Monday 16th March 2015 (series 72, prelim 47)

[Andy McGurn]

Countdown recap for Monday 16 March 2015.

C1: Champion Chris Dromey (1 win, 82 points) Chris Dromey- A music lecturer from Portsmouth, who won the only episode of countdown last week, scoring what Nick describes as a “great win”.

C2: Challenger Graham French, a retired lorry driver from Cleethorpes who abseiled down the both Grimsby Dock tower and the Humber Bridge, he says he was “on the run” at the time. He was also one of a group of lorry drivers who once put on (presumably bad) performance of Swan Lake.


DC: Susie Dent and Tim Vine.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: L T S E A U I P R
R02: G S R E O C S I B
R03: 8, 6, 3, 5, 9, 25. Target: 557.
TTT: GAVETINA - "I gave Tina the map so she can do this while I drive"
R04: R K N M E I U S Y
R05: D T O E N A Q T I
R06: 3, 2, 2, 5, 6, 25. Target: 206.
R07: R T T P O E A J I
R08: S F T N A E I S O
R09: 2, 3, 10, 9, 6, 25. Target: 548.
TTT: EAGLETED - "the conference member sounds almost fragile"
R10: L D N U A S D E O
R11: P R I N S D E G A
R12: M T N F O E O T A
R13: E A I N L R O E T
R14: 2, 1, 7, 1, 5, 25. Target: 602.
R15: C E L I A S O L D (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: L T S E A U I P R

Chris: PARTIES (7)
Graham: PIRATES (7)
DC: RESULT (6) PILASTER (8)
OT: STIPULAR (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 8)

Easy to spot sevens for both contestants to start the day (and week), DC’s expertise is needed to point out one of the two available 8’s.


Round 2: G S R E O C S I B

Chris: BOSSIER (7)
Graham: corgies
DC: CORBIES (7)
OT: SCRIBES (7)
Score: 14–7 (max 15)

Graham will have seen a number of –ES plurals while watching countdown and will have hoped that corgies also had such a variant, sadly for him it doesn’t however and Chris takes a seven point lead.


Round 3: 8, 6, 3, 5, 9, 25. Target: 557.

Chris: -
Graham: -
RR: 557. (((25*3)-6)*8)+5 (10)
Score: 14–7 (max 25)

Too hard for the contestants to get this one so we need Rachel.


Teatime teaser: GAVETINA -> NAVIGATE

Round 4: R K N M E I U S Y

Chris: MINERS (6)
Graham: SINKER (6)
DC: MUSKIER (7)
OT: MERKINS (7)
Score: 20–13 (max 32)

Like it round one there are some easy to spot words that are one below the max and both contestants spot them.
MERKINS is the adjudicator on Brain of Britain.


Round 5: D T O E N A Q T I

Chris: ANTIDOTE (8)
Graham: DONATE (6)
DC: TETANOID (8)
Score: 28–13 (max 40)

Excellent spot by Chris, who would be a potential octochamp if a top apterite was debuting later this week.


Round 6: 3, 2, 2, 5, 6, 25. Target: 206.

Chris: 206. ((5+3)*25)+6 (10)
Graham: 206. ((6+2)*25)+(3*2) (10)
Score: 38–23 (max 50)

After both conestants got nothing from the first numbers game they both score the max here due to the simple solution(s) being available.


DC Guest- Tim uses the fact that yesterday was mothers day to launch into his array of jokes. I must be honest and say I don’t think he is funny, but he is successful so I must be wrong.

Round 7: R T T P O E A J I

Chris: POTTIER (7)
Graham: POTTIER (7)
DC: TEAPOT (6) JITTER (6)
OT: PARTITE (7) PATRIOT (7)
Score: 45–30 (max 57)

POTTIER is the easiest of the three sevens to spot and both get it.


Round 8: S F T N A E I S O

Chris: FEASTS (6)
Graham: FATES (5)
DC: SAINTS (6) FATNESS (7)
OT: ATONIES (7) ENTASIS (7) FASTENS (7) FIESTAS (7) FITNESS (7) INFESTS (7) NASTIES (7) NOSIEST (7) SESTINA (7) SOFTENS (7) SOFTIES (7) SOSATIE (7) TANSIES (7) TISANES (7)
Score: 51–30 (max 64)

A weak round by both contestants sees them miss all fifteen max words in the round. Chris’s six however beats the challenger and he now has a 21 point lead.
A SESTINA is a fixed verse form consisting of six stanzas of six lines each, normally followed by a three-line envoi
A SOSATIE is a traditional South African dish of meat (usually lamb or mutton) cooked on skewers.
A TANSY (plural TANSIES) is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant of the aster family, native to temperate Europe and Asia.
TISANES are any type of herbal tea.


Round 9: 2, 3, 10, 9, 6, 25. Target: 548.

Chris: -
Graham: -
RR: 548. (((6*9)-2)*10)+25+3 (10)
Score: 51–30 (max 74)

For the second time in the game both contestants blank out on a numbers game and it requires Rachel to take centre stage.

Teatime teaser: EAGLETED -> DELEGATE

Round 10: L D N U A S D E O

Chris: SOUNDED (7)
Graham: LOANED (6)
DC: UNSADDLE (8) UNLOADED (8) NODULES (7)
OT: DUODENAL (8)
Score: 58–30 (max 82)

With that seven Chris takes a 28 point lead and looks pretty certain to scre win number 2.


Round 11: P R I N S D E G A

Chris: SPREADING (18)
Graham: SPEARING (8)
Score: 76–30 (max 100)

Graham spots his longest word of the game so far with an eight, but Chris has a nine for the second game in a row and has all but secured the win now.


Round 12: M T N F O E O T A

Chris: FOOTMAN (7)
Graham: NOTATE (6)
DC: TOMENTA (7)
OT: FOOTMEN (7) OTTOMAN (7)
Score: 83–30 (max 107)

For the fourth consecutive letters round Chris has a word one letter longer than Graham’s and with that his second victory is confirmed.


Round 13: E A I N L R O E T

Chris: LINEAR (6)
Graham: RELATION (8)
DC: ORIENTAL (8)
OT: AEROLITE (8) TREENAIL (8)
Score: 83–38 (max 115)

The game is lost for Graham but he wins his first round of the game by spotting RELATION while Chris has the shorter, but arguably harder to spot, LINEAR.


Round 14: 2, 1, 7, 1, 5, 25. Target: 602.

Chris: 600. (7+1)*(2+1)*25 (7)
Graham: -
RR: 602. ((7-1)*(5-1)*25)+2 (10)
Score: 90–38 (max 125)

A one large for the fourth time in the game and for the fourth time that one large s 25. Neither can get it spot on however, but Chris’s two away keeps him in with a chance of scoring a century.


Round 15: C E L I A S O L D

No one buzzes. The answer was LOCALISED.
Final Score: 90–38 (max 135)


So its win number two for Chris, despite missing the century. Rachel said that the conundrum was “Celia’s old” and may refer to her mother. I thought it was meant to be “Celia sold” but hey.

James Laverty will be here tomorrow to take you through Chris’s third game.

Also, well done David Barnard on winning his first CO event recently.


Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=72