Tuesday 10th May 2016 (Series 74, Prelim 67)

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Tim Down
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Tuesday 10th May 2016 (Series 74, Prelim 67)

Post by Tim Down »

C1: Champion Tony Lock (1 win, 90 points). A retired bank worker from Chalfont St Peter. A fisherman and Spurs fan.
C2: Challenger Lee Williams. An outreach worker at the University of Sheffield. Plays football and is a Disney film fanatic.
DC: Susie Dent and Greg Rusedski.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: M S G I E O F N U
R02: B V E U M C A L E
R03: 50, 5, 7, 4, 8, 1. Target: 115.
TTT: PENCURED - "Care and caution, but won't you come out to play, dear?"
R04: H B O A S Q I L N
R05: R S X O E U T R N
R06: 100, 9, 1, 5, 5, 1. Target: 412.
R07: H N Y O E O S T P
R08: N P E A L F O W R
R09: 25, 6, 2, 5, 3, 7. Target: 644.
TTT: SIRSBELT - "Are they sores on well-known faces?"
R10: T S E U T Z O E T
R11: N K R A E U N S L
R12: S T A E M D I M A
R13: D R J O I O D V I
R14: 75, 6, 7, 2, 10, 4. Target: 764.
R15: R E N T A D A R T (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: M S G I E O F N U

Tony: MOUSING (7)
Lee: MOUSING (7)
DC: IGNEOUS (7)
OT: FUNGOES (7)
Score: 7–7 (max 7)

A nice solid start with 7s all round. One such not spotted by anyone was FUNGOES. In baseball a fungo is a fly ball hit for practice or a long lightweight bat for hitting practice balls to fielders.

Round 2: B V E U M C A L E

Tony: BECALM (6)
Lee: CABLE (5)
DC: MACULE (6)
OT: BECAME (6) CLEAVE (6) MABELE (6) MEUBLE (6)
Score: 13–7 (max 13)

A very good spot from Tony gets him into the lead. DC has MACULE, which is an area of skin discoloration; other 6s include:

MABELE (or MABELA): sorghum of a variety grown in southern Africa, used for making porridge and beer or a meal or porridge made from mabela.
MEUBLE: a piece of furniture.

Round 3: 50, 5, 7, 4, 8, 1. Target: 115.

Tony: 115. (50 + 8) × (7 − 5) − 1 (10)
Lee: 115. 7 × 8 + 50 + 5 + 4 (10)
Score: 23–17 (max 23)

Tony goes 1-large and out comes a low but non-trivial target, which is nicely solved by both players.

Teatime teaser: PENCURED -> PRUDENCE

Round 4: H B O A S Q I L N

Tony: SLAIN (5)
Lee: BASIN (5)
DC: ABOLISH (7) HOBNAILS (8)
Score: 28–22 (max 31)

An initially unpromising-looking selection yields 5s for both players but DC manages an impressive 8.

Round 5: R S X O E U T R N

Tony: TURNERS (7)
Lee: TOURERS (7)
DC: RETURNS (7) ROUTERS (7)
OT: NUTROSE (7) RETOURS (7) ROTURES (7) ROUSTER (7) SNORTER (7) TONSURE (7) TROUSER (7)
Score: 35–29 (max 38)

A total sevenfest, including the following unmentioned gems:

NUTROSE: a sodium salt of casein used as a source of protein in medicine and bacteriology.
ROUSTER: another word for ROUSTABOUT, an unskilled or casual labourer or labourer on an oil rig.

Round 6: 100, 9, 1, 5, 5, 1. Target: 412.

Tony: 409. (5 − 1) × (100 + 1) + 5 (7)
Lee: 412. Mistake in working.
RR: 412. (5 − 1 − 1 + 100) × (9 − 5) (10)
Score: 42–29 (max 48)

Lee plumps for 1-large as well and declares an exact solution before realising he’s made a mistake, leaving Tony extend his lead with his 3-away solution. Rachel mops up.

Greg talks about the future of British tennis.

Round 7: H N Y O E O S T P

Tony: HONEYPOTS (18)
Lee: stoney
DC: HONESTY (7) TYPHOONS (8)
Score: 60–29 (max 66)

Brilliant from Tony, who spots HONEYPOTS. Well done, sir. Lee’s misspelled STONEY is quietly and inconsequentially disallowed.

Round 8: N P E A L F O W R

Tony: FLOWER (6)
Lee: FLOWER (6)
DC: PEAFOWL (7) PROFANE (7)
OT: AFLOWER (7) FOREPAW (7) REFLOWN (7)
Score: 66–35 (max 73)

FLOWERs from the contestants, beaten by 7s from DC.

Round 9: 25, 6, 2, 5, 3, 7. Target: 644.

Tony: 635.
Lee: 644. (3 × 7 + 5) × 25 − 6 (10)
Score: 66–45 (max 83)

1-large once again and once again Tony's a few away. This time, however, Lee’s exact solution is good, pulling 10 points back and keeping him in with a chance.

Teatime teaser: SIRSBELT -> BLISTERS

Round 10: T S E U T Z O E T

Tony: TOUTS (5)
Lee: TOUTS (5)
DC: OUTSET (6)
OT: OUSTEE (6) OUTEST (6) OUTSEE (6) SUTTEE (6) TUTEES (6)
Score: 71–50 (max 89)

TOUTS from both players. DC dip into the always-fruitful OUT- well and deliver OUTSET. Also there was SUTTEE, a thankfully former practice in India whereby a widow threw herself on to her husband's funeral pyre.

Round 11: N K R A E U N S L

Tony: LANKER (6)
Lee: UNRANKS (7)
DC: UNLEARNS (8)
Score: 71–57 (max 97)

Lee continues the comeback with UNRANKS, beating Tony’s LANKER. DC have a longer UN- word.

Susie talks about the origin of Bachelor degrees. It’s convoluted, she says, and proves it by getting two minutes out of it.

Round 12: S T A E M D I M A

Tony: MISTED (6)
Lee: DIMMEST (7)
DC: DIASTEMA (8)
OT: ADAMITES (8) ADAMSITE (8) IMAMATES (8) MISMATED (8)
Score: 71–64 (max 105)

And again! Lee’s DIMMEST beats Tony again and he’s right back in it. DC go one better with DIASTEMA, a space separating teeth of different functions, especially that between the biting teeth (incisors and canines) and grinding teeth (premolars and molars) in rodents and ungulates. There were other 8s available, including:

ADAMITES: dodgy plural of ADAMITE, a zinc mineral occurring as yellow, green, or colourless crystals or crystal aggregates.
ADAMSITE: an organic arsenic compound which induces vomiting and is irritating to the eyes and lungs, used in the form of an aerosol in chemical warfare, riot control, etc.; also called DM (diphenylaminechlorasine).


Round 13: D R J O I O D V I

Tony: VOID (4)
Lee: DOOR (4)
DC: VIROID (6)
Score: 75–68 (max 111)

Honours even in this round as both contestants are stuck on 4. DC has VIROID, which seems to come up a lot.

Round 14: 75, 6, 7, 2, 10, 4. Target: 764.

Tony: 764. (7 − 6 + 75) × 10 + 4 (10)
Lee: 764. 10 × 75 + 2 × 4 + 6 (10)
Score: 85–78 (max 121)

Lee goes for 1-large and it’s an easy one. Both players solve it without bother and it’s crucial conundrum time...

Round 15: R E N T A D A R T

No one buzzes. The answer was RETARDANT.
Final Score: 85–78 (max 131)

.... but it defeats them and Tony scrapes through. It’s a tricky one but a man in the audience gets it.

So, Tony gets a second win. It’s tough on Lee, who played well; the difference was Tony’s HONEYPOTS. Countdown has three days off now, so join Sean next Monday to see if Tony can get a third win.

Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=74
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