Monday 2nd of November 2015 (series 73, prelim 84)

[Andy McGurn]

Countdown recap for Monday 2 November 2015.

C1: Champion Hazel Drury (2 wins, 177 points) A student from Leeton. Hazel won two games last week to give her a countdown teapot and quarter-octochampdom.

C2: Challenger Gary Cocker. Gary is a civil servant from Edinburgh. He works at the Scottish parliament. He is a Dundee supporter and a member of the scotch whiskey society. He also won a competition that got his picture on a poster at the time of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

DC: Susie Dent and Michael Whitehall.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: D N T A I E R T A
R02: I U V N W E G A F
R03: 8, 4, 3, 9, 10, 25. Target: 528.
TTT: RINGTONE - "its nothing to do with the telephone, but you might have a bit of a gas"
R04: B S R E I H L A W
R05: T Z T G E U I O T
R06: 10, 8, 6, 9, 25, 75. Target: 809.
R07: N S J L I E A R D
R08: C L H O U R P N E
R09: 7, 3, 5, 6, 9, 100. Target: 275.
TTT: MEALSOUT - "it sounds like you can tell your South Korean friend anything"
R10: D S Q P A E A C I
R11: M F B T E O E X O
R12: M E R O N S U G E
R13: S D T I O A L R I
R14: 3, 4, 5, 6, 100, 50. Target: 865.
R15: A V A C A B A L L (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 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 SPOILER

Enjoy the show.

Round 1: D N T A I E R T A

Hazel: TRAINED (7)
Gary: TRAINED (7)
DC: ATTAINDER (18)
Score: 7–7 (max 18)

TRAINED is about as easy a seven as there is, and thats what the contestants get. DC get to shine immediately with the impressive nine.


Round 2: I U V N W E G A F

Hazel: WEAVING (7)
Gary: WEAVING (7)
DC: GANEF (5)
Score: 14–14 (max 25)

Gary and Hazel are WEAVING their magic in round 2 as both are able to max this round.


Round 3: 8, 4, 3, 9, 10, 25. Target: 528.

Hazel: 528. ((8+9+4)*25)+3 (10)
Gary: 529.
Score: 24–14 (max 35)

A spot on solution from Hazel beats Gary’s one away and the reigning champion takes a ten point lead.


Teatime teaser: RINGTONE -> NITROGEN

Round 4: B S R E I H L A W

Hazel: hirable
Gary: WHALERS (7)
DC: HAILERS (7) WARBLES (7) WASHIER (7)
OT: BAILERS (7) BEARISH (7) BEWAILS (7) HALIERS (7) HERBALS (7) LABRISH (7) SHALIER (7) SHAWLIE (7) WAILERS (7)
Score: 24–21 (max 42)

Hazel sounded pretty sure of her word but it turns out that’s the American spelling so its not allowed. Gary’s WHALERS cuts Hazel’s lead to three.


Round 5: T Z T G E U I O T

Hazel: OUTIE (5)
Gary: OUTIE (5)
OT: TUTTI (5)
Score: 29–26 (max 47)

A round with little to offer but the contestants do as well as they can with their respective OUTIEs


Round 6: 10, 8, 6, 9, 25, 75. Target: 809.

Hazel: 809. ((25+75)*8)+9) (10)
Gary: 809. ((75+6)*10)-(9-8) (10)
Score: 39–36 (max 57)

Different methods but both max this pretty simple numbers game.


DC Guest – Michael talks about his meeting with (the actor) James Garner who wanted to buy a Bentley which Michael was given permission to use until it was ready to be shipped. He did so and the sunroof flew off when he was driving it.


Round 7: N S J L I E A R D

Hazel: ISLANDER (8)
Gary: SLANDER (7)
DC: SARDINE (7)
Score: 47–36 (max 65)

Hazel seems to have done some studying for the show as ISLANDER is a hard word to know if you have not studied at least a little. As Gary did not know you could at the I to SLANDER it seems that Hazel’s work has paid off here.


Round 8: C L H O U R P N E

Hazel: PUNCHER (7)
Gary: PUNCHER (7)
OT: COUPLER (7) LOUCHER (7) LUNCHER (7) PLEURON (7)
Score: 54–43 (max 72)

PUNCHER sounds kind of clumsy as a word but its allowed and both get seven points.



Round 9: 7, 3, 5, 6, 9, 100. Target: 275.

Hazel: 276.
Gary: 275. ((100-9)*3)+(7-5) (10)
Score: 54–53 (max 82)

Hazel may have been trying to be too clever here as she misses a straightforward method meaning that Gary is now just a single point behind.



Teatime teaser: MEALSOUT -> SOULMATE



Round 10: D S Q P A E A C I

Hazel: SPACED (6)
Gary: SPACED (6)
DC: SPICED (6)
OT: ACEDIA (6) APICES (6) CAPIAS (6) CAPSID (6) ESPADA (6)
Score: 60–59 (max 88)

SPACED and SPICED are the two standard maxes here, there were however a number of other max words that are more obscure.


Round 11: M F B T E O E X O

Hazel: botox
Gary: botox
DC: BOOTEE (6)
Score: 60–59 (max 94)

Botox is no good, must remember that for future reference.



OoW – Susie tells us about the origin of the word QUIZ. It may have origins from Jane Austin ‘s work amongst other possible origins that Susie mentions



Round 12: M E R O N S U G E

Hazel: mongers
Gary: mongers
DC: GENEROUS (8)
OT: GRUESOME (8)
Score: 60–59 (max 102)

Susie tells us that monger used to be valid but now isn’t and only exists as a suffix, as in WARMONGER, IRONMONGER etc
The contestants have declared the same word as each other in seven of the ten letters rounds thus far, including the two invalid words. That’s (probably) quite rare.


Round 13: S D T I O A L R I

Hazel: ASTROID (7)
Gary: TRAILS (6)
DC: DILATORS (8)
OT: ARIDISOL (8)
Score: 67–59 (max 110)

Hazel increases her lead to eight points with ASTROID. This does mean that she can win on the final numbers game without getting it spot on. Will this matter?


Round 14: 3, 4, 5, 6, 100, 50. Target: 865.

Hazel: 860. ((5+3)*100)+50+6+4 (7)
Gary: 864. Mistake in working.
OT: 865. ((100+50)*6)-((4+3)*5) (10)
Score: 74–59 (max 120)

Gary declares closer to the target but he has messed up his method, meaning that Hazel’s five away is enough to give her the game.
Rachel says she will “have another look” which is surprising, given that this is not a hard one. Presumably this was near the end of the recording day and she was slightly off.


Round 15: A V A C A B A L L

Gary buzzes on 2 seconds to say BALACLAVA which is correct.
Final Score: 74–69 (max 130)


A speedy conundrum spot by Gary ends the game on a high for him but he’ll know that the win (and therefore the teapot) was there for the taking so he could well be disappointed.

Hazel makes it three wins however and has shown some signs of being a good player but her lack of consistency suggests that she is unlikely to make eight wins.

Also, Rachael declares her solution to round 14 after the conundrum and seems to realise that she should have got it in the time.
Join Hazel tomorrow for the second game of countdown’s 34th year.

Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=73

[Ian Volante]

*whisky