Wednesday 26th May 2021 (Series 83, Preliminary 103)

Rhys Benjamin · Post by **Rhys Benjamin** » Thu May 27, 2021 9:14 pm

I have double Countdown to get through thanks to cricket taking over my life, so let's sit down and wade through All4's never-ending ads.

Countdown recap for Wednesday 26 May 2021.

Nick talks about cooking and cleaning and the abundance of cooking shows on TV. Insert moan about Steph's Packed Lunch here.

C1: Champion Jonathan Williams (1 win, 64 points.)
C2: Challenger Richard Brookwell. From Worthing, a trainee accountant and a Chelsea fan (booooooo). Nick describes them as an "attractive club". Remind me who you support again, Nick?
DC: Susie Dent and Janet Street-Porter. "A highlight of the season" for Susie to sit next to Janet. Nick professes his love for Janet. For what it's worth, I don't like her. So I'll just leave it there.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: R F E I E S C O B
R02: O A E I R D S A T
R03: 100, 2, 1, 7, 9, 8. Target: 780.
TTT: ENDSTORY - "Mr Jagger gave up the booze after hitting the wall."
R04: M E O D N T U R E
R05: E A G C T E V S D
R06: 7, 3, 8, 5, 10, 7. Target: 664.
R07: G N P I A E S R Y
R08: P U I F S D I O A
R09: 75, 25, 50, 100, 8, 5. Target: 832.
TTT: LOONYEGO - "It'll help you know your onions about grapes."
R10: I E O E G N T W D
R11: S P O I U C R E E
R12: T P B R I A W A I
R13: E E S M L O G N O
R14: 25, 100, 75, 8, 4, 9. Target: 858.
R15: N I N E S R A N G (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: R F E I E S C O B

Jonathan: BRIEFS (6)
Richard: FORCES (6)
DC: CORBIES (7)
OT: BOERIES (7) EBRIOSE (7) FRISBEE (7) OCIFERS (7) REBOISE (7)
Score: 6–6 (max 7, jos 7)
Darren-o-meter: 0/1 (0%)

A good enough start here with sixes apiece, which Susie will stretch to a 7.

Round 2: O A E I R D S A T

Jonathan: STARED (6)
Richard: RADIATES (8)
DC: TIRADES (7) (which I'm very good at)
OT: ASTEROID (8) DATARIES (8)
Score: 6–14 (max 15, jos 15)
Darren-o-meter: 0/2 (0%)

An eight for Richard gives him an early lead. Janet points out, with no sense of irony, that she's very good at TIRADES.

Round 3: 100, 2, 1, 7, 9, 8. Target: 780.

Jonathan: 780. 7 × 100 + (9 + 1) × 8 (10)
Richard: 780. 7 × 100 + (9 + 1) × 8 (10)
Score: 16–24 (max 25, jos 25)

Ariana.

Teatime teaser: ENDSTORY -> DRYSTONE

Round 4: M E O D N T U R E

Jonathan: DENTURE (7)
Richard: REMOUNTED (18) (risk)
OT: NEUTERDOM (18)
Score: 16–42 (max 43, jos 43)
Darren-o-meter: 0/3 (0%)

The risk pays off - Richard risks the nine REMOUNTED, and of course it's in. Presumably no one had said that word in the studio until that point, otherwise there wouldn't be a risk at all...

Round 5: E A G C T E V S D

Jonathan: STAVED (6)
Richard: STAGED (6)
OT: ADVECTS (7)
Score: 22–48 (max 50, jos 49)
Darren-o-meter: 1/4 (25%)

Sixes for both contestants here, which can't be bettered by Susie and thus she is off the max. That said, Richard is only max minus two so far.

Round 6: 7, 3, 8, 5, 10, 7. Target: 664.

Jonathan: 654. 10 × 8 × (5 + 3) + 7 + 7 (5)
Richard: 661. Mistake in working.
RR: 663/665. (7)
OT: 664. ((7 + 7) × 5 + 10 + 3) × 8 (10)
Score: 27–48 (max 60, jos 56)

Blunders all round here. Richard says 661, but as soon as Nick comes to him, he says he's gone wrong. Jonathan does 654 by doing 80 times 8, which isn't woeful. Rachel says she's looking for 83 times 8, but doesn't see it. The computer says she had the right idea.

Janet has a moan about littering. Then she has a moan about the extremely patronising "countryside code". Then she moans about why the countryside code doesn't have litter wardens in parks fining people who litter. Speaking as a 22-year-old city boy, I find this very relatable(!)

Round 7: G N P I A E S R Y

Jonathan: SPEARING (8)
Richard: SPEARING (8)
DC: RESAYING (8)
OT: PANEGYRIS (18)
Score: 35–56 (max 78, jos 64)
Darren-o-meter: 2/5 (40%)

A really, really obscure nine defeats everyone. "Lots of -INGs" says Susie.

A PANEGRYIS is "a general assembly; especially a festival in honour of a god." Lexico doesn't give the plural form, so presumably one would have to accept PANEGRYISES in Hyper...

Round 8: P U I F S D I O A

Jonathan: spaid (trying, not written down)
Richard: PIOUS (5)
DC: SAPID (5)
OT: ADIPOUS (7)
Score: 35–61 (max 85, jos 69)
Darren-o-meter: 3/6 (50%)

Only fives for the studio. Not sure what Jonathan was thinking here, because SPAID^ isn't even remotely a word. Susie says you can anagram that to SAPID, but once again she is beaten by the computer.

Round 9: 75, 25, 50, 100, 8, 5. Target: 832.

Jonathan: 833. (not written down)
Richard: 832. (100 + 5 − (75 − 50) ÷ 25) × 8 (10)
Score: 35–71 (max 95, jos 79)

The trick here is 104 times 8, and Richard spots it to extend his lead to 36.

Teatime teaser: LOONYEGO -> OENOLOGY

Round 10: I E O E G N T W D

Jonathan: tweeding ("attempt an eight, I think")
Richard: WEEDING (7)
DC: WIDGEON (7) TWINGED (7)
OT: DOWTING (7) WENDIGO (7)
Score: 35–78 (max 102, jos 86)
Darren-o-meter: 3/7 (43%)

Sevens all round, other than a desperation measure for Jonathan trying an 8, he thinks. The lead goes out to 43.

Round 11: S P O I U C R E E

Jonathan: PRECIOUS (8)
Richard: spicer
DC: RECOUPS (7) EPICURES (8)
OT: PERIOECUS (18)
Score: 43–78 (max 120, jos 94)
Darren-o-meter: 4/8 (50%)

An eight for Jonathan, only a six for Richard (which is invalid anyway), and whilst Susie can match the eight, another obscure nine takes the round.

Harry Livsey emails Susie to ask about the origin of "put a sock in it". Unsurprisingly, there's not much to tell here, because it was meant literally, including in propaganda posters in the war.

Round 12: T P B R I A W A I

Jonathan: BRAAI (5)
Richard: AWAIT (5)
DC: PATRIA (6)
OT: PATWARI (7)
Score: 48–83 (max 127, jos 100)
Darren-o-meter: 5/9 (56%)

Jonathan throws in a bit of Afrikaans to keep the deficit at 35 and stay in the game. Susie can extend it to six, and the computer can extend it to seven.

Round 13: E E S M L O G N O

Jonathan: LEMONS (6)
Richard: GNOMES (6) (risky)
DC: SOLEMN (6) LONESOME (8)
OT: LONGSOME (8) OENOMELS (8)
Score: 54–89 (max 135, jos 108)
Darren-o-meter: 5/10 (50%)

Not sure what's risky about GNOMES but it gets Richard across the line. Susie finishes off with an eight, one of three available.

Round 14: 25, 100, 75, 8, 4, 9. Target: 858.

Jonathan: 859. 100 × 8 + 75 − 25 + 9 (7)
Richard: 859. 100 × 8 + 75 − 25 + 9 (7)
RR: 858. 100 × 9 − 75 + 25 + 8 (10)
Score: 61–96 (max 145, jos 118)

Both contestants are one above and it takes Rachel to tell them that actually they should have come down from 900, not go up from 800.

Round 15: N I N E S R A N G

No one buzzes. The answer was ENSNARING.
Final Score: 61–96 (max 155, jos 128)

The conundrum defeats the whole studio, and it's, again, a fairly difficult one. Richard takes the day with a 35-point win, then, and there's a shortage of teapots again, it would seem.

Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=83