Sean has two wins and starts today's episode at Nick's prompting by talking about having eaten live termites and scorpions while in Southeast Asia.
C1: Champion Sean Cooke (2 wins, 149 points.) From County Cork, plays American Football for Cork Admirals.
C2: Challenger Heather Armstrong. A Chemistry student at Liverpool University. Recently travelled around Mexico and Costa Rica on her own, which makes Nick fret a bit.
DC: Susie Dent and Mark Foster.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: C S T M O A I L E
R02: G R U A E N S K U
R03: 50, 25, 100, 75, 7, 5. Target: 740.
TTT: WEHADNUT - "We had nut cutlets for dinner, but they were still frozen inside."
R04: I A E F L M R S O
R05: A E I T C G Q U N
R06: 75, 25, 9, 7, 3, 10. Target: 187.
R07: V D S T A E I R U
R08: S J L I A O T R T
R09: 100, 25, 50, 75, 7, 4. Target: 704.
TTT: LEOHEARS - "Leo hears much better these days; they're not blocked anymore."
R10: X D N G E I A R V
R11: D T D E I M U E H
R12: W N T D A O U P I
R13: R T H L E U I G A
R14: 100, 50, 25, 9, 8, 10. Target: 107.
R15: N I C E K I N G S (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Round 1: C S T M O A I L E
Sean: CLIMATES (8)
Heather: CLIMATES (8)
DC: MISLOCATE (18)
Score: 8–8 (max 18)
CLIMATES from Sean and Heather, who can be forgiven for missing the 9 spotted by dictionary corner. A bright start from both contestants, but whose day will be clouding over later? And is this really the level of humour you can expect from me?
Round 2: G R U A E N S K U
Sean: RANGES (6)
Heather: ARGUES (6)
DC: UNRAKES (7)
OT: KURGANS (7)
Score: 14–14 (max 25)
Decent sixes from both contestants keep the scores level. There were a couple of 7s:
UNRAKES: To uncover or expose by raking; to remove by raking.
KURGANS: Prehistoric burial mounds of a type found in southern Russia and Ukraine.
Round 3: 50, 25, 100, 75, 7, 5. Target: 740.
Sean: 740. (100 + 50) × 5 − (75 ÷ 25 + 7) (10)
Heather: 750.
Score: 24–14 (max 35)
Sean goes 4 large and nails it while Heather is 10 away, giving Sean the lead.
Teatime teaser: WEHADNUT -> UNTHAWED
Round 4: I A E F L M R S O
Sean: FORMALISE (18)
Heather: filmers
Score: 42–14 (max 53)
A great spot by Sean and suddenly he's 28 ahead.
Round 5: A E I T C G Q U N
Sean: EQUATING (8)
Heather: EQUATING (8)
DC: ANTIQUE (7)
Score: 50–22 (max 61)
Both contestants spot the max.
Round 6: 75, 25, 9, 7, 3, 10. Target: 187.
Sean: 187. (25 + 9) × 3 + 10 + 75 (10)
Heather: -
Score: 60–22 (max 71)
Sean pulls out another good numbers solution while Heather draws a blank and falls further behind.
Mark talks about arranging for a sweary man to be interviewed by Clare Balding.
Round 7: V D S T A E I R U
Sean: STARVED (7)
Heather: STRIVED (7)
DC: DURATIVE (8)
Score: 67–29 (max 79)
Seven apiece for Sean and Heather. DC spots the max:
DURATIVE: (Grammar) Denoting or relating to continuing action. Contrasted with punctual.
Round 8: S J L I A O T R T
Sean: TAILORS (7)
Heather: TRAILS (6)
DC: ORALIST (7)
OT: ORLISTAT (8)
Score: 74–29 (max 87)
Another solid spot from Sean. No-one gets the somewhat obscure 8:
ORLISTAT: A synthetic drug used in treating obesity which is an inhibitor of gastric and pancreatic lipase activity, reducing the proportion of dietary fat that is digested sufficiently to be absorbed.
Round 9: 100, 25, 50, 75, 7, 4. Target: 704.
Sean: 704. 7 × 100 + 4 (10)
Heather: 704. 7 × 100 + 4 (10)
Score: 84–39 (max 97)
A trivial 4 large, easily solved by both contestants.
Teatime teaser: LEOHEARS -> EARHOLES
Round 10: X D N G E I A R V
Sean: READING (7)
Heather: EVADING (7)
DC: GRAINED (7) INVADER (7)
OT: GRADINE (7) RAVINED (7) REAVING (7) VINEGAR (7)
Score: 91–46 (max 104)
Lots of 7s, two of which were spotted by the contestants, but nothing better.
GRADINE: A low step or ledge, especially one at the back of an altar.
REAVING: Carrying out raids in order to plunder.
Round 11: D T D E I M U E H
Sean: TIMED (5)
Heather: THEMED (6)
DC: TEDIUM (6) MUDDIE (6)
OT: METHIDE (7)
Score: 91–52 (max 111)
Heather wins a round at last thanks to her THEMED but at this stage it's probably too little, too late. No-one spotted the 7:
METHIDE: A chemical term. One meaning is the methyl anion CH3 −, originally specifically in a compound with a metal atom. Later also: any compound that contains this anion or a substituted derivative of it.
Susie talks about the origins of the phrase “pushed from pillar to post”.
Round 12: W N T D A O U P I
Sean: WOUND (5)
Heather: POUND (5)
DC: AUTOWIND (8)
Score: 96–57 (max 119)
A tricky selection from which Sean and Heather both find a 5, which is enough for Sean to put the game out of Heather's reach. DC has a great 8. I'll copy and paste the definition for those of you who are too young to remember cameras with film.
AUTOWIND: A device which automatically winds on the film in a camera after a picture has been taken.
Round 13: R T H L E U I G A
Sean: LIGATURE (8)
Heather: LAUGHTER (8)
DC: LITHARGE (8)
OT: ARGUILEH (8)
Score: 104–65 (max 127)
Two excellent 8s from the contestants and Heather's score is looking respectable. Two more 8s were lurking:
LITHARGE: Lead monoxide, especially a red form used as a pigment and in glass and ceramics.
ARGUILEH: Chiefly in Syria and neighbouring Arabic-speaking countries: = NARGHILE, which is an oriental tobacco pipe with a long tube that draws the smoke through water.
Round 14: 100, 50, 25, 9, 8, 10. Target: 107.
Sean: 107. 8 − (10 − 9) + 100 (10)
Heather: 107. 25 − 8 − 10 + 100 (10)
Score: 114–75 (max 137)
Another easy numbers game which both contestants solve.
Round 15: N I C E K I N G S
Sean buzzes on 4 seconds to say SICKENING which is correct.
Final Score: 124–75 (max 147)
That's a very strong performance from Sean and a great score. He could easily become an octochamp if he keeps this up. Heather played well, particularly on the letters, but couldn't keep up with Sean on that form.
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=74
Tuesday 29th March 2016 (Series 74, Prelim 42)
Moderator: James Robinson