Monday 8th April 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 20)

[Graeme Cole]

Countdown recap for Monday 8 April 2013.

C1: Champion Giles Hutchings (1 win, 129 points) is a student at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford. Last Wednesday we saw him score 129 points, the highest debut score ever.
C2: Challenger Mike Lee is a travel agent from Barnsley. He tells a story about having a comfort break behind a bush in the Serengeti unaware that there was a lion sleeping in it.
DC: Susie Dent and Julia Bradbury.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: A I D N M O E T S
R02: F I M O T E D T A
R03: 25, 4, 2, 2, 3, 1. Target: 171.
TTT: DARNSONG - "He's definitely number one, especially for the older ones."
R04: S E R A Z L E F O
R05: E E U D B M R P O
R06: 50, 75, 4, 6, 1, 9. Target: 529.
R07: I E A R B M I L N
R08: S U K R I T O U G
R09: 100, 25, 1, 6, 3, 4. Target: 530.
TTT: HESSMART - "These cute little things can be quite cheeky."
R10: H A R I S G A Y E
R11: R U D R S O E A W
R12: N E G I S H E D L
R13: X D N A E O P T A
R14: 100, 2, 7, 3, 6, 4. Target: 314.
R15: I N D I A Z E S T (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: A I D N M O E T S

C1: DOMINATES (18)
C2: -
DC: STAMINODE (18)
Score: 18–0 (max 18)

After Giles says "nine", Mike knows he can't match it so doesn't bother offering anything. But it's never a good idea to declare nothing, even if your opponent appears to have beaten you, as there's always a chance they might have their word disallowed. That said, that was never going to be the case here - the only uncertainty was whether Giles would go for DOMINATES or STAMINODE (a sterile or abortive stamen).


Round 2: F I M O T E D T A

C1: OMITTED (7)
C2: motiated
DC: FOETID (6)
Score: 25–0 (max 25)

Mike tries MOTIATED^, but I think he was thinking of MOTIVATED. Giles spots the darrenic seven.


Round 3: 25, 4, 2, 2, 3, 1. Target: 171.

C1: 171. (3*2+1)*25-4 (10)
C2: 170.
Score: 35–0 (max 35)

This is basically a six small in disguise. Giles nails it to go 35-0 up.


Teatime teaser: DARNSONG -> GRANDSON

Round 4: S E R A Z L E F O

C1: LOAFERS (7)
C2: fazers
OT: AREOLES (7)
Score: 42–0 (max 42)

You can't be a fazer, it turns out. LOAFERS, which have nothing to do with loafing around, are fine.


Round 5: E E U D B M R P O

C1: BUMPED (6)
C2: POURED (6)
DC: PROUD (5) BURPED (6) ROMPED (6)
OT: BUMPER (6) BURPEE (6) DEMURE (6) DUMBER (6) DUMPER (6) PERMED (6) PROBED (6) PUREED (6) ROUPED (6)
Score: 48–6 (max 48)

Mike gets off the mark with his first valid word of the day.


Round 6: 50, 75, 4, 6, 1, 9. Target: 529.

C1: 529. (50+75+9)*4-6-1 (10)
C2: 524.
Score: 58–6 (max 58)

Giles has still yet to drop a point at the anecdote.


Round 7: I E A R B M I L N

C1: BALMIER (7)
C2: LINEAR (6)
DC: MINERAL (7) MARLINE (7)
OT: BILINEAR (8)
Score: 65–6 (max 66)

Mike wasn't far off finding the only word so far that would have beaten Giles - BILINEAR.


Round 8: S U K R I T O U G

C1: TUGRIKS (7)
C2: rituous
Score: 72–6 (max 73)

There's no such word as rituous (RIOTOUS, perhaps?) but Giles makes a magnificent spot with TUGRIKS. He even correctly identifies a TUGRIK is a currency. The currency of Mongolia, to be precise.


Round 9: 100, 25, 1, 6, 3, 4. Target: 530.

C1: 529. Mistake in working.
C2: 529. (6-1)*100+25+4 (7)
RR: 530. (100+6)*(4+1) (10)
Score: 72–13 (max 83)

Giles stumbles to 529 only to realise he's used the 1 twice, so Mike gets the points.


Teatime teaser: HESSMART -> HAMSTERS


Round 10: H A R I S G A Y E

C1: GEISHA (6)
C2: GARISH (6)
DC: GREYISH (7) HEGIRAS (7)
OT: HEARSAY (7)
Score: 78–19 (max 90)

Susie and Julia find a couple of contestant-beaters in GREYISH and HEGIRAS. A HEGIRA is any exodus or migration.


Round 11: R U D R S O E A W

C1: DROSERA (7)
C2: ROUSED (6)
DC: ARROWED (7) AROUSED (7) DRAWERS (7) WARDERS (7)
OT: ADORERS (7) REDRAWS (7) REWARDS (7) REWORDS (7)
Score: 85–19 (max 97)

Giles offers an insectivorous plant to put the game in the bag, and Mike too late realises he could have put the A on the front of his word.


Round 12: N E G I S H E D L

C1: HEEDING (7)
C2: english
DC: SHINGLED (8)
OT: SEEDLING (8) SLEIGHED (8)
Score: 92–19 (max 105)

I thought ENGLISH was quite a reasonable stab. If you cue a snooker or billiard ball on one side to give it spin, in North America you're said to give it "English". I'd have thought that might be in with a lowercase E, but unfortunately for Mike, it isn't.


Round 13: X D N A E O P T A

C1: NOTEPAD (7)
C2: anoted
OT: TONEPAD (7)
Score: 99–19 (max 112)

Giles has NOTEPAD. Its anagram TONEPAD is a device that generates phone dialling tones (also known as DTMF tones). I think they were used by owners of pulse-dialling or rotary phones who realised they couldn't navigate automated call centre menu systems.


Round 14: 100, 2, 7, 3, 6, 4. Target: 314.

C1: 314. 3*100+7*2 (10)
C2: 314. Mistake in working.
Score: 109–19 (max 122)

Numbers disaster for Mike - he starts with 100*3, but doesn't see the 7*2 option and instead tries to make 14 another way and ends up using the 3 twice.


Round 15: I N D I A Z E S T

Giles buzzes on 0.5 seconds to say SANITIZED which is correct.
Final Score: 119–19 (max 132)

A lightning-fast conundrum spot from Giles gives him 119 points and a devastating win over Mike, who had a tough time of it today but hasn't actually broken any records so it's all good. Even his disallowed words were mostly the reasonable kind of I-see-what-you're-thinking-of declarations, and it's going to take a seasoned player to score highly against Giles on his current form. Join Jack tomorrow for his third game.


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

[Mike Brown]

Round 5: E E U D B M R P O

DC: PROUD (5) BURPED (6) ROMPED (6)

I know it's invalid and ROMPED is probably what was meant, but I was pretty certain Susie said RUMPED. And so was the subtitler!

[James Robinson]

Round 5: E E U D B M R P O

DC: PROUD (5) BURPED (6) ROMPED (6)

I know it's invalid and ROMPED is probably what was meant, but I was pretty certain Susie said RUMPED. And so was the subtitler!

I was pretty sure she said ROMPED I must say, unless she said RUMPED the first time, then said ROMPED the second time, when Nick seemed to mishear................

[Graeme Cole]

Round 5: E E U D B M R P O

DC: PROUD (5) BURPED (6) ROMPED (6)

I know it's invalid and ROMPED is probably what was meant, but I was pretty certain Susie said RUMPED. And so was the subtitler!

I too was unsure about whether she said RUMPED or ROMPED. I checked RUMPED and found it was invalid so I assumed it was ROMPED.

[Mark Ivey]

Definitely sounded like ROMPED to me when I watched it.

Also, liked Rachel's comment at the end about how you know someone got a Conundrum damn fast when the clock didn't even light up.

[Mike Brown]

Just listened again with my ear in the speaker cone and I concede that it was ROMPED. Just goes to show that the person who does the subtitles doesn't always know best.

[James Robinson]

Just listened again with my ear in the speaker cone and I concede that it was ROMPED. Just goes to show that the person who does the subtitles doesn't always know best.

Too true. So many times they have messed up. The person involved with that needs to take a hearing class

[Liam Tiernan]

The person involved with that needs to take a hearing class

Because some people are just too lazy to learn to hear properly, right?