Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

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Graeme Cole
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Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

Post by Graeme Cole »

Countdown recap for Monday 11 March 2013.

C1: Champion Sam McElhinney (2 wins, 163 points) lives in Leeds and is originally from Galway. He's here mainly thanks to spotting the crucial conundrum UNHELPFUL on Thursday less than a second before our very own Philip Jarvis. He also beat Juliette Bains on Friday to earn a third appearance.
C2: Challenger Ian Dobkin is a retired barrister and County Court judge, also from Leeds. One of his interests is ballroom dancing. Watching it on the telly, of course, not anything so frivolous as actually doing it.
DC: Susie Dent and Jon Culshaw.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: N S U N E L H O D
R02: S V D N I A Q E I
R03: O S M E A G X N E
R04: T R P M U A I G Z
R05: 75, 25, 100, 5, 10, 3. Target: 427.
TTT: FATCRATE - "A historical object or the truth about Russell, perhaps?"
R06: R J O A E V T I C
R07: A Y E D C A H P S
R08: T N L B U I N D O
R09: T D E L N O E T A
R10: 10, 7, 8, 8, 5, 5. Target: 768.
TTT: BEGADDER - "Pestered to death about the animal."
R11: P T I O M R N I O
R12: F S R E I L C F O
R13: R S A R W E O N E
R14: 6, 4, 1, 5, 6, 2. Target: 639.
R15: T H E I R C O P Y (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: N S U N E L H O D

C1: SUNNED (6)
C2: UNSHOD (6)
DC: NODULES (7) SHUNNED (7)
OT: LOUDENS (7)
Score: 6–6 (max 7)

I wouldn't have thought UNSHOD was in, but there it is. Both our players get off the mark immediately.

Another guest might mumble "NODULES" while gazing uninterestedly at the far corner of the studio. Not Jon Culshaw. This is Jon Culshaw saying "NODULES".

Image

And this is why Jon Culshaw needs to keep up his regular appearances on the show. One of the best, possibly the best, of all the guests in DC, both on camera and off. Talking of great DC guests, we must be due another visit from Tim Vine some time soon.


Round 2: S V D N I A Q E I

C1: INVADES (7)
C2: DIVANS (6)
DC: DIVINES (7)
Score: 13–6 (max 14)

First blood to Sam with INVADES.


Round 3: O S M E A G X N E

C1: GNOMES (6)
C2: -
DC: MANGOES (7) GENOMES (7) MENAGES (7) AXONEMES (8)
Score: 19–6 (max 22)

Ian blanks completely in this round, but Susie and Jon come up with the superb AXONEMES. An AXONEME is the central strand of a cilium, which is a short microscopic hair.


Round 4: T R P M U A I G Z

C1: IMPART (6)
C2: -
DC: ATRIUM (6) GUITAR (6)
OT: ARMPIT (6) GAZUMP (6)
Score: 25–6 (max 28)

Ian blanks for the second round in a row, which gifts Sam an opportunity to pull further ahead.


Round 5: 75, 25, 100, 5, 10, 3. Target: 427.

C1: 428. 100*5-75+3 (7)
C2: 428. 100*5-75+3 (7)
RR: 427. 75*5+(100/25)*(10+3) (10)
Score: 32–13 (max 38)

Sam picks his favourite selection, 3 large. Both Ian and Sam reach 428 the same way, but Rachel does well to spot 375+52.


Teatime teaser: FATCRATE -> ARTEFACT


Round 6: R J O A E V T I C

C1: VECTOR (6)
C2: VICTOR (6)
DC: OVERACT (7) EVICTOR (7) EROTICA (7)
Score: 38–19 (max 45)

This round is sponsored by Airplane.


Round 7: A Y E D C A H P S

C1: SHAPED (6)
C2: CHASED (6)
DC: APACHES (7)
OT: PSYCHED (7)
Score: 44–25 (max 52)

Susie spots that you can have APACHES - the sense meaning the American Indian people is capitalised, but it also means a street ruffian, and that's allowable.


Round 8: T N L B U I N D O

C1: BLOND (5)
C2: BUILT (5)
DC: UNTOLD (6) INBOUND (7)
OT: BOTULIN (7) UNBLIND (7)
Score: 49–30 (max 59)

Tricky selection, and Sam and Ian share fives.


Round 9: T D E L N O E T A

C1: alotted
C2: NETTLED (7)
DC: TALONED (7) NOTELET (7) TALENTED (8)
OT: DETONATE (8)
Score: 49–37 (max 67)

Sam tries ALOTTED^ but you need two Ls as well as two Ts, so nothing doing there. This means Ian closes the gap.


Round 10: 10, 7, 8, 8, 5, 5. Target: 768.

C1: 765. (8*8+7+5)*10+5 (7)
C2: -
RR: 768. 8*8*(7+5) (10)
Score: 56–37 (max 77)

Ian tries six small. "A bit of a fan of the numbers, then?" asks Rachel. "Not really." Then he declares nothing.

Sam gets three away for 7 points, but Rachel spots that 768 is a multiple of 64.


Teatime teaser: BEGADDER -> BADGERED


Round 11: P T I O M R N I O

C1: MONITOR (7)
C2: PORTION (7)
DC: IMPORT (6) IMPRINT (7)
OT: TOMPION (7)
Score: 63–44 (max 84)

A TOMPION is a wooden stopper for the muzzle of a gun, or on a similar theme, a plug for an organ pipe.


Round 12: F S R E I L C F O

C1: CLIFFS (6)
C2: COFFERS (7)
DC: FORCES (6) FROLICS (7) OFFICERS (8)
Score: 63–51 (max 92)

Ian starts something of a comeback with COFFERS. Only twelve points in it now.


Round 13: R S A R W E O N E

C1: WARRENS (7)
C2: warrens (not written down)
DC: SWEARER (7) ANSWERER (8) REASONER (8)
Score: 70–51 (max 100)

In this round Ian follows in the footsteps of such greats as Daniel Pati and Jonathan Rawlinson by failing to declare that he hadn't written his word down. According to the meticulous records kept by Mike Brown and others, in 30 years and over 47,000 letters rounds this is only the seventh time a word's been disallowed for this reason.

I've mentioned before that there are four reasons a word can be disallowed: unacceptable word, not in the selection, misdeclared length, and not written down. But there are ten ways of being given out in cricket. Can you name them all?


Round 14: 6, 4, 1, 5, 6, 2. Target: 639.

C1: -
C2: -
RR: 639. (4+5)*(6*2*6+1) (10)
Score: 70–51 (max 110)

Ian picks six small again in the hope of forcing a crucial, but all we've got is a double blank. Rachel spots 71*9.

Regarding the ten ways of being given out in cricket, no, you can't have "caught at slip", "caught on the boundary", "caught and bowled" and "caught at silly point" all separately. They're all just "caught".


Round 15: T H E I R C O P Y

No one buzzes. The answer was HYPOCRITE.
Final Score: 70–51 (max 120)

The conundrum defeats both our players and the audience (though not Rachel), and it's hardly surprising, since even the great Julian Fell failed to solve the same scramble in his nevertheless record-scoring game.

No more Countdown for the rest of the week, unless the racing's called off in which case we hope to see some of the specials that have been on the shelf for a while. So I'll be back next Monday for Sam's fourth game.

And the ten ways of getting out in cricket? Here they are.

Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=68
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Jon O'Neill
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Re: Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

Post by Jon O'Neill »

Brilliant. I laughed out loud at your commentary of round 10.

I like the cut of this ginger bloke's jib. Fly the flag homeboy!
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Mike Brown
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Re: Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

Post by Mike Brown »

Graeme Cole wrote: In this round Ian follows in the footsteps of such greats as Daniel Pati and Jonathan Rawlinson by failing to declare that he hadn't written his word down. According to the meticulous records kept by Mike Brown and others, in 30 years and over 47,000 letters rounds this is only the seventh time a word's been disallowed for this reason.
Maybe, but to be fair, it's only been a reason for disallowing a word in recent years. Not sure offhand when it was first introduced, probably Series 50-something. Any idea, James? :)
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Re: Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

Post by Jon O'Neill »

Mike Brown wrote:
Graeme Cole wrote: In this round Ian follows in the footsteps of such greats as Daniel Pati and Jonathan Rawlinson by failing to declare that he hadn't written his word down. According to the meticulous records kept by Mike Brown and others, in 30 years and over 47,000 letters rounds this is only the seventh time a word's been disallowed for this reason.
Maybe, but to be fair, it's only been a reason for disallowing a word in recent years. Not sure offhand when it was first introduced, probably Series 50-something. Any idea, James? :)
Surely it must have been an unwritten rule beforehand though?

I'm guessing it's happened a lot more in the past but because it all gets a bit awkward, they've had to re-shoot with the person offering a shorter word or something.
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Re: Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

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Jon O'Neill wrote:I'm guessing it's happened a lot more in the past but because it all gets a bit awkward, they've had to re-shoot with the person offering a shorter word or something.
Might be wrong, but didn't it just rely on trust? I certainly don't remember thinking I had to say I hadn't written my word down (or it being anywhere in the rules) when I was on in Series 48.
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James Robinson
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Re: Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

Post by James Robinson »

Mike Brown wrote:
Jon O'Neill wrote:I'm guessing it's happened a lot more in the past but because it all gets a bit awkward, they've had to re-shoot with the person offering a shorter word or something.
Might be wrong, but didn't it just rely on trust? I certainly don't remember thinking I had to say I hadn't written my word down (or it being anywhere in the rules) when I was on in Series 48.
Must admit that I don't remember when it came in exactly, but the very first time it was used was in Series 50, so maybe sometime around then................... :roll:
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Re: Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

Post by Gavin Chipper »

I definitely remember at least once in the past someone hadn't written down a numbers solution or word and then said "You've got to believe me" and he got away with it.
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Re: Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

Post by Mark Ivey »

I just don't understand exactly why Ian went for six small when he admitted that he wasn't a fan of the numbers. You should only really go for 6S for one of a number of reasons... you're between 10-20 ahead and want to play the tactics and hope you get a difficult/impossible solution, you're within 10 and want to try and force a crucial or you're good at 6S. Ian clearly wasn't, so why he went for 6S when 19 behind is beyond me.
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Graeme Cole
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Re: Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

Post by Graeme Cole »

Mark Ivey wrote:I just don't understand exactly why Ian went for six small when he admitted that he wasn't a fan of the numbers. You should only really go for 6S for one of a number of reasons... you're between 10-20 ahead and want to play the tactics and hope you get a difficult/impossible solution, you're within 10 and want to try and force a crucial or you're good at 6S. Ian clearly wasn't, so why he went for 6S when 19 behind is beyond me.
I have heard of players who aren't confident at the numbers going for six small in the hope of getting a target that's so difficult the other player doesn't score any points either. That might have been what he was doing in round 10. Not sure how that fits in with round 14 though.
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Jon O'Neill
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Re: Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

Post by Jon O'Neill »

Six small is a badass pick, and this guy was clearly a badass. So there you go.
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Re: Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

Post by Zarte Siempre »

Bowled
Caught
LBW
Run Out
Stumped
Hit Wicket
Handled Ball
Timed Out
Hit Ball Twice
Obstructing the Field
Possibly the first contestant to accelerate with a mic clipped...
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Re: Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

Post by Anthony Endsor »

James Robinson wrote:
Mike Brown wrote:
Jon O'Neill wrote:I'm guessing it's happened a lot more in the past but because it all gets a bit awkward, they've had to re-shoot with the person offering a shorter word or something.
Might be wrong, but didn't it just rely on trust? I certainly don't remember thinking I had to say I hadn't written my word down (or it being anywhere in the rules) when I was on in Series 48.
Must admit that I don't remember when it came in exactly, but the very first time it was used was in Series 50, so maybe sometime around then................... :roll:
I think it formed part of a shake-up of the rules in about 2002, which also saw the American spellings rule come in. It had been a problem before that. Certainly by the time I was on in 2005 it was well in force, with it being written in the guidelines we were all given.
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Re: Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

Post by Mike Brown »

Anthony Endsor wrote:I think it formed part of a shake-up of the rules in about 2002, which also saw the American spellings rule come in. It had been a problem before that. Certainly by the time I was on in 2005 it was well in force, with it being written in the guidelines we were all given.
Rereading some of the posts from the time of the Series 50 occurrence on the old Gevin forum (!), it looks like maybe it *was* in the written rules, but it does seem to be the first time someone was penalised for forgetting to say they hadn't written their offering down. I seem to recall some comments from Damian at the time that they were going to clamp down a bit, but that's as much as I can remember. Just also unearthed the fact that there was quite a bit of controversy on the Reach 4 Forum (double !) in June 2001 (Series 44) when Stuart Wood 'got away with' failing to mention he hadn't written his word down in the semi-final. Maybe that's what triggered things (rather earlier than I thought, if true) ...
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Re: Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

Post by Kevin Thurlow »

I seem to recall in Series 47 that they stressed you must say if you hadn't written the solution down. I don't remember anyone then saying "I got the same but didn't write it down." Maybe the powers that be were getting uneasy and eventually took a stand.

The current method of the second player showing the opponent what you wrote (when you both get the same solution) is a good idea - I certainly remember showing bits of paper to one DC guest who just agreed without looking at what I had written! (Yes, I had actually written the same thing...)
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Re: Monday 11th March 2013 (Series 68, Prelim 6)

Post by Dave Preece »

Gavin Chipper wrote:I definitely remember at least once in the past someone hadn't written down a numbers solution or word and then said "You've got to believe me" and he got away with it.

LOL
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