SURELY UNTHINKABLE Well, let's see if Martin can continue where he left off yesterday. Enjoy.
Countdown recap for Wednesday 26 March 2014.
C1: Champion Martin Ashmeade (1 win, 74 points.) A strategic pricing analyst from Churchdown, Gloucestershire.
C2: Challenger Jonathan Worrall. A garden designer from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. He enjoys tennis, golf, poker and watching Countdown with his girlfriend.
DC: Susie Dent and Maureen Lipman.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: P T S I E P U S A
R02: G P M E O I S T E
R03: 50, 75, 9, 5, 4, 9. Target: 743.
TTT: IMBUEINN - "It may well take you a couple of years to get this"
R04: K H S D U O A E P
R05: I O E N Z R O G H
R06: 25, 6, 5, 10, 2, 7. Target: 857.
R07: L S V R I E A M D
R08: L G N E O I C Q L
R09: 50, 25, 9, 1, 1, 4. Target: 656.
TTT: ABOULDER - "Moved a boulder and made very hard work of it"
R10: D N B R A O E V O
R11: L T D F E A O N I
R12: D S F U A O R I S
R13: X M C E A N T I S
R14: 50, 2, 6, 5, 10, 3. Target: 946.
R15: K I N D R E B E L (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Round 1: P T S I E P U S A
Martin: PASTIES (7)
Jonathan: PASTIES (7)
DC: PUPATES (7) SEPIA (5)
OT: SAPPIEST (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 8)
An even start, as both contestants must be thinking of their lunch.
Round 2: G P M E O I S T E
Martin: POISE (5)
Jonathan: MOPIEST (7)
DC: EGOTISM (7) STOMPIE (7)
OT: EPITOMES (8)
Score: 7–14 (max 16)
Jonathan takes the first lead of the day, with his MOPIEST 7, but like the last round, there is a darrenic 8 left alone here............
Round 3: 50, 75, 9, 5, 4, 9. Target: 743.
Martin: 744. Mistake in working.
Jonathan: 745. ((75 / 5) x 50) - (9 - 4) (7)
RR: 743. (9 x 75) + 50 + 9 + 5 + 4 (10)
Score: 7–21 (max 26)
Oh dear, Martin has miscalculated, letting Jonathan double his advantage thanks to his 2 away, while Rachel makes this one look easy.
Teatime teaser: IMBUEINN -> BIENNIUM
Round 4: K H S D U O A E P
Martin: SHAPED (6)
Jonathan: PUSHED (6)
DC: PASHED (6) PADOUKS (7)
OT: SHAKUDO (7)
Score: 13–27 (max 33)
A pair of 6's here, but DC get one of the maximums this time thanks to their PADOUKS.
SHAKUDO is an alloy of copper, invented by the Japanese, having a very dark blue colour approaching black.
Round 5: I O E N Z R O G H
Martin: NIGH (4)
Jonathan: HEROIN (6)
DC: ZEROING (7)
OT: HORIZON (7)
Score: 13–33 (max 40)
Jonathan is in top form today, and Martin is already 20 points behind, but he was in a similar position yesterday, and managed to nick it in the end, he might need something similar today.........
Round 6: 25, 6, 5, 10, 2, 7. Target: 857.
Martin: 868.
Jonathan: -
RR: 857. (((25 x 6) + (2 x 10)) x 5) + 7 (10)
Score: 13–33 (max 50)
Oh dear, no joy for either contestant, as Jonathan blanks, while Martin is 11 away.
Maureen talks about the time that she visited the Welsh Assembly, while new ministers were being elected.
Round 7: L S V R I E A M D
Martin: MARVELS (7)
Jonathan: DRIVELS (7)
DC: ADMIRES (7) MISDEAL (7) REALISM (7)
OT: ADVISER (7) DERAILS (7) MAILERS (7) MEDLARS (7) MISLEAD (7) MISREAD (7) REDIALS (7) REVISAL (7) SIDEARM (7)
Score: 20–40 (max 57)
A MEDLAR is a small tree, Mespilus germanica, of the rose family, the fruit of which resembles a crab apple and is not edible until the early stages of decay.
Plenty of 7's here. There was me thinking of DIMERSAL, and clearly I'm the only one..........
Round 8: L G N E O I C Q L
Martin: LOGIC (5)
Jonathan: LEGION (6)
DC: COLLIE (6)
OT: NIELLO (6) NOLLIE (6) OCELLI (6)
Score: 20–46 (max 63)
Jonathan gets another good 6, and at this halfway point, he still looks in complete control.
A NIELLO is a black metallic substance, consisting of silver, copper, lead, and sulfur, with which an incised design or ground is filled to produce an ornamental effect on metal.
An OCELLUS (plural OCELLI) is a type of simple eye common to invertebrates, consisting of retinal cells, pigments, and nerve fibres.
Round 9: 50, 25, 9, 1, 1, 4. Target: 656.
Martin: 655. Mistake in working.
Jonathan: 652. ((9 + 4) x 50) + 1 + 1 (7)
RR: 657. (7)
OT: 657. (50 + 25 - 1 - 1) x 9 (7)
Score: 20–53 (max 70)
Oh dear, it might've served him well yesterday, but the numbers aren't Martin's friend today, and all roads are leading to Jonathan.
Teatime teaser: ABOULDER -> LABOURED
Round 10: D N B R A O E V O
Martin: ADVERB (6)
Jonathan: BROADEN (7)
DC: BRAVED (6) BARED (5) BRAVO (5) BRAND (5) brando BRADOON (7)
OT: BANDORE (7) ONBOARD (7)
Score: 20–60 (max 77)
Appropriately, Jonathan BROADENs his lead to 40 points. Game over now surely.
A BANDORE is an obsolete musical instrument resembling the guitar.
Round 11: L T D F E A O N I
Martin: DEFLATION (18)
Jonathan: FLOATED (7)
DC: DELATION (8) FLINTED (7) FELON (5)
OT: DEFOLIANT (18)
Score: 38–60 (max 95)
WOAH! WOAH!! WOAH!!! It's not going to happen again, surely
Well, Martin cuts the lead down to 22 points, and has 4 rounds to turn it around........Susie's Origins Of Words talks about the origins of "magazine".
Round 12: D S F U A O R I S
Martin: ROADS (5)
Jonathan: FAIRS (5)
DC: RADIUS (6) SARDIUS (7)
Score: 43–65 (max 102)
Just a pair of 5's for the contestants, while DC get the darrenic 7 here.
Round 13: X M C E A N T I S
Martin: SEMANTIC (8)
Jonathan: MANTIS (6)
DC: TAXMEN (6) EXITS (5)
OT: NEMATICS (8)
Score: 51–65 (max 110)
Well, Martin's memory of Monday's game has helped him in this one, and now the gap is just 14 points, with 2 rounds left. Surely history isn't going to repeat itself..........
Round 14: 50, 2, 6, 5, 10, 3. Target: 946.
Martin: 947. ((6 + 10 + 3) x 50) - (5 - 2) (7)
Jonathan: 947. ((10 + 6 + 3) x 50) - (5 - 2) (7)
RR: 946. ((50 + 2) x 6 x 3) + 10 (10)
Score: 58–72 (max 120)
And Martin's luck runs out, as he can only equal Jonathan's effort in this last numbers game, and it means we have a new champion.
Round 15: K I N D R E B E L
Martin buzzes on 2 seconds to say BLINKERED which is correct.
Final Score: 68–72 (max 130)
And solving the conundrum proves to be a classic case of "What could've been" for Martin, who if hadn't had a nightmare first 2 halves (where he only scored 20 points, compared to the 48 in the 3rd half), he would've won at a canter.
But, as it is, Jonathan is our new champion, and you can join me tomorrow to see how he goes on.
Till then, bye for now.
Statistics Corner
Martin:
Total score - 68
Raw score - 88
Total % of max - 52
Raw % of max - 68
Total average score per round - 4.5
Raw average score per round - 5.9
Number of maxes - 4
Jonathan:
Total score - 72
Raw score - 85
Total % of max - 55
Raw % of max - 65
Total average score per round - 4.8
Raw average score per round - 5.7
Number of maxes - 4
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=70