P O A

C1: AMOUNTED (8)
C2: UNTAMED (7)
DC: PANTOUM (7)
OT: TAMPONED (8)
Score: 15–0 (max 15)

He extends his lead with an 8, though looks in total distress for the 30 seconds. DC have PANTOUM, which is a form of poetry where the second and fourth lines of each stanza are repeated as the first and third lines of the next respectively. The only other 8 is TAMPONED, which means what you probably think it means.

Round 3: S J S T U A E E M

C1: MEATUSES (8)
C2: AMUSES (6)
DC: STEAMS (6)
Score: 23–0 (max 23)

It's an excellent double darren spot from our champion. He pronounces MEATUS to rhyme with Cletus, but it's actually a 3-syllabled word. It's a natural opening in the body: e.g. the urethral meatus, which is the opening to the penis.

Round 4: S O H A I D L E G

C1: GOALIES (7)
C2: LODGES (6)
DC: HIDALGOS (8)
Score: 30–0 (max 31)

Andy was tempted by primarily HIDALGOS (a Spanish title of nobility) but also hidalgoes. His GOALIES is good enough to beat Jacqui's LODGES, though the max game is now off.

Andy was 38-0 up yesterday and still went 4 large, so doing anything else today would hint at some compassion, which we really can't stand. 4 large it is.

Round 5: 75, 50, 25, 100, 10, 2. Target: 378.

C1: 378. (75*10+(100+50)/25)/2 (10)
C2: -
Score: 40–0 (max 41)

A good solve means the onslaught continues. Jon Culshaw does an impression of Alan Bennett (I think), and the teatime teaser RATPUREE becomes not liquorice, but APERTURE.

Round 6: Z R U A C T O D S

C1: COURTS (6)
C2: ACTORS (6)
DC: CUSTARD (7)
OT: CUATROS (7) SURCOAT (7) TURACOS (7)
Score: 46–6 (max 48)

Some relief for Jacqui as a 6 gets her off the mark, though DC had CUSTARD and there was a trio of anagram-equivalent 7s. A turaco is a pretty bird.

Round 7: F G R L A U E A R

C1: LAAGER (6)
C2: LARGER (6)
DC: REGULAR (7)
OT: REALGAR (7)
Score: 52–12 (max 55)

Two sixes for the contestants. DC have REGULAR. Also there is REALGAR, an arsenic sulfide mineral which looks like the Philosopher's Stone.

Round 8: Q D T E U O N I S

C1: QUESTION (8)
C2: QUESTION (8)
DC: SQUINTED (8)
Score: 60–20 (max 63)

Andy is in distress once again, but he needn't be as he finds the max though Jacqui is good enough to spot QUESTION too.

Round 9: C N L R E A E T U

C1: CRENULATE (18)
C2: CLEANER (7)
OT: CALENTURE (18)
Score: 78–20 (max 81)

Boom. CRENULATE is an adjective meaning 'having a finely scalloped or notched outline or edge' (especially of a leaf, shell or shoreline). CALENTURE is feverish tropical delirium caused by heat (let's hope JR isn't suffering from this). There are four cool 8s with the same vowel pattern: CERULEAN, NUCLEATE, ULCERATE, UNCREATE. And any vowel other than an A would've yielded not a baseball bat, but a nine: CRENELATE, INTERLACE and COETERNAL/TOLERANCE being the others.

Round 10: 75, 9, 7, 4, 4, 5. Target: 845.

C1: 844. Mistake in working.
C2: -
RR: 845. (7+4)*75+5*4 (10)
Score: 78–20 (max 91)

Jacqui blanks entirely and Andy declares 844 doubtfully only to end up with 843, though Rachel's solution starts in the same manner. Andy has said several times that the numbers are more difficult in the studio compared to the letters, and most of the top players agree. And that's because subconscious fast-thinking processes (such as finding the 8 from DXIESTLAN) hold up far better under duress than conscious processes like solving numbers games, which are typically worked out rather than recalled. Anyway, the jism: think twice about criticizing errors made under the lights, and think four times if they're made on the numbers! Still, that was a terrible miss.


Teatime teaser: BLESSDAN -> BALDNESS

Round 11: P G L S I E A E W

C1: PESEWA (6)
C2: ASLEEP (6)
DC: EPIGEAL (7)
OT: WEIGELAS (8)
Score: 84–26 (max 99)

Two sixes each. Jacqui's ASLEEP is a cute word, while Andy correctly identifies a PESEWA as a monetary unit of Ghana. DC have EPIGEAL, which everyone and especially Nick Wainwright knows not to try and pluralize, but there's an obscure 8 in WEIGELAS, a shrub which once cost me a bullet letters attack max.

Round 12: H G U O T I P S E

C1: TOUGHIES (8)
C2: SOUGHT (6)
OT: PISHOGUE (8)
Score: 92–26 (max 107)

Another eight for our champion who's looking like a serious contender for the whole series. PISHOGUE is an Irish word meaning black magic or sorcery (you can have PISHROGUE too).

Round 13: R N Y R A I O A T

C1: RATION (6)
C2: RATION (6)
DC: ROTARY (6)
OT: ARONIA (6) ARRANT (6) NOTARY (6) RARITY (6) YANTRA (6) YARRAN (6)
Score: 98–32 (max 113)


Round 14: 75, 10, 9, 1, 8, 1. Target: 509.

C1: 509. (75-1)*(8-1)-9 (10)
C2: 505.
Score: 108–32 (max 123)

Andy nails another non-trivial numbers game to bring up his third century. Can he get his highest score so far?

Round 15: D O N E W E I R D

No one buzzes. The answer was EIDERDOWN.

Unfortunately not, a toughie eludes both Andy and Jacqui. Jacqui is heading back to Cambridgeshire and her local village choir with a goody bag, whilst Andy 'only 9 maxes' Platt can look forward to his fourth show, the last of the week and last with Jon Culshaw in DC. I'm not sure who'll be recapping it. I'll be back in another seven years' time to recap the final game of Rhys Benjamin's legendary octorun.

Final Score: 108–32 (max 133)


Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=68

[Adam Gillard]

Anyway, the jist [sic.]: think twice about criticizing errors made under the lights, and think four times if they're made on the numbers! Still, that was a terrible miss.

lol @ jist in an impassioned speech about criticising errors

[Andy Platt]

Some great one-liners, we need you writing more recaps

think twice about criticizing errors made under the lights, and think four times if they're made on the numbers! Still, that was a terrible miss.

Epic!

[Conor]

Thanks Andy. Hope to be recapping your eighth game next Thursday.

lol @ jist in an impassioned speech about criticising errors

Fixed now!

Is there something I should be doing to get this on the CDB, or should that be left to JR? Also, I have the WikiCode saved if someone wants to add it.

[Chris Marshall]

First contestant not from the north of England in this series.

[James Robinson]

Thanks a great deal, Conor. Not just an expert in the box, but outside it too.