Tuesday 16 February 2016 (Series 74, Prelim 17)

[Johnny Canuck]

When we last spoke* on Tuesday*, David Edgar reached the halfway point of his commandingly strong* prospective octochamp run. However, sadly, the title was not to be for him as he was thrashed* on Wednesday by Jack Creswell in an excellent* game decided by a crucial. Jack then held out with high scores across the board* until he finally went down to Apterite David Armstrong. Now, for the first time, I bring you a well-written* recap of the champion's performances on the actual day of the game.

*not really

Countdown recap for Tuesday 16 February 2016.

C1: Champion David Armstrong (1 win, 90 points). Also joined Apterous shortly before his run was taped.
C2: Challenger Gareth Pugh. He has seen Tina Turner in concert 14 times, but never met her personally. Nick notes that he is impressed by what a talented singer she “was”. I then almost completely miss the rest of the opening spiel because I'm looking for information about her non-existent death on Wikipedia and TMZ.
DC: Susie Dent and Richard Arnold.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

WARNING – HIGH CONCENTRATION OF SELECTIONS BELOW.

R01: G N L O A I P M L
R02: B S D O I A W E T
R03: 75, 3, 7, 3, 9, 6. Target: 829.
TTT: ECOSTOOP — “It's nothing to do with debt, just in our ears.”
R04: O I U D S T Y O S
R05: R N P E A I S D S
R06: 100, 3, 8, 7, 2, 3. Target: 131.
R07: T L R U A E S K N
R08: L S D I O A N R U
R09: 25, 8, 9, 10, 5, 2. Target: 208.
TTT: NINEPUGS — “Not a lot of dogs, just a couple of birds.”
R10: I O E P G Z D A R
R11: G R B E A E N T A
R12: H T R U A O T F E
R13: R L V I U A S Q E
R14: 75, 25, 100, 50, 10, 2. Target: 488.
R15: S I L E N T H U G (conundrum)

NOW ENTERING A SELECTION-FREE ZONE. YOU MAY REMOVE PROTECTIVE GEAR.

And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: G N L O A I P M L
David: LAMPING (7)
Gareth: GALLON (6)
DC: PALMING (7) POLLING (7)
OT: ALMOIGN (7) MALLING (7) MILONGA (7) PAILLON (7) PALLING (7) PALLION (7)
Score: 7–0 (max 7)

David turns the lights on with a challenger-beating max. Actually, according to Richard, LAMPING refers to the delivery of a blow or punch and has no light-related connotations whatsoever, so I'll scratch that last metaphor and say David has made the first strike instead. There we go.

ALMOIGN is a synonym for FRANKALMOIGN. Huh, I never knew words had first names. In all seriousness, it was a system in feudal England by which a religious body could hold land indefinitely in exchange for the performance of masses or prayers for the donors and their descendants.

MILONGA is an Argentinian ballroom dance that is an ancestor of tango.

A PAILLON is a decorative metal scale or spangle.

A PALLION is a small piece or pellet of solder. Basically, a functional metal scale or spangle.

Round 2: B S D O I A W E T
David: WAISTED (7)
Gareth: WAISTED (7)
DC: BAWDIEST (8)
OT: BIOWASTE (8)
Score: 14–7 (max 15)

Like many non-Apterites of the past, Gareth is notably hesitant to declare his 7, calling it a risk. However, it turns out to be a perfectly acceptable offering, and thus, both competitors are already on the board and it's anyone's game. Could it shape up to be this series' first high-scoring, crucial cracker?

Round 3: 75, 3, 7, 3, 9, 6. Target: 829.
David: 830. Mistake in working.
Gareth: 831. (75 + 9) × (7 + 3) − 6 − 3. (7)
RR: 828/830. Not 0.997590361.
OT: 829. (75 + 9 × 7) × 6 + 3 ÷ 3. (10)
Score: 14–14 (max 25)

Well, after this round, “crucial” seems even more likely, but “high-scoring” not so much. David makes decent progress but is unfortunately stopped by the erroneous step 75 + 7 = 83. Gareth levels the playing field by spotting 831. Though Rachel says “Leave it to me” when asked to pinpoint the exact target, she ultimately achieves only one away. Well, William Tunstall-Pedoe does rate this game as “very difficult” and notes that it has only two solutions. I still can't begin to imagine how much he must have been bullied as a child.

Teatime Teaser 1: ECOSTOOP
“It's nothing to do with debt, just in our ears.” (Or “arrears”, if you prefer.)
Answer: OTOSCOPE

Round 4: O I U D S T Y O S
David: STUDIOS (7)
Gareth: STUDIOS (7)
DC: STUDIOS (7)
Score: 21–21 (max 32)

The first darren of the day, and everybody nails it. I, myself, was stuck on 5 here. Maybe I'd have had a better chance of spotting STUDIOS if I had been in one.

Round 5: R N P E A I S D S
David: SPRAINED (8)
Gareth: DESPAIRS (8)
OT: RAPIDNESS (18)
Score: 29–29 (max 50)

A promising-looking selection does nothing to break the current deadlock. Both scores are boosted to 29, but here, it was possible to go ten better. No-one spots the nine on air; both the RAPIDNESS of the Countdown clock and the implausibility of the word could have been to blame.

Round 6: 100, 3, 8, 7, 2, 3. Target: 131.
David: 131. 3 × 7 + 8 + 2 + 100. (10)
Gareth: 131. 8 × 3 + 7 + 100. (10)
Score: 39–39 (max 60)

The 100 goes on the board, the target is rather small, and predictably, the resulting numbers game is the simplest we've seen since CECIL spat out that mocking 175 on Friday afternoon. Full points are had by all.

Richard discusses... something. I really didn't hear a word of it this time, unfortunately. I was too busy transcribing the Round 3 solution that Rachel never came up with. And doing one more check to confirm the continuing aliveness of Tina Turner.

Round 7: T L R U A E S K N
David: TALKERS (7)
Gareth: unsalter
DC: NEUTRALS (8)
Score: 46–39 (max 68)

Gareth offers a root with both a prefix and a suffix tacked on, but sadly, according to the OED, one's occupation cannot be removing salt from objects (or at least, if it can, it may not be described by a single word). Susie, however, successfully unravels UNSALTER^ into an acceptable 8, albeit with a ho-hum meaning.

Round 8: L S D I O A N R U
David: SUNDIAL (7)
Gareth: URINALS (7)
DC: DINOSAUR (8)
OT: ORDINALS (8)
Score: 53–46 (max 76)

When “LSD” appeared as the first three letters, I was momentarily wondering if the media were going to have a field day. Though my guess was no, they've been known to go mad over any vaguely suggestive combination in the past. I mean, I had never heard the phrase “LARGE BAPS” used in the context they were implying before. Ever.

Round 9: 25, 8, 9, 10, 5, 2. Target: 208.
David: 208. (25 − 5) × 10 + 8. (10)
Gareth: 208. 25 × 8 + 10 − 2. (10)
Score: 63–56 (max 86)

Today's third target proves just as easily reachable as the second, and this numbers game was perhaps even easier because there were so many different routes by which the initial multiplication could be done. Gareth opts for the Standard Method, while David employs an equally simple split subtraction.

Teatime Teaser 2: NINEPUGS
“Not a lot of dogs, just a couple of birds.”
Answer: PENGUINS

Round 10: I O E P G Z D A R
David: PODGIER (7)
Gareth: PODGIER (7)
DC: PARODIZE (8)
Score: 70–63 (max 94)

Gareth's amusingly self-deprecating 7 is copied by David, ensuring that neither player will be PODGIER than the other. Meanwhile, you know those words that you probably thought were always in, but it turns out they were only added in the last OED update? Yeah? Well, DC finds one of them, and it's the darren.

Round 11: G R B E A E N T A
David: REAGENT (7)
Gareth: BARGE (5)
DC: ABNEGATE (8)
Score: 77–63 (max 102)

A chemical 7 from David sees him turn up the (Bunsen?) burners, extending his lead to non-crucial proportions. Susie and Richard then go darrenic again with ABNEGATE, driving the max counter into the triple digits.

To ABNEGATE something of value is to renounce or reject it.

Susie's Origins of Words identifies a multitude of terms of endearment, particularly from the early history of the English language, ranging from “darling” to “pig's eye”. Nick vows to test out the latter on his wife at home, also refusing to disclose what he currently calls her...

Round 12: H T R U A O T F E
David: outfare
Gareth: further
DC: OUTRATE (7)
OT: TARTUFO (7)
Score: 77–63 (max 109)

With so many OUT- words present in the dictionary, particularly in its latest revisions, it can be near-impossible knowing which OUT-s are out, and David sadly picks one of them. He remains outside striking distance, however, since Gareth's word contains a phantom R. There are now only two rounds left for him to get a clear beater.

A TARTUFO is an edible fungus, especially the white truffle.

Round 13: R L V I U A S Q E
David: QUIVERS (7)
Gareth: QUIVERS (7)
DC: QUAVERS (7)
OT: AQUIVER (7) QUISLER (7) REVISAL (7) SURVEIL (7) VALUERS (7)
Score: 84–70 (max 116)

And a less-than-ideal mixture of letters, consisting of a few useful Scrabble 1-pointers with an ugly Q and V thrown in, takes us back to Flatland in the day's final letters contest. Richard spots an alternate 7 by swapping out the I of David and Gareth's word for an A; he's probably unaware that it can have SEMIHEMIDEMI- (or was it DEMIHEMISEMI-?) prefixed onto it too.

A QUISLER (or QUISLING) is a traitor or collaborator with enemy forces.

Round 14: 75, 25, 100, 50, 10, 2. Target: 488.
David: 488. Mistake in working.
Gareth: 490. Mistake in working.
RR: 488. (50 − (100 − 75) ÷ 25) × 10 − 2. (10)
Score: 84–70 (max 126)

“It's gambling time”, announces Gareth, and makes a numbers choice that was seen most recently during the octochamp run of a certain Tim Down. At first, the gamble appears successful as David accidentally uses the 25 twice, but sadly for Gareth, he also goes wrong on his solution to 490, sealing the Apterite's victory. Rachel nests two sets of brackets to lead us to the answer.

Round 15: S I L E N T H U G

David buzzes on 25 seconds to say HUSTLEING which is INCORRECT.
Gareth buzzes on 25.25 seconds just so he can press the buzzer. That's incorrect too.
James Laverty, in the audience, gives the correct answer: SLEUTHING.
Final Score: 84–70 (max 136)

And I thought there were only going to be two Apterites this week! At the most unexpected point in the show, one of Our People sleuths out the answer to the conundrum and nets himself a mug. I've been told at least two other Not-Countdowners were also visible in the audience here; if anyone who hasn't read the spoiler thread yet can identify them, I will send you cake*. In the meantime, David has snagged a second victory and upped his total to 174, but he may soon have another of Our People awaiting him, this time in the form of 2000+-rated Paul Erdunast. I don't condone spoilers, but it is possible that a very appropriate name for tomorrow's show might be “The Calm Before the Storm”...

*not really

This has been Acme CanuckRecap™ #00004.

Statistics Corner
David:
Total score – 84
Raw score – 84
Total % of max – 62%
Raw % of max – 62%
Total average score per round – 5.6
Raw average score per round – You can probably figure this out.
Number of maxes – 5

Gareth:
Total score – 70
Raw score – 81
Total % of max – 51%
Raw % of max – 60%
Total average score per round – 4.7
Raw average score per round – 5.4
Number of maxes – 4

Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=74