Friday 5th November 2021 (Series 84, Preliminary 94)

[Rhys Benjamin]

(I'll do Thursday later.)

Annedown XCIII and as the Anne/Rachel feud escalates in the tabloids, it's Bonfire Night and it's Friday thennnnnn it's Saturday, Sunday, what!? IT'S FRIDAY THENNNNNNNNN IT'S SATURDAY SUNDAY WHAT!?

Countdown recap for Friday 5 November 2021.

Anne implores us to look after our dogs on Bonfire Night. "Just sit with them and cuddle them." I hereby identify as a dog. I want to be sat with and cuddled!

C1: Champion Roddie Bell (2 wins, 229 points.)
C2: Challenger Rajiv Kumar. Currently lives in Richmond. Retired surgeon. Qualified in Delhi, got his first scholarship in Edinburgh, and thus describes himself as Scottish (which of course is incorrect, because he's British). Dad also a doctor who qualified in India and moved to the UK in 1962.
DC: Susie Dent and Ben Macintyre.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: T D P A U O R G E
R02: I E I C N L D E T
R03: 100, 3, 1, 1, 7, 5. Target: 708.
TTT: DIDSLOPE - "I put up a new shelf even though it did slope a little."
R04: N R T U O A L M U
R05: I A T S K P E S O
R06: 3, 7, 4, 5, 2, 6. Target: 557.
R07: N L E I T G D E E
R08: U O A I G S C G M
R09: 25, 8, 10, 4, 1, 5. Target: 468.
TTT: MEANYBAG - "Is this monkey a big fan of Japanese comics?"
R10: D N R A E E N C I
R11: S D R E O M T E I
R12: B F S E U A V A P
R13: S I N H O E T D O
R14: 8, 5, 5, 3, 6, 6. Target: 476.
R15: D E F Y R O B I N (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

Enjoy the show.

Round 1: T D P A U O R G E

Roddie: GROUPED (7)
Rajiv: GROUTED (7)
DC: OUTRAGED (8)
OT: PORTAGED (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 8, jos 8)
Darren-o-meter: 0/1 (0%)

Sevens get us started with DC on one of the two eights.

Round 2: I E I C N L D E T

Roddie: DECLINE (7)
Rajiv: INCITED (7)
DC: ELICITED (8) TIDELINE (8)
OT: CLIENTED (8) DENTICLE (8) INDICTEE (8)
Score: 14–14 (max 16, jos 16)
Darren-o-meter: 0/2 (0%)

Rinse and repeat from the last round.

Round 3: 100, 3, 1, 1, 7, 5. Target: 708.

Roddie: 708. (100 + 1) × 7 + 1 (10)
Rajiv: 708. (100 + 1) × 7 + 1 (10)
Score: 24–24 (max 26, jos 26)

thank u, next

Teatime teaser: DIDSLOPE -> LOPSIDED

Round 4: N R T U O A L M U

Roddie: MUTUAL (6)
Rajiv: OUTRAN (6)
DC: UNMORAL (7)
OT: TUMOURAL (8) UNMORTAL (8)
Score: 30–30 (max 34, jos 33)
Darren-o-meter: 0/3 (0%)

Once more DC can extend the contestants' offerings by one letter, but this time the computer wins out with eight.

Round 5: I A T S K P E S O

Roddie: SOAPIEST (8)
Rajiv: SOAPIEST (8)
DC: PATSIES (7)
Score: 38–38 (max 42, jos 41)
Darren-o-meter: 1/4 (25%)

Unfortunately, PISSTAKE is two words, so SOAPIEST is the darren. Mr P. I. Staker is not happy.

Round 6: 3, 7, 4, 5, 2, 6. Target: 557.

Roddie: 557. 7 × 4 × (6 − 2) × 5 − 3​ (10)
Rajiv: 558. (not written down)
Score: 48–38 (max 52, jos 51)

Roddie leads after Rajiv only sees one away on his own numbers game.

Ben's history book, Operation Mincemeat, which was the basis for the film The Man Who Never Was, is coming out soon, so he gets a chance to plug it.

Round 7: N L E I T G D E E

Roddie: DELETING (8)
Rajiv: DELETING (8)
DC: TINGLED (7) GLINTED (7) GENTEEL (7)
Score: 56–46 (max 60, jos 59)
Darren-o-meter: 2/5 (40%)

An excellent darren from both contestants - it's just that 10 points that separates them.

Round 8: U O A I G S C G M

Roddie: MAGICS (6)
Rajiv: MAGICS (6) (doubtful)
DC: MOSAIC (6) AMIGOS (6)
OT: AGOGICS (7)
Score: 62–52 (max 67, jos 65)
Darren-o-meter: 3/6 (50%)

Sixes in the studio, but the seven eludes everyone.

Round 9: 25, 8, 10, 4, 1, 5. Target: 468.

Roddie: 469.
Rajiv: 468. (25 × 5 − 8) × 4 (10)
Score: 62–62 (max 77, jos 75)

thank u, ne-- wait, what!?!?!?!? How does Roddie miss this??? The game is level thanks to that blunder of a moment.

Teatime teaser: MEANYBAG -> MANGABEY

Round 10: D N R A E E N C I

Roddie: CANNIER (7)
Rajiv: crannied (misdeclared as "doubtful 9")
DC: CRANNIED (8)
OT: ADRENINE (8) DECENNIA (8) DERACINE (8) NARCEINE (8)
Score: 69–62 (max 85, jos 83)
Darren-o-meter: 3/7 (43%)

Oof, how unlucky is that! CRANNIED is an excellent eight but Rajiv misdeclares it as a nine and Roddie leads by 7.

Round 11: S D R E O M T E I

Roddie: STORMED (7)
Rajiv: STEROID (7)
DC: METEORS (7) TIRESOME (8) DEMERITS (8)
OT: DOSIMETER (18)
Score: 76–69 (max 103, jos 91)
Darren-o-meter: 4/8 (50%)

Both contestants drop points on the max once more, and thus lose the chance to virtually put the game to bed.

OOW The first record of a word is somebody's surname, strangely, i.e. things are named after people, it would seem, and she zeroes in on zilch, which comes from a Germanic surname which migrated to the US. Joe Zilch is the famous man, the idea that he was a non-existent person.

Round 12: B F S E U A V A P

Roddie: PAVES (5)
Rajiv: VAPES (5)
DC: PAUSE (5) SUAVE (5)
OT: ABASE (5) ABUSE (5) BAAPS (5) BAPUS (5) BEAUS (5) FAVAS (5) FAVES (5) PAUAS (5) PAVAS (5) PEBAS (5) PUBES (5) UVEAS (5)
Score: 81–74 (max 108, jos 96)
Darren-o-meter: 4/9 (44%)

Flaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

Round 13: S I N H O E T D O

Roddie: HOODIES (7)
Rajiv: SOOTHED (7)
DC: HEDONIST (8)
Score: 88–81 (max 116, jos 104)
Darren-o-meter: 5/10 (50%)

Right then, two rounds to go, seven in it...

Round 14: 8, 5, 5, 3, 6, 6. Target: 476.

Roddie: 477. 8 × 6 × (5 + 5) − 3 (7)
Rajiv: 477. 8 × 6 × (5 + 5) − 3 (7)
RR: 476. (5 × 5 × 6 + 6) × 3 + 8​ (10)
Score: 95–88 (max 126, jos 114)

And it's still seven in it...

Round 15: D E F Y R O B I N

Roddie buzzes on 2.5 seconds to say BOYFRIEND which is correct.
Final Score: 105–88 (max 136, jos 124)

And Roddie, then, takes it, with a crucial conundrum spot. And that's also 3 centuries out of three.

He'll be back on Monday. Join us then.


Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=84

[Tom S]

High quality game. Both were octo standard.