I give you my final recap, from the 4th quarter-final of Series 66. Once again, I apologise for its lateness.
C1: Nick "The Stratford-upon-Avon Shakesperean" Hall (6 wins, 588 points) - he's a therapist who has recently been expanding his business.
C2: Suzi "The Market Harborough Matriarch" Purcell (8 wins, 686 points) - she's apparently been busy painting since her run!
DC: Susie Dent and Dr Phil Hammond.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: S N Y P E A E V A
R02: M O N J E N R I P
R03: L S U A R S L O G
R04: P A B D O R N E S
R05: 75, 25, 5, 8, 10, 8. Target: 734.
TTT: BOOTFEAR - "No boots, no shoes and no socks"
R06: T O S L I T R U A
R07: D U E Z M N O I R
R08: M A N T U N D E O
R09: L G D S I E U F A
R10: 100, 25, 10, 8, 5, 3. Target: 878.
TTT: BEGINSUM - "Begin to work out the sum, but it's too difficult for you"
R11: T W S E U A C T E
R12: H I C N O K W A T
R13: R B Q E O A M U D
R14: 100, 50, 9, 8, 1, 4. Target: 724.
R15: R O A M E D D R Y (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
Nick tells us that the very first bristle toothbrush was invented on this day in China in 1498.
Enjoy the show.
Round 1: S N Y P E A E V A
C1: PANES (5)
C2: PAVANES (7)
OT: PEAVEYS (7)
Score: 0–7 (max 7)
A cracking start from our female octochamp as she finds one of the 7's
PAVANES are stately dances popular in the 16th and 17th century.
PEAVEYS are lumberer's cant hooks with spikes at the end.
Round 2: M O N J E N R I P
C1: JOINER (6)
C2: RIPEN (5)
OT: ENJOIN (6) MERINO (6) MOPIER (6) MORINE (6) ORPINE (6) REJOIN (6)
Score: 6–7 (max 13)
A not so cracking Round 2 though, as she misses an array of 6's.
MORINE is a strong, ribbed cotton fabric often used for curtains.
MERINO is a breed of sheep, that has long, fine wool.
Round 3: L S U A R S L O G
C1: GLASS (5)
C2: SLAGS (5)
DC: SUGARS (6) GULARS (6)
OT: GALLOUS (7) GLOSSAL (7) RUGOSAS (7)
Score: 11–12 (max 20)
Tricky selection, but there are a few 7's available.
RUGOSAS are SE Asian roses with dark green wrinkled leaves and deep pink flowers, widely used as hedging plants.
Round 4: P A B D O R N E S
C1: PADRONES (8)
C2: BROADENS (8)
DC: PROBES (6) BEDPANS (7)
OT: BANDORES (8) OPERANDS (8) PROBANDS (8)
Score: 19–20 (max 28)
Flat 8's!
Round 5: 75, 25, 5, 8, 10, 8. Target: 734.
C1: 734. 75*10-8-8 (10)
C2: 734. 75*10-8-8 (10)
Score: 29–30 (max 38)
Paul tells us about Nick's worries about his tablets, and gives us a story about a woman who mixed up her cat's biscuits with her tablets. Sadly, there was no mentions of the cat's fortunes...
Teatime teaser: BOOTFEAR -> BEARFOOT
Round 6: T O S L I T R U A
C1: TAILORS (7)
C2: OUTLAST (7)
DC: RITUALS (7) TOURIST (7)
OT: TUTORIALS (18)
Score: 36–37 (max 56)
9 time!!
But DC apparently missed it... 
Round 7: D U E Z M N O I R
C1: MOURNED (7)
C2: MOURNED (7)
DC: REMIND (6) MINDER (6)
OT: MINORED (7)
Score: 43–44 (max 63)
Many of us had predicted for this to have been a pretty evenly poised game, and we were right - they continue to match strides at the halfway stage.
Round 8: M A N T U N D E O
C1: MOUNTED (7)
C2: OUTMANNED (18)
Score: 43–62 (max 81)
!!! WOAH!! But Suzi has jumped into a big lead with a super 9! Can Nick fight back? 
Round 9: L G D S I E U F A
C1: fusilage
C2: GLIDES (6)
DC: GADFLIES (8)
Score: 43–68 (max 89)
I thought he'd dented Suzi's lead there. (Geddit? No? Ok.
) I'd always spelt it like that but apparently it's FUSELAGE.OoW: Susie talks about the pub name 'Bag of Nails'.
Round 10: 100, 25, 10, 8, 5, 3. Target: 878.
C1: 875. 8*100+3*25 (7)
C2: 878. Mistake in working.
RR: 878. ((10-8)*100-25)*5+3 (10)
Score: 50–68 (max 99)
Nick claims seven points here, though, as Suzi has a mistake.
Teatime teaser: BEGINSUM -> BEMUSING
Round 11: T W S E U A C T E
C1: TWEETS (6)
C2: CUTEST (6)
OT: ACUTES (6) ASTUTE (6) CUESTA (6) ESTATE (6) STATUE (6) SUTTEE (6) TACTUS (6) TESTAE (6) TUTEES (6) TWEEST (6)
Score: 56–74 (max 105)
VERY flat 6's
A CUESTA is a ridge with a gentle slope (dip) on one side and a steep slope (scarp) on the other.
SUTTEE is the former Hindu practice of a widow throwing herself on to her husband’s funeral pyre.
Round 12: H I C N O K W A T
C1: ACTION (6)
C2: THWACK (6)
DC: CATION (6)
OT: ATONIC (6) CANTHI (6) CATKIN (6) CHIKAN (6) CHITON (6) CHOWKI (6) KOCHIA (6) KOWHAI (6) KWAITO (6) THICKO (6) THINKO (6) WHACKO (6) WOTCHA (6)
Score: 62–80 (max 111)
Even flatter 6's!!!
The CANTHI is the outer or inner corner of the eye, where the upper and lower lids meet.
A CHITON is a long woollen tunic worn in ancient Greece, or a marine mollusc that has an oval flattened body with a shell of overlapping plates.
A KOWHAI is a tree of the pea family, which bears hanging clusters of yellow flowers. It is native to New Zealand and Chile and yields useful timber.
KWAITO (esp in South Africa) is a style of popular music similar to hip hop, featuring vocals recited over an instrumental backing with strong bass lines.
There are more, but they're the interesting ones!
Round 13: R B Q E O A M U D
C1: BAROQUE (7)
C2: ADORE (5)
DC: RUMBAED (7)
Score: 69–80 (max 118)
Ooooh, Nick's well and truly back in the running with that nice 7... where's this going?
Round 14: 100, 50, 9, 8, 1, 4. Target: 724.
C1: 728. (8-1)*(100+4) (7)
C2: -
RR: 724. (100-9)*8-4 (10)
Score: 76–80 (max 128)
!!! Now we have a crucial conundrum... Round 15: R O A M E D D R Y
C1 buzzes on 1.5 seconds to say DROMEDARY which is correct.
Final Score: 86–80 (max 138)
And Nick's pulled off a superb fightback!! What a finish!
Raw score: 98-90
Maxes: 8-7
A courageous effort from Suzi who has done extremely well to get this far, but it's Nick who advances to tomorrow's semi-final against Jonathan Rawlinson.
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=66