It's RECAP TIME!!!
Enjoy. 
Countdown recap for Wednesday 4 December 2013.
C1: Champion George Skinner (1 win, 79 points.) From Swindon, Wiltshire. He plays football for the Swindon Spitfires. He hopes to study economics at university next year.
C2: Challenger Bea Hill. A mathematics student at St. Andrew's University. She, like Rachel, has a fat cat called Willow. She is also a member of her university's rugby club.
DC: Susie Dent and Gyles Brandreth.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: T R I E G N E O H
R02: D T A S N I O K F
R03: 100, 25, 9, 8, 4, 7. Target: 293.
TTT: SEASCUBA - "Do they tot up how many times the Swedish group swear?"
R04: S R M A E H I V Y
R05: R S O I L E O J R
R06: 25, 75, 5, 9, 8, 10. Target: 726.
R07: S B N U A T E A L
R08: R C G E A U R Q T
R09: 50, 75, 5, 3, 2, 7. Target: 938.
TTT: HUGOISNT - "Hugo isn't the quietest person around"
R10: P D O G T E I B T
R11: V P S E A X L S O
R12: N C R A I S D W U
R13: N M E A I E R P M
R14: 25, 100, 10, 5, 7, 9. Target: 166.
R15: G I V E N D R I P (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: T R I E G N E O H
C1: teering
C2: nothing
DC: INTEGER (7) GENITOR (7)
OT: HEROINE (7) NEITHER (7) RIGHTEN (7) THEREIN (7) THEREON (7) TREEING (7) TRIGONE (7)
Score: 0–0 (max 7)
Bea's got nothing, as does George, as it's a double blank to start with today. I'm not watching yesterday's show again, am I
In botany, a TRIGONE is a thickened area where three or more plant cells come together.
Round 2: D T A S N I O K F
C1: FAINTS (6)
C2: TOADS (5)
DC: STINK (5) STANK (5) STONK (5) FANTODS (7)
OT: DAIKONS (7) STIFADO (7)
Score: 6–0 (max 14)
George FAINTS, but in a good way, as he takes the first lead today.
A DAIKON (or ORIENTAL RADISH) is a large, elongated, white winter radish, Raphanus sativus longipinnatus, used especially in Asian cuisine and sometimes pickled.
Round 3: 100, 25, 9, 8, 4, 7. Target: 293.
C1: 292.
C2: 293. ((4 + 8) x 25) - 7 (10)
Score: 6–10 (max 24)
Oh dear, a poor miss there by George, as Bea takes full advantage to take the lead.
Teatime teaser: SEASCUBA -> ABACUSES
Round 4: S R M A E H I V Y
C1: SHARE (5)
C2: SHAVER (6)
DC: SHIVERY (7)
OT: MISHEAR (7) YESHIVA (7)
Score: 6–16 (max 31)
Bea goes further ahead with her SHAVER, and by using that device, it probably made DC a bit more SHIVERY.
A YESHIVA is an Orthodox Jewish school for the religious and secular education of children of elementary school age.
Round 5: R S O I L E O J R
C1: soiler
C2: LOOSER (6)
DC: LORRIES (7)
OT: ORIOLES (7)
Score: 6–22 (max 38)
Oh dear, George can't be a soiler, which in a way is a good thing.
Not that it's helping him at the moment........Round 6: 25, 75, 5, 9, 8, 10. Target: 726.
C1: 726. (75 x 10) - 25 + 9 - 8 (10)
C2: -
Score: 16–22 (max 48)
Well, it's a complete role reversal in this numbers game, as Bea blanks out, letting George nick in.
Gyles talks about his new book, The 7 Secrets Of Happiness, and some interesting statistics from it.
Round 7: S B N U A T E A L
C1: STEAL (5)
C2: UNSTABLE (8)
Score: 16–30 (max 56)
An impressive counter-attack from Bea sees her extend her lead impressively thanks to the darrenic 8.
Round 8: R C G E A U R Q T
C1: CARTER (6)
C2: quater
DC: QUARTER (7)
OT: RACQUET (7)
Score: 22–30 (max 63)
Oh dear, a bit of a return to the land of the blank for Bea, as she doesn't think about sticking the other R in her illegal word, which lets George claw back in.
Round 9: 50, 75, 5, 3, 2, 7. Target: 938.
C1: -
C2: -
RR: 938. (((5 - 2) x 3) + 75 + 50) x 7 (10)
Score: 22–30 (max 73)
A complete blackout by both players here, and at the end of part 2, the score is ridiculously low, and both players might want to improve quickly.
Teatime teaser: HUGOISNT -> SHOUTING
Round 10: P D O G T E I B T
C1: POTTED (6)
C2: BIGOTED (7)
DC: TIPTOED (7)
Score: 22–37 (max 80)
Bea's half-written down (waited for someone to say that
) 7 gets her some more breathing space. Round 11: V P S E A X L S O
C1: SEALS (5)
C2: POLES (5)
DC: SALVO (5) SALVOS (6) SALVOES (7)
Score: 27–42 (max 87)
Some SEALS and some POLES, they pretty much go together, I think. Nice darrenic 7 there from DC, also got by this gentleman in an online version.
Susie's Origins Of Words talks about the origins of "doing something for toffee", "toffee-nosed" and "toffee ear".
Round 12: N C R A I S D W U
C1: UNSAID (6)
C2: DRAWS (5)
DC: SWARD (5) INWARDS (7) DURIAN (6) DURIANS (7)
OT: CANDIRUS (8)
Score: 33–42 (max 95)
George looks uncertain again with his word, but it's more than OK, while DC stink out the place with their DURIANS, whilst avoiding the darrenic 8.
A CANDIRU or Vandellia cirrhosa, scaleless, parasitic catfish of the family Trichomycteridae found in the Amazon River region.
Round 13: N M E A I E R P M
C1: MEANER (6)
C2: MEANER (6)
DC: PIEMAN (6) REMAIN (6)
OT: EPIMERA (7) PERINEA (7)
Score: 39–48 (max 102)
Both contestants are MEANER with their 6's, while a couple of 7's are left alone............
An EPIMERON (plural EPIMERA) is the part of the side of a somite external to the basal joint of each appendage.
A PERINEUM (plueal PERINEA) is the area in front of the anus extending to the fourchette of the vulva in the female and to the scrotum in the male.
Round 14: 25, 100, 10, 5, 7, 9. Target: 166.
C1: 166. (7 x 10) + 100 - (9 - 5) (10)
C2: 166. (10 x 5) + 100 + 7 + 9 (10)
Score: 49–58 (max 112)
Plenty of ways to get 166, including the fairly straightforward (25 x 7) - 9, but hey-ho, no matter, it's 10 points apiece and a crucial conundrum ahead of us.
Round 15: G I V E N D R I P
C2 buzzes on 28.25 seconds to say DEPRIVING which is correct.
Final Score: 49–68 (max 122)
Well, that took forever and a day, didn't it
But, it's Bea who takes it, and with it ends George's and everyone else's chances of overtaking Gemma Church and taking the final place in the finals, which start in just over a week's time.
So, that means Gemma will play Dylan Taylor in the first quarter-final in 8 days time, which will start the process leading to the finals, 8 days after that.
But, now it's time to find out who will be the carryover champion for the start of Series 70 in January. Bea will back tomorrow, where she'll be up against Ilfracombe resident, Rod Chatfield.
Join me for that matchup tomorrow.
Till then, bye bye.
Statistics Corner
George:
Total score - 49
Raw score - 72
Total % of max - 40
Raw % of max - 59
Total average score per round - 3.3
Raw average score per round - 4.8
Number of maxes - 2
Bea:
Total score - 68
Raw score - 78
Total % of max - 56
Raw % of max - 64
Total average score per round - 4.5
Raw average score per round - 5.2
Number of maxes - 5
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=69