Friday 23 October. Series 61, Prelim 70

[Allan Harmer]

Countdown recap for Friday 23 October 2009.

C1: Champion Brian Selway (4 wins, 368 points.)
Brian is a quiet kitchen assistant from Honiton, with ambitions to be a chef. If he is as good at cooking as he is at Countdown, then he should soon have a Michelin Star! Brian is rapidly proving to be the joker in this Series pack and with an average of 92, looks sure to become an Octochamp with his excellent word-power.
C2: Challenger Ray Pearson.
Ray is a Health and Safety Officer from Wrexham. He has a 5 year old daughter and his favourite place is Iceland. His claim to fame is that he met Bjork in a bar there.
DC: Susie Dent and Lesley Garrett.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: M U R A R F E E S
R02: T K O B O R R A E
R03: P D G R A E U P I
R04: N O S E J S T O A
R05: 3, 10, 8, 1, 100, 50. Target: 735.
TTT: NILIMAGE - "Sending lots of letters but without envelopes"
R06: I F V A T C I E L
R07: H P L I E A D E N
R08: D E R T U O Z N L
R09: B M E P A E S S E
R10: 8, 10, 3, 2, 7, 100. Target: 766.
TTT: PUNDITME - "Lacking respect for Susie, perhaps"
R11: L A R I I N O N E
R12: W O U G C T O M E
R13: S D A Y I A H I S
R14: 7, 6, 8, 4, 100, 75. Target: 420.
R15: G I L T F A I R Y (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: M U R A R F E E S

C1: SMEARER (7)
C2: FARMERS (7)
DC: REFRAMES (8) MEASURER (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 8)
Ray is disappointed that he did not declare REFRAMES, as he had it written down. Will that decision prove to be costly? as Brian has not been beaten many times in a letters round so far!
Round 2: T K O B O R R A E

C1: BOATER (6)
C2: BROKER (6)
DC: ORATOR (6)
OT: BARKER (6) BARTER (6) BETOOK (6) BORATE (6) BOOKER (6) REBOOK (6) KORERO (6) REBOOT (6) RETOOK (6) ROOTER (6) TORERO (6)
Score: 13–13 (max 14)
Lesley erroneously declares a 7 for DC instead of a 6, which is the max. for this round.

Round 3: P D G R A E U P I

C1: GRIPPED (7)
C2: GRIPPED (7)
DC: UPGRADE (7)
OT: GAPPIER (7) GAUDIER (7) PREPAID (7) PUDGIER (7)
Score: 20–20 (max 21)

Round 4: N O S E J S T O A

C1: SEASON (6)
C2: STONES (6)
DC: ATONES (6)
OT: SOONEST (7)
Score: 26–26 (max 28)

Round 5: 3, 10, 8, 1, 100, 50. Target: 735.

C1: -
C2: 736. 8x100=800-50-10-3-1 (7)
RR: 735. 8-1=7x(100+(50/10)) (10)
Score: 26–33 (max 38)
Brian slips behind in a tough numbers round, where the trick is to find the 5 to add to the 100 before x by 7, which Rachel does nicely.

Lesley tells a nice little story about dodgy fan mail that she received, the audience applauds. Cue TTT. Hang on, what's this? Lesley suckers everyone as she reminds us that she was in Carousel and is going to sing her favourite song from it. She dedicates it to the troops in Afghanistan - At least they won't need a satellite to hear it, as she belts it out at full volume, much to the disgust of some forumites and the sound crew By the way, nice frock today Lesley

Teatime teaser: NILIMAGE -> EMAILING

Round 6: I F V A T C I E L

C1: ACTIVE (6)
C2: FACILE (6)
OT: CILIATE (7) FACTIVE (7) FICTILE (7) FICTIVE (7) ILVAITE (7)
Score: 32–39 (max 45)
Some tough 7's are available but they are missed by all but the most hardened apterist.

Round 7: H P L I E A D E N

C1: HEADLINE (8)
C2: PLANED (6)
Score: 40–39 (max 53)
A great spot by Brian, who shows his class again, to take a slight lead.

Round 8: D E R T U O Z N L

C1: TRUNDLE (7)
C2: TRUNDLE (7)
DC: ROUNDEL (7)
Score: 47–46 (max 60)

Round 9: B M E P A E S S E

C1: empasse
C2: BEAMS (5)
DC: SESAME (6)
Score: 47–51 (max 66)
Brian risks a variant spelling of IMPASSE, which is unsuccessful and he falls behind again.

Susie tells us some interesting facts relating to how nations get attached to phrases, such as 'French Leave', 'Dutch Treat', etc.

Round 10: 8, 10, 3, 2, 7, 100. Target: 766.

C1: 766. 100+8=108x7=756+10 (10)
C2: 766. 100+10=110x7=770-4 (10)
Score: 57–61 (max 76)

Teatime teaser: PUNDITME -> IMPUDENT

Round 11: L A R I I N O N E

C1: OILIER (6)
C2: INNER (5)
DC: ALIENOR (7) AIRLINE (7)
OT: AILERON (7) ANILINE (7)
Score: 63–61 (max 83)
Brian regains his lead, as both contestants miss some gettable 7's.

Round 12: W O U G C T O M E

C1: OUTCOME (7)
C2: OUTCOME (7)
Score: 70–68 (max 90)

Round 13: S D A Y I A H I S

C1: SASHAY (6)
C2: DAISY (5)
OT: SHAADIS (7)
Score: 76–68 (max 97)
A good spot again by Brian, to improve his lead.

Round 14: 7, 6, 8, 4, 100, 75. Target: 420.

C1: 420. 6-(8-7)+100=105x4 (10)
C2: 419.
Score: 86–68 (max 107)
A better numbers solution from Brian, to take an unassailable lead, which is deserved. He visibly heaves a sigh of relief as realises that he has won.
Round 15: G I L T F A I R Y

C1 buzzes on 2 seconds to say FRAGILITY which is correct.
Score: 96–68 (max 117)
A lightning spot by Brian, to get the Conundrum and record another high score. He looks certain to qualify for the Finals now and it remains to be seen how high he can get. He deserves to gain Octochamp status and will give anyone a good game in the Finals.

Ray rues that fact that he didn't declare REFRAMES, which would have made it a crucial Conundrum. He was a solid player and played very respectably.

Overall, a very enjoyable game today.
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=61

[James Robinson]

Round 5: 3, 10, 8, 1, 100, 50. Target: 735.

C1: -
C2: 736. 8x100=800-50-10-3-1 (7)
RR: 735. 8-1=7x(100+(10/2)) (10)
Score: 26–33 (max 38)

Unless, I'm not mistaken, Allan, there is no 2 in the selection, or there is something wrong with the working out.

[Charlie Reams]

Round 4: N O S E J S T O A

C1: SEASON (6)
C2: STONES (6)
DC: ATONES (6)
OT: SOONEST (7)
Score: 26–26 (max 28)

No one has ever explained to me how SOON, which is an adverb not an adjective, is allowed to have comparative and superlative forms.

[Richard Adams]

Round 5: 3, 10, 8, 1, 100, 50. Target: 735.

RR: 735. 8-1=7x(100+(10/2)) (10)

Unless, I'm not mistaken, Allan, there is no 2 in the selection, or there is something wrong with the working out.

I think that James is not not mistaken (apart from about negatives), and that this should probably read:

RR:735. 8 - 1 = 7 x (100 + (50/10) ) (10)

[Kirk Bevins]

He has a 5 year old daughter and his favourite place is Iceland.

Yeah it's not bad - they have 10 neopolitans on offer at the moment for just 75p.

[Jon Corby]

Round 4: N O S E J S T O A

C1: SEASON (6)
C2: STONES (6)
DC: ATONES (6)
OT: SOONEST (7)
Score: 26–26 (max 28)

No one has ever explained to me how SOON, which is an adverb not an adjective, is allowed to have comparative and superlative forms.

This came up in CoC XII as I recall, as someone played it against Conor and he wondered whether it should have been allowed. I think there was a brief discussion on the old Yahoo group but I can't search that at work (if it's still there). I think there's some notes somewhere other than the entry (in the front or the back) pertaining to such cases, but I can't remember the details.

[Allan Harmer]

Round 5: 3, 10, 8, 1, 100, 50. Target: 735.

RR: 735. 8-1=7x(100+(10/2)) (10)

Unless, I'm not mistaken, Allan, there is no 2 in the selection, or there is something wrong with the working out.

I think that James is not not mistaken (apart from about negatives), and that this should probably read:

RR:735. 8 - 1 = 7 x (100 + (50/10) ) (10)

Quite right chaps - thanks for the spot.

I have now corrected above.

Cheers!

[Derek Hazell]

This came up in CoC XII as I recall, as someone played it against Conor and he wondered whether it should have been allowed. I think there was a brief discussion on the old Yahoo group but I can't search that at work (if it's still there).

What is the correct thing to say in these situations? Oh yeah, "don't say I never do anything for you, Jon! Ha ha ha"

[Charlie Reams]

For those that can't read the old group, here's the text:

R9 S T N A O E M O S
C1: STAMENS (7)
C2: SOONEST (7)
DC:
OT: MOONSETS (8) Sandie and Chris P. That was a bad miss, and soonest
shouldn't actually be allowed, even though it sounds perfectly fine,
as it is only listed in the ODE as an adverb.

Ah, another quirk of the ODE, I'm afraid. There is, of course, nothing
actually wrong with SOONEST as a word, although the Countdown rules
technically disallow it (unless they've been changed recently). The
"Inflection" section of the appendix clearly states:

Adverbs that take -er and -est in preference to (or as well as) more and
most are:

* adverbs that are not formed with -ly but are identical in form to
corresponding adjectives (e.g. runs faster, hits hardest, hold it
tighter).

* some independent adverbs (e.g. often and soon).

This section also mentions that words like shallow take -er and -est,
but the main section doesn't list them. I wish the book wasn't so
infuriatingly contrary, but then maybe that's all part of the fun

Mike.

That answers the question from a validity-on-Countdown perspective, but lexically I'm still baffled.

[Alec Rivers]

No one has ever explained to me how SOON, which is an adverb not an adjective, is allowed to have comparative and superlative forms.

Doesn't it apply to any adverb not ending in -LY?

I ran fast
He ran faster
She ran fastest

Have you been waiting long?
She has been waiting longer
I have been waiting longest

[Charlie Reams]

No one has ever explained to me how SOON, which is an adverb not an adjective, is allowed to have comparative and superlative forms.

Doesn't it apply to any adverb not ending in -LY?

I ran fast
He ran faster
She ran fastest

Have you been waiting long?
She has been waiting longer
I have been waiting longest

Those too, yes, but soon is never an adjective ("come to my soon party"). Also, why do some adjectives become adverbs without modification? Hmm.