Friday 9 July 2010 (Series 63, Prelim 15)

[Mike Brown]

Countdown recap for Friday 9 July 2010 (Series 63, Prelim 15)

C1: Champion Doug Elkins (1 win, 64 points.)
C2: Challenger Chris Barrow.
DC: Susie Dent and Gino D'Acampo.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

It may be Series 47 over in the Historical Recap forum, but we’re moving relentlessly into Series 63 here in the land of Current Recaps, and here’s another to add to the list and reduce Charlie’s ‘missing 15-rounders’ total by one...

Doug Elkins (he with the dulcet tones and a nice line in anecdotes) sent Ryan Loughborough packing yesterday after he had racked up six wins, but can he outsmart the latest arrival in the challenger’s chair, young Chris Barrow from Alsager, which Jeff helpfully informs us, is near Stoke-on-Trent. I wonder if Howard knows him?

R01: F R E I A Y T N I
R02: S N S O U F R O T
R03: L R A I C M E N R
R04: T X Q I E E T R A
R05: 25, 2, 5, 9, 1, 6. Target: 465.
TTT: MEXBOOKS - "If you're in here, you've been done up like a kipper."
R06: L R D O E O E S H
R07: G N A O B K S U O
R08: R D N T I A I U E
R09: T S I A P D M E T
R10: 100, 7, 4, 9, 9, 7. Target: 516.
TTT: RIGHTCON - "Setting fire to the portable lamps, perhaps."
R11: B Z G O I O P S A
R12: T V G E A A S P H
R13: M G S I E A V M O
R14: 75, 7, 4, 4, 9, 7. Target: 803.
R15: D I S C O A M P S (conundrum)

Countdown is sponsored by all sorts of stuff from Vitabiotics.

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In honour of this week’s DC guest, the amiable Gino D’Acampo, Jeff’s opening comments today include some suggestions for new pizza toppings, one of which is the “Rachel Riley”: ‘simply couldn’t be topped’. Ahhh....

Round 1: F R E I A Y T N I

C1: TRAIN (5)
C2: FINITE (6)
DC: FAINTER (7) NITRIFY (7)
OT: INERTIA (7) NIFTIER (7)
Score: 0–6 (max 7)

Some nice sevens, but our contestants can’t top six and Chris takes an early lead.

Round 2: S N S O U F R O T

C1: FROSTS (6)
C2: FRONTS (6)
DC: SNOUTS (6)
OT: SUNROOFS (8)
Score: 6–12 (max 15)

A dull round, but it would have been sunny if they’d spotted the eight.

Round 3: L R A I C M E N R

C1: RAILMEN (7)
C2: MIRACLE (7)
DC: RECLAIM (7) CARMINE (7)
OT: CARLINE (7) CLAIMER (7) MANLIER (7) MARLINE (7) MINERAL (7) MARINER (7) MELANIC (7)
Score: 13–19 (max 22)

A flat round, but we don’t mind too much when seven is the max.

Round 4: T X Q I E E T R A

C1: TREAT (5)
C2: EXTRA (5)
DC: ITERATE (7)
Score: 18–24 (max 29)

A slightly dubious definition of ITERATE from Susie, in my opinion, but it’s still the darren, so kudos to DC.

Round 5: 25, 2, 5, 9, 1, 6. Target: 465.

C1: 462. (9x2x25)+6+5+1 (7)
C2: 462. (9x2x25)+6+5+1 (7)
RR: 465. (((25x2)+1)x9)+6 (10)
Score: 25–31 (max 39)

Not the easiest of numbers games (those who have played zillions of games of Apterous may disagree), but our contestants get seven apiece and remain six points apart as we head towards the break.

Gino tells us how he became a chef, after initially wanting to be a dentist.

Teatime teaser: MEXBOOKS -> SMOKEBOX

Round 6: L R D O E O E S H

C1: SHORE (5)
C2: HOSED (5)
DC: HOLDERS (7) SHORED (6)
OT: RESOLED (7)
Score: 30–36 (max 46)

Nice to see RESOLED come up: a word Richard Whiteley always claimed Countdown had helped to get into the dictionary.

Round 7: G N A O B K S U O

C1: BOOKS (5)
C2: BANKS (5)
DC: BONGOS (6)
OT: GABOONS (7)
Score: 35–41 (max 53)

A bongo can be a drum or a kind of antelope, but the plural can only be BONGOES when you’re talking about the former. Like a lot of words that come up on Countdown, a GABOON is a tree.

Round 8: R D N T I A I U E

C1: TRAINED (7)
C2: DAINTIER (8)
DC: URINATED (8)
OT: INDURATE (8) UNTIDIER (8)
Score: 35–49 (max 61)

A good spot from Chris puts a bit more daylight between our players; Gino takes some small delight in saying the word URINATED.

Round 9: T S I A P D M E T

C1: PASTIME (7)
C2: PASTED (6)
DC: STAMPED (7) PATTIES (7) MISDATE (7)
OT: DAMPEST (7) MATIEST (7) SPATTED (7) SPITTED (7)
Score: 42–49 (max 68)

Several sevens to be had here, but Chris fails to spot any of them, and the gap slims down to seven.

OoW: Susie tells us about the origins of the expression ‘early doors’, which comes from the world of the theatre.

Round 10: 100, 7, 4, 9, 9, 7. Target: 516.

C1: 516. ((9-4)x100)+7+9 (10)
C2: 516. ((9-4)x100)+7+9 (10)
Score: 52–59 (max 78)

The same target as yesterday’s first numbers game gives Doug ten points for a second time. Chris is equally successful and also adds ten to his tally.

Teatime teaser: RIGHTCON -> TORCHING

Round 11: B Z G O I O P S A

C1: POGOS (5)
C2: POGOS (5)
DC: BIOGAS (6) GOOPS (5)
OT: BAZOOS (6) BOOAIS (6) (hi Matthew)
Score: 57–64 (max 84)

POGOS are pogo sticks (the third person singular is POGOES); a BAZOO is American slang for either a person’s mouth or a person’s bottom (best not to get those two muddled up); and BIOGAS (as Susie explains) is gaseous fuel, such as methane, and not the plural of the BIOGA tree, which sounds very plausible, but I made it up.

Round 12: T V G E A A S P H

C1: AGATES (6)
C2: SAVAGE (6)
DC: AGHAST (6)
OT: AGAPES (6) AGAVES (6) PAVAGE (6) PHAGES (6) SAVATE (6) SPATHE (6)
Score: 63–70 (max 90)

As Susie points out, AGATE is only pluralisable (she apologises for using this word) when you’re talking about marbles, rather than the ornamental stone.

Round 13: M G S I E A V M O

C1: IMAGES (6)
C2: MOVIES (6)
DC: MISGAVE (7) AMIGOS (6)
Score: 69–76 (max 97)

The gap is still seven; can the final numbers game sort the man from the boy?

Round 14: 75, 7, 4, 4, 9, 7. Target: 803.

C1: 802. Mistake in working.
C2: 805. ((7+4)x75)-9-4-7 (7)
RR: 803. (75-(9-7))x(7+4) (10)
Score: 69–83 (max 107)

On this occasion, it seems that it can, and despite his lesser age, Chris turns out the be the ‘man’ on this occasion, with Doug getting to be called the ‘boy’. Interesting fact for anyone who doesn’t know: if the middle digit of the target is a zero and the first and last numbers add up to 11, then the target is divisible by 11. Who yawned at the back??

Round 15: D I S C O A M P S

No one buzzes, not even anyone in the audience. The answer was SPASMODIC.
Score: 69–83 (max 117)

So, despite scoring more points than he did yesterday, Doug’s short run in the champion’s chair ends, but it’s been a nice friendly contest and that other nice chap Chris will be back on Monday to defend his crown. Sitting alongside Susie will be Corrie actress Shobna Gulati, who makes her debut in Dictionary Corner. I’ll see you next Friday, by which time Shobna will apparently already have been replaced by GMTV presenter Andrew Castle. Until then, as Jeff said to Gino at the end of the programme, ‘arrivederci’.

Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=63

[Peter Mabey]

First numbers/; I've hardly played any apterous, but 465 looked pretty easy to me.
465=5x93, giving 15 (=6+9) x 31 (=25+5+1)

[Mike Brown]

First numbers/; I've hardly played any apterous, but 465 looked pretty easy to me.
465=5x93, giving 15 (=6+9) x 31 (=25+5+1)

Fair point, Peter. FWIW, Crossword Tools gives it a difficulty rating of 58% and having looked again, it's also 155 x 3, which is also relatively easy to arrive at. In my defence, I did say it wasn't the easiest of numbers games, not that it was really, really difficult.

[Matthew Tassier]

Round 11: B Z G O I O P S A

C1: POGOS (5)
C2: POGOS (5)
DC: BIOGAS (6) GOOPS (5)
OT: BAZOOS (6)
Score: 57–64 (max 84)

I gave myself 6 points for BOOAIS, so I think it should go in the OThers bit

[Mike Brown]

I gave myself 6 points for BOOAIS, so I think it should go in the OThers bit

Hmm, listed as 'the booai', but not a mass noun, so at a push, guess it's acceptable.