Enjoy.
Countdown recap for Wednesday 8 April 2015.
C1: Champion Gerry Tynan (3 wins, 319 points.) An Apterite and accountant from Lucan, County Dublin.
C2: Challenger James Humpish. A bartender and student at the University of York, but is originally from Telford, Shropshire. He owns a couple of terrapins called Mel and Scrag.
He's also a keen cross-country runner, and once came 86th out of 2,000 in the Shrewsbury Half-Marathon.DC: Susie Dent and Janet Street-Porter.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: S B E S D O E T U
R02: X R I R E O S L E
R03: 100, 1, 10, 8, 3, 3. Target: 362.
TTT: SLOWRACK - "They're wizards at battling with hair"
R04: R B S O I R N E O
R05: S C E D A M L E I
R06: 25, 50, 4, 6, 3, 3. Target: 237.
R07: C W E P S A G I S
R08: G E I R V A D O H
R09: 100, 9, 6, 6, 2, 5. Target: 626.
TTT: CITYLIFE - "The lady felt very happy living in Kendal"
R10: A O N Q S E U P N
R11: T F E D T A O Y E
R12: R T A I R N M U T
R13: N W I S N O A V I
R14: 100, 9, 6, 5, 10, 9. Target: 201.
R15: D A D S I N B E D (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: S B E S D O E T U
Gerry: DOUBTS (6)
James: DOUBTS (6)
DC: BOSSED (6) OBTUSE (6)
OT: BUSTEES (7) DEBUSES (7)
Score: 6–6 (max 7)
A few DOUBTS to start with, and no 7's spotted either.........
A BUSTEE is an Indian slum area or shanty town.
To DEBUS is to alight from a motor vehicle.
Round 2: X R I R E O S L E
Gerry: ROSIER (6)
James: LOSER (5)
DC: RESOLE (6) resoler LORRIES (7)
OT: LOERIES (7)
Score: 12–6 (max 14)
Things are looking ROSIER for Gerry as he takes the lead, although DC motor along in their LORRIES.
Round 3: 100, 1, 10, 8, 3, 3. Target: 362.
Gerry: 360.
James: 362. (((3 x 8) + 100) x 3) - 10 (10)
Score: 12–16 (max 24)
Well, James causes a minor tremor by getting the numbers, with Gerry 2 away, and takes the lead, forcing Gerry behind for the first time in his run........
Teatime teaser: SLOWRACK -> WARLOCKS
Round 4: R B S O I R N E O
Gerry: BONIER (6)
James: BORNE (5)
DC: REBORN (6) EROSION (7) IRONERS (7)
OT: BOONIES (7) ROSINER (7)
Score: 18–16 (max 31)
But, not for long as Gerry goes BONIER to take the lead, although he could've gone ROSIER again........
BOONIES is short for boondocks, a North American term for a rough or isolated country.
A ROSINER is an Australian/Irish alcoholic drink, especially a large serving of a spirit such as whisky or gin
Round 5: S C E D A M L E I
Gerry: DECIMALS (8)
James: DIALS (5)
DC: MEDICALS (8) DECLAIMS (8)
OT: CAMELIDS (8) LIMEADES (8)
Score: 26–16 (max 39)
Gerry going all guns blazing now thanks to he DECIMALS.
A CAMELID is a mammal of the camel family (Camelidae).
Round 6: 25, 50, 4, 6, 3, 3. Target: 237.
Gerry: 237. (50 x 4) + 25 + 6 + 3 + 3 (10)
James: 237. Mistake in working.
Score: 36–16 (max 49)
Oh dear, oh dear, bad miss by James there, who seems to just go all over the place after making the same start as Gerry........
Janet talks about her tennis playing, which she has been doing for the last 4 years.
Round 7: C W E P S A G I S
Gerry: SPACES (6)
James: PAGES (5)
DC: SWIPES (6) WASPIES (7)
Score: 42–16 (max 56)
Bigger SPACES are appearing in the scoreline now..........
Round 8: G E I R V A D O H
Gerry: VIRAGO (6)
James: GRAVE (5)
DC: HEGIRA (6) AVOIDER (7)
Score: 48–16 (max 63)
That's 5 letters games in a row now that James has declared 5, and he hasn't scored with any of them..............
Round 9: 100, 9, 6, 6, 2, 5. Target: 626.
Gerry: 626. ((100 + 6) x 6) - (5 x 2) (10)
James: 624.
Score: 58–16 (max 73)
And he can't blame a miscalculation for missing the numbers this time (unless he did it wrong while writing it down, of course.........)
Teatime teaser: CITYLIFE -> FELICITY
Round 10: A O N Q S E U P N
Gerry: OPAQUE (6)
James: soupen
DC: OPAQUES (7)
Score: 64–16 (max 80)
It's not a 5 this time from James, but it's not a word either............
Gerry also seems to like missing out letters in words to increase their length (after POMADE(D) and RECITE(R)S earlier in the week...... )Round 11: T F E D T A O Y E
Gerry: DEFEAT (6)
James: DEFEAT (6)
DC: FATTED (6)
Score: 70–22 (max 86)
Both players face DEFEAT, but for James, that could be a reality after the next round............
Susie's Origins of Words talks about the origins of "champion".
Round 12: R T A I R N M U T
Gerry: TRUANT (6)
James: TRAIN (5)
DC: ATRIUM (6) MARTIN (6)
OT: MURRAIN (7) TANTRUM (7)
Score: 76–22 (max 93)
And the game is over thanks to Gerry playing TRUANT, but luckily James (nor anyone else for that matter) didn't throw a TANTRUM.......
MURRAIN is redwater fever or a similar infectious disease affecting cattle or other animals.
Round 13: N W I S N O A V I
Gerry: SWAIN (5)
James: AVOWS (5)
DC: VISION (6) INVASION (8)
Score: 81–27 (max 101)
An INVASION from DC goes completely unnoticed by the players, who are happy to stick with 5's.
Round 14: 100, 9, 6, 5, 10, 9. Target: 201.
Gerry: 201. ((10 / 5) x 100) + (9 / 9) (10)
James: -
Score: 91–27 (max 111)
James has just disintegrated now, not even a declaration in this numbers game, leaving Gerry in the same position he was in yesterday, needing the conundrum for a 101 score.
Round 15: D A D S I N B E D
Gerry buzzes on 2.25 seconds to say "No", which is incorrect.
James does not buzz.
The answer was DISBANDED.
Final Score: 91–27 (max 121)
Unfortunately, he buzzes in early and comes up with a mind blank, so 91 will have to do, as he becomes a half-octochamp, and already going above Shaun Gill, as the highest placed non-octochamp on the leaderboard in 6th place. If he matches the 410 points he has accrued so far, then he'll be the number 4 seed, a week on Thursday, which is when his 8th game will be, should Gerry get that far.
A week on Thursday, you ask
Well, we're off to Aintree for the Grand National meeting for the rest of the week, so Gerry will be back on screen on Monday. So, that's the last Countdown this week, is it WRONG!!!If you're willing to wake up at 6 o'clock on Friday morning, you'll see another previously unbroadcast special episode, and it's one we've all been waiting for, as the Law & Order special between Series 65's Matt Croy and Series 66's Craig Lingard takes place.
I'm going on holiday on Monday, so I'm going to leave my recaps for the next 2 weeks to some other worthy recappers.
So, my next recap will be on Wednesday April 29, and I'll look forward to seeing you all then, or at CO:REA this weekend, which will hopefully be a great event as always.
So, till then, bye for now.
Statistics Corner
Gerry:
Total score - 91
Raw score - 98
Total % of max - 75
Raw % of max - 81
Total average score per round - 6.1
Raw average score per round - 6.5
Number of maxes - 5
James:
Total score - 27
Raw score - 64
Total % of max - 22
Raw % of max - 53
Total average score per round - 1.8
Raw average score per round - 4.3
Number of maxes - 2
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=72