This series has been slightly strange so far. Despite being over a month into it, we have numerous multiple-time winners, but as of yet no octochamps. However, Stephen Briggs - returning for his fifth game today - is on course to be the first. Should he win today with 69 (
) points or more, he'll leapfrog wannabe future PM and Wiki essay-writer Rhys Benjamin to move into the series' third seed spot.
Countdown recap for Tuesday 4 August 2015.
C1: Champion Stephen Briggs (4 wins, 426 points.)
C2: Challenger Euan Crabb. An accounting graduate and avid Dundee FC fan from Carnoustie.
DC: Susie Dent and Gethin Jones.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: N D T E A I Y S O
R02: R S G E E O F A G
R03: 25, 9, 1, 7, 10, 4. Target: 362.
TTT: ALLSHOPS - "You can't get these in all shops, but they're always on sale"
R04: N D O E H R O T L
R05: T S G I O I T P A
R06: 50, 5, 2, 4, 10, 6. Target: 158.
R07: W L S I O U M P I
R08: E R D S U E P R P
R09: 50, 1, 9, 6, 2, 7. Target: 476.
TTT: COOFLAPS - "Is the idiot's headgear made from paper?"
R10: R W B A I U T C O
R11: M S L A U A D T E
R12: Z S L D U A E N J
R13: S N D O I E N M I
R14: 1, 4, 2, 10, 3, 6. Target: 225.
R15: D O R A S H U Z A (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER FELCH!! SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
Enjoy the show.
Round 1: N D T E A I Y S O
Stephen: SEDATION (8)
Euan: dinasty
OT: DYSTONIA (8)
Score: 8–0 (max 8)
Poor spelling sees Euan's first word invalidated, but with Stephen spotting one of the 8s, it doesn't matter anyway. DYSTONIA is "A state of abnormal muscle tone resulting in muscular spasm and abnormal posture, typically due to neurological disease or a side effect of drug therapy".
Round 2: R S G E E O F A G
Stephen: FORAGES (7)
Euan: FORAGES (7)
DC: SAGGER (6)
OT: SERFAGE (7)
Score: 15–7 (max 15)
Gethin's amusing and plausible suggestion of FAGGERS^ is unfortunately not in.
Round 3: 25, 9, 1, 7, 10, 4. Target: 362.
Stephen: 362. (4 x 10 + 1) x 9 - 7 (10)
Euan: 361.
Score: 25–7 (max 25)
Stephen goes for a cheeky 'not using the large number' solution, which sends him 18 points clear after just 3 rounds.
Teatime teaser: ALLSHOPS -> SHALLOPS
Round 4: N D O E H R O T L
Stephen: THRONED (7)
Euan: THRONED (7)
DC: THORNED (7)
OT: ROOTLED (7) TOEHOLD (7)
Score: 32–14 (max 32)
Both contestants are unsure of their offering, but it's fine.
Round 5: T S G I O I T P A
Stephen: PATIOS (6)
Euan: goits
DC: SPIGOT (6)
OT: OTITIS (6) PATOIS (6) PITOTS (6) PITTAS (6) TATSOI (6)
Score: 38–14 (max 38)
Was Euan thinking of GOITRES? We can't say. Despite the 7-y looking selection, 6 is the best here. A TATSOI is "A kind of Chinese cabbage with glossy dark green leaves", OTITIS is an inflammation of the ear (as someone with a predilection for using cotton buds in my ear, I should've known that...), and PITOTS are "open-ended right-angled tubes pointing in opposition to the flow of a fluid and used to measure pressure".
Round 6: 50, 5, 2, 4, 10, 6. Target: 158.
Stephen: 158. (50 - 10) x 4 - 2 (10)
Euan: 158. (50 x 4) - ((5 + 2) x 6) (10)
Score: 48–24 (max 48)
Round 7: W L S I O U M P I
Stephen: IMPIOUS (7)
Euan: LUMPS (5)
Score: 55–24 (max 55)
Stephen strikes another blow with an impressive first Darren of the day.
Round 8: E R D S U E P R P
Stephen: PERUSED (7)
Euan: suppered
OT: PERDURES (8)
Score: 62–24 (max 63)
Euan's extremely unlucky here; I'm pretty sure some Oxbridge toffs probably use 'supper' as a verb. There is an 8 lurking though, a verb meaning to endure or remain in existence.
Round 9: 50, 1, 9, 6, 2, 7. Target: 476.
Stephen: 476. (50 + 2) x 9 + 7 + 1 (10)
Euan: 476. 50 x 9 + ((7 + 6) x 2) (10)
Score: 72–34 (max 73)
Teatime teaser: COOFLAPS -> FOOLSCAP
Round 10: R W B A I U T C O
Stephen: ABOUT (5)
Euan: crabit
DC: CROWBAIT (8)
Score: 77–34 (max 81)
Susie is disappointed to disallow 'crabit', which is apparently a dialect word, but makes up for it by spotting an outstanding 8, which is a derogatory Americanism meaning 'an old horse'.
Round 11: M S L A U A D T E
Stephen: ADULATES (8)
Euan: madulates
Score: 85–34 (max 89)
Euan has only had 3 words allowed in the whole game so far - while some goes have been unlucky, others just smack of desperation, and this attempt is the latter.
Round 12: Z S L D U A E N J
Stephen: NUDES (5)
Euan: DEALS (5)
DC: UNSEAL, (6) SUNDAE (6)
OT: UNLADES (7)
Score: 90–39 (max 96)
Stephen's mildly risque 5 can be bettered by DC, but even they don't spot the 7 nestled away in the selection.
Round 13: S N D O I E N M I
Stephen: INSIDE (6)
Euan: DEMONS (6)
DC: DIMENSION (18)
Score: 96–45 (max 114)
Incredibly, DC's 9 offering is the game's 6th Darren in a row. Today's game definitely has a Darrenic DIMENSION.
Round 14: 1, 4, 2, 10, 3, 6. Target: 225.
Stephen: 225. (6 x 4 - 1) x 10 - 3 - 2 (10)
Euan: 225. (6 x 4 - 1) x 10 - 3 - 2 (10)
Score: 106–55 (max 124)
Euan decides to troll us all with 6 small.
It turns out to be quite solvable though, and both contestants finish on a max.
Round 15: D O R A S H U Z A
Stephen buzzes on 16 seconds to say HAZARDOUS which is correct.
Final Score: 116–55 (max 134)
Fair play to Euan, who - despite a plethora of disallowed words - manages to score over 50 points, and fairer play to Stephen for easily breaching the 100-mark. He looks like a strong contender for octochampdom and series finals... but then so did Liam a few weeks ago.
Now I can go back to refreshing C4C to see if CoC's been announced yet so I can find out when my bae Giles will be back on TV. #TeamGiles
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=73