Friday 2 April 2010 (Series 62, Prelim 55)

[Mike Brown]

Countdown recap for Friday 2 April 2010.

C1: Champion Barry Watson (2 wins, 174 points.)
C2: Challenger Peter Zyss.
DC: Susie Dent and Kim Woodburn.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

It’s Good Friday and it’s time to toast yourself a Hot Cross Bun, crack open your Easter Eggs and maybe even remember the religious significance of the day before settling down for a wicked, bad, savage, maybe even evil game of Countdown. Yes, Jeff opens the show with a commentary on the versatility of the word ‘good’ before Susie recommends that he ‘gets with the programme’ and brings himself up to date by reversing the meaning of his adjectives. So, without further ado, let’s see how our champ Barry gets on against our latest challenger, Mr Peter Zyss (pronounced ‘Zeess’, fact fans) from Sheffield in Sheffieldshire (to continue a running joke)...

R01: A I R T Z S A E P
R02: D B T O E I L M O
R03: A I O R K S R T E
R04: M G W O A O S E M
R05: 100, 2, 9, 9, 8, 7. Target: 145.
TTT: SEEKREST - "Americans often seek rest on these."
R06: D F T A I A O N R
R07: S G R I A S P E L
R08: C L C I E I N T U
R09: E A R T N B I U P
R10: 50, 25, 6, 3, 5, 10. Target: 428.
TTT: RENTSDUE - "You can take them out for a drink, but not for a meal."
R11: Y M N R O I O N T
R12: C H V A E A J P N
R13: S D E O E Q G A H
R14: 100, 1, 6, 9, 3, 7. Target: 363.
R15: E N T R A P M E N (conundrum)

Ibuleve sponsors Countdown. Get used to it.

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For how Jeff opens the show, see above.

Round 1: A I R T Z S A E P

C1: PIRATES (7)
C2: ASPIRATE (8)
OT: PARASITE (8) SEPTARIA (8) TRAPEZIA (8)
Score: 0–8 (max 8)

Some wicked alternatives there: SEPTARIA are concretionary nodules having radial cracks filled with calcite (so that’s clear, then); TRAPEZIA are TRAPEZIUMS.

Round 2: D B T O E I L M O

C1: BLOOMED (7)
C2: BLOOMED (7)
DC: DOLOMITE (8)
Score: 7–15 (max 16)

A DOLOMITE is a mineral or an old Triumph car, as towed back from Biggleswade by my great uncle in the 1980s. A nice seven there in BOOMLET, which is a small economic boom. Cute.

Round 3: A I O R K S R T E

C1: STRIKER (7)
C2: STRIKER (7)
DC: TROIKAS (7)
OT: ROTARIES (8)
Score: 14–22 (max 24)

A small hurrah for the return of an old favourite, the three-wheeled Russian chariot. A ROTARY is an American roundabout or any kind of rotational device (makes me think of washing lines).

Round 4: M G W O A O S E M

C1: WAGES (5)
C2: MOOSE (5)
DC: OMEGAS (6)
OT: SMEGMA (6) SMOOGE (6)
Score: 19–27 (max 30)

SMOO(D)GE is an Antipodean word meaning something quite similar to SCHMOOZE.

Round 5: 100, 2, 9, 9, 8, 7. Target: 145.

C1: 145. (9x(7-2))+100 (10)
C2: 146.
Score: 29–27 (max 40)

After trailing slightly after the first four letters games, Barry regains the lead with 10 points on the numbers.

Kim takes us almost to the break with tales of a rather posh house in Eton Square; Jeff takes us right up to the break with a tough Teaser (IMHO).

Teatime teaser: SEEKREST -> KEESTERS

After the break, Kim and Susie explain that KEESTER (alternative spelling KEISTER) is American slang for buttocks; it’s also dated slang for various types of luggage.

Round 6: D F T A I A O N R

C1: RADIANT (7)
C2: RATION (6)
DC: ADROIT (6)
Score: 36–27 (max 47)

Nice darrenic spot for Barry, which apparently beat DC.

Round 7: S G R I A S P E L

C1: GLASSIER (8)
C2: GLASSIER (8)
Score: 44–35 (max 55)

Barry thinks it’s risky; Peter doesn’t. Either way, GLASSIER is worth eight points to both of them.

Round 8: C L C I E I N T U

C1: CLIENT (6)
C2: ICICLE (6)
DC: CUTICLE (7)
OT: CULICINE (8) ENCLITIC (8)
Score: 50–41 (max 63)

A CULICINE is a kind of mosquito; An ENCLITIC is a shortened word added to the end of another word, such as the N’T in CAN’T.

Round 9: E A R T N B I U P

C1: PAINTER (7)
C2: TURBINE (7)
DC: URBANITE (8)
Score: 57–48 (max 71)

OoW: In Dictionary ‘Jack Horner’ (thanks Jeff), Susie discusses the origins of the word COCKNEY. It’s all to do with misshapen eggs, apparently. If you’ve enjoyed this week’s Origin of Words, why not buy “How To Talk Like A Local”, available from Amazon and all other good booksellers. RRP £12.99.

Round 10: 50, 25, 6, 3, 5, 10. Target: 428.

C1: 428. Mistake in working.
C2: -
RR: 428. (50x10)-((25-(6-5))x3) (10)
Score: 57–48 (max 81)

Barry messes up his opportunity to go almost twenty in front with an unfortunate blob on the numbers game. To be fair, it was a bit of a tricky one, and Rachel has to show us the way.

Teatime teaser: RENTSDUE -> DENTURES

Round 11: Y M N R O I O N T

C1: MOTION (6)
C2: MOTION (6)
DC: MONITOR (7)
OT: MONITORY (8)
Score: 63–54 (max 89)

Perhaps surprisingly, both players fail to spot MONITOR; I was also slightly surprised that DC didn’t seem to spot MONITORY, which is a warning, in some cases one given by the Pope or a bishop.

Round 12: C H V A E A J P N

C1: PAEAN (5)
C2: PANACHE (7)
DC: APACHE (6)
Score: 63–61 (max 96)

Nice spot from our challenger reduces the gap to just a brace. Interestingly, the origins of PANACHE lie in the Latin word ‘pinna’, meaning feather. (Countdown scholars may also recall that your PINNA is another name for your earlobe.)

Round 13: S D E O E Q G A H

C1: HEDGES (6)
C2: GASHED (6)
DC: DOSAGE (6)
OT: DAGOES (6) GEODES (6)
Score: 69–67 (max 102)

Could this be a return to those Friday Crucial Conundrums?

Round 14: 100, 1, 6, 9, 3, 7. Target: 363.

C1: 363. (3x100)+(9x7) (10)
C2: 363. ((3x7)+100)x(9-6) (10)
Score: 79–77 (max 112)

An easy numbers game says yes! Dim those lights!

Round 15: E N T R A P M E N

C2 buzzes on 4 seconds to say PERMANENT which is correct.
Score: 79–87 (max 122)

After just four-and-a-half seconds, the wonderfully-surnamed Peter presses his buzzer and seizes the champion’s baton from Barry. On Easter Monday, John Suchet will be in Dictionary Corner; Kai Laddiman will be in Recap Corner; and Andy Fairweather Low will be in Amen Corner (or he would be if they hadn’t split up 40 years ago). Join me in a week’s time for more Friday madness; until then this is Kid Mole saying “over and out”.

Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=62