C1: Champion Adam Flinn (2 wins, 165 points). He wants to go into print journalism, but is considering becoming a press officer. Nick the PR man suggests the former.
C2: Challenger Matthew Howell is a screenwriting student from Gloucester. He has a fish called Bear Gills, and is considering calling his second one Ranulph Fins. The audience groans, and for once it's not at one of Dudley's jokes.
DC: Susie Dent and Sir Ranulph Fiennes.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: L D S R A E O I N
R02: G H T R A U O N S
R03: M T N I A E O G S
R04: R Q K A E I C S E
R05: 100, 25, 4, 6, 5, 10. Target: 193.
TTT: SINGACTS - "He sings and acts so attends a lot of these."
R06: N R H A E I T M E
R07: R D T V O I O E P
R08: H T C A I A G W U
R09: D L W I O E X S J
R10: 25, 50, 4, 9, 8, 6. Target: 629.
TTT: METDISCO - "In the home and having a bit of an argument."
R11: T L R O U E F S R
R12: T P D O A E S A N
R13: L S P L E A E T C
R14: 75, 50, 100, 7, 10, 10. Target: 737.
R15: P O O R B A C K S (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Round 1: L D S R A E O I N
C1: LOADERS (7)
C2: unknown 8
DC: SOLDIER (7) LARDONS (7) ORDINALS (8)
OT: AILERONS (8) ANEROIDS (8) ANODISER (8) DARIOLES (8) ISLANDER (8) ROSALINE (8) SOLANDER (8)
Score: 7–0 (max 8)
This is one of those selections that's awful but for all the wrong reasons. You know there has to be an easy nine in there but can't find one. Instead there are eight eights. Matthew sees a phantom E in his opening offering, with the result that we don't get to hear what it was. REALISED, maybe?
Round 2: G H T R A U O N S
C1: THONGS (6)
C2: SHRUG (5)
DC: NAUGHT (6) NOUGHTS (7) STAGHORN (8)
Score: 13–0 (max 16)
Adam extends his lead to 13, and Susie comes up with STAGHORN, which is a mass noun meaning the antler of a stag. It refers more to the material than the actual horn, so don't go pluralising it. Ranulph offers NAUGHT. As Mike Brown's pointed out on apterous the noun NAUGHT is given as an American spelling of NOUGHT so NAUGHTS wouldn't be allowed. NAUGHT is still valid as a pronoun though: "American spellings are naught but trouble".
Round 3: M T N I A E O G S
C1: MAGNETS (7)
C2: STAMEN (6)
DC: MAGNETOS (8) MANGIEST (8) MEGATONS (8) STEAMING (8)
OT: AMNIOTES (8) MITOGENS (8) MONTAGES (8)
Score: 20–0 (max 24)
Matthew's still yet to get off the mark. Another eightful selection, and Susie and Ranulph spot four of them.
Round 4: R Q K A E I C S E
C1: RAKES (5)
C2: RAKES (5)
DC: CREAKS (6)
OT: ACKEES (6) ACKERS (6) CARIES (6) CERISE (6) CRAKES (6) CREASE (6) CREEKS (6) EASIER (6) ERICAS (6) KAISER (6) KAREES (6) SICKER (6)
Score: 25–5 (max 30)
The "young rakes", as Nick puts it, get five apiece, and the so-called "old rakes" get an appropriate six.
Round 5: 100, 25, 4, 6, 5, 10. Target: 193.
C1: 198. (6-4)*100-10/5 (7)
C2: 193. Mistake in working.
OT: 193. (6-4)*100-(25+10)/5 (10)
Score: 32–5 (max 40)
This will probably win the award for the most deceptively difficult numbers game of the series. It looks easy at first glance, but Matthew uses a phantom two, Adam can only get five away, and even Rachel can't solve it. It's left to Peter McNamara in the spoilers thread to show us how it's done.
Teatime teaser: SINGACTS -> CASTINGS
Round 6: N R H A E I T M E
C1: HERNIA (6)
C2: MEATIER (7)
DC: MINARET (7) TRAINEE (7) HAIRNET (7) HERNIATE (8)
OT: THEREMIN (8)
Score: 32–12 (max 48)
Matthew gains some ground now. He's not sure about MEATIER, but it's fine. HERNIATE was there for eight, as was THEREMIN, which is a musical instrument you play without touching it.
Round 7: R D T V O I O E P
C1: TROOPED (7)
C2: TRIED (5)
DC: OVERTIP (7) PROVIDE (7)
OT: DIOPTRE (7) OVERTOP (7) PERIDOT (7) PIVOTED (7) TORPEDO (7) TROOPIE (7)
Score: 39–12 (max 55)
Adam spots one of the sevens in this round to reassert his 27-point lead. Susie finds some other sevens. Ranulph is rather quiet. He just sits back and lets his general air of awesomeness do the talking.
Round 8: H T C A I A G W U
C1: WITCH (5)
C2: WATCH (5)
DC: CAUGHT (6) WATCHA (6)
OT: GUAIAC (6)
Score: 44–17 (max 61)
Fives each this time, and Susie points out you can have WATCHA, a variant spelling of WOTCHA in the sense of "WATCHA think you're doing putting this word in the dictionary". GUAIAC is a brown resin obtained from guaiacum trees.
Round 9: D L W I O E X S J
C1: exiled
C2: OXIDES (6)
DC: OLDIES (6) WIELDS (6)
OT: DOWELS (6) DOXIES (6) EJIDOS (6) JOWLED (6) SLOWED (6) SOILED (6)
Score: 44–23 (max 67)
Adam picks up Matthew's mistake from the first round and uses a phantom E. Matthew spots the max. DOXY (plural DOXIES) is an archaic term meaning a lover or mistress, or a prostitute. An EJIDO is a Mexican term for a piece of land farmed communally.
Origins of words: today, ACNE. It comes from the Greek word for "point" which is "acme", as acne is lots of little peaks or points on your face. This is also the derivation of words such as acrobat, acid, acropolis, and acronym.
Round 10: 25, 50, 4, 9, 8, 6. Target: 629.
C1: 629. (50/(8-6))*25+4 (10)
C2: -
Score: 54–23 (max 77)
25 squared is the key here, and Adam takes ten points.
Teatime teaser: METDISCO -> DOMESTIC
Round 11: T L R O U E F S R
C1: flouters
C2: foulers
DC: TROUSER (7) FLORETS (7) RESTFUL (7)
OT: FERROUS (7) FLUSTER (7) FOULEST (7) FURORES (7) LOFTERS (7) OURSELF (7) RETURFS (7) ROUTERS (7) RUSTLER (7) TOURERS (7)
Score: 54–23 (max 84)
Two dodgy agent nouns from our contestants mean the scores don't change. Susie and Ranulph find the three of the many sevens.
Round 12: T P D O A E S A N
C1: PANTED (6)
C2: POSTED (6)
DC: PEASANT (7) DAPSONE (7)
OT: NOTEPADS (8) TONEPADS (8)
Score: 60–29 (max 92)
I've seen DAPSONE numerous times on apterous, but I never knew it was a compound used in the treatment of leprosy. Nick tells us about the time he visited a Caribbean island with an abandoned leprosy hospital on it.
Round 13: L S P L E A E T C
C1: PALLETS (7)
C2: PALLETS (7)
DC: SPELL (5) CAPLETS (7)
OT: PLASTEEL (8)
Score: 67–36 (max 100)
Adam's seven wraps up the game for him. The unspotted darren PLASTEEL is a portmanteau of PLASTIC and STEEL. It's one of those words that comes to us from science fiction, like DALEK (also valid). PLASTEEL is defined as "an ultra-strong non-metallic material".
Round 14: 75, 50, 100, 7, 10, 10. Target: 737.
C1: 738. 75*10-10-100/50 (7)
C2: 740.
RR: 737. (75-100/50)*10+7 (10)
Score: 74–36 (max 110)
Adam takes his score up to 74 with his one away solution.
Round 15: P O O R B A C K S
No one buzzes. The answer was SCRAPBOOK.
Final Score: 74–36 (max 120)
Neither Adam nor Matthew can spot SCRAPBOOK so it's ten points in a mug to a man in the audience. Adam takes himself to 239 points, and as things stand he's sixth in the seedings. (By the way, SEEDINGS isn't valid, go with EDGINESS instead.) He'll be back for his fourth game tomorrow. Join James for that one.
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=67
