Monday 21st March 2011 (Series 64, Prelim 46)

[Marcus Hares]

Countdown recap for Monday 21 March 2011.

And we're back with another proper week of Countdown after that very exciting special last Monday followed by a week of old nags - no I don't mean Loose Women, I mean that Cheltenham horse racing thing. The episodes this week were only recorded last Monday, possibly the shortest gap between filming and transmission but I'm sure I will be corrected by the experts if I'm wrong.

C1: Champion Andy McGurn (4 wins, 344 points.) Apterite Andy is a social worker from Leeds who loves travelling and is an arthouse movie buff as well as being a big fan of WWE wrestling where he reveals his favourite wrestler is The Rock.
C2: Challenger James Hall. Another Apterite in the form of James Hall who is a gap year assistant at Portsmouth Grammar School and a choral scholar at Portsmouth Cathedral - he's being cheered on today by twin brother Thomas, younger brother Chris and older sister Robin. He enjoys singing and acting and portrayed a character who was the victim of identity theft in a recent radio play. He has watched Countdown since the age of 8 and today is excited about achieving an ambition of appearing on the show.
DC: Susie Dent and Donal MacIntyre.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: G D T E O I H E U
R02: L N M E O E H O R
R03: D L B I A U S O E
R04: R S A O E N M N J
R05: 100, 75, 4, 3, 3, 8. Target: 760.
TTT: BOBREADS - "Bob reads book from cover to cover, he's gripped by it."
R06: S G N T O E A O S
R07: R T S A A E W N A
R08: E I P X T D U E O
R09: T D K E A E F R T
R10: 9, 6, 1, 4, 1, 10. Target: 446.
TTT: STARSHIP - "Forget enterprise, they're all about pluck."
R11: R S R O A E W M I
R12: S N I E O P F A U
R13: R S T I O E C I A
R14: 6, 4, 1, 9, 4, 3. Target: 912.
R15: D R E A M S P A N (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: G D T E O I H E U

C1: HIDEOUT (7)
C2: toughed
DC: HIDEOUT (7) TOUGHIE (7)
Score: 7–0 (max 7)

Susie appears to come down hard on James here explaining that while the dictionary specifies "to tough it out" it doesn't specify "tough" as a verb but this is quite correct and rightfully disallows it.

Round 2: L N M E O E H O R

C1: HORMONE (7)
C2: HORMONE (7)
DC: HORMONE (7)
OT: HONOREE (7) MOORHEN (7)
Score: 14–7 (max 14)

Our contestants, and Dictionary Corner, settle for the same maximum word.

Round 3: D L B I A U S O E

C1: AUDIBLE (7)
C2: DISABLE (7)
DC: BLADES (6) ALBEDOS (7)
OT: AUDIBLES (8)
Score: 21–14 (max 22)

More 7's around but DC fail to notice that AUDIBLE, while an adjective in its most common definition, is also a noun and can therefore be pluralised - in American football a change of playing tactics called by the quarterback when the offense is lined up at the line of scrimmage is known as an AUDIBLE.

Round 4: R S A O E N M N J

C1: OARSMEN (7)
C2: MANNERS (7)
DC: MOANERS (7)
OT: MANNOSE (7)
Score: 28–21 (max 29)

More 7's on offer - in chemistry, MANNOSE is a monosaccharide, formula C6H12O6, obtained from mannan or by the oxidation of mannitol, but you knew that already.

Round 5: 100, 75, 4, 3, 3, 8. Target: 760.

C1: 760. (100 - ((3 / 3) + 4)) x 8 (10)
C2: 758.
Score: 38–21 (max 39)

Andy opens up some proper daylight here with a fine solve and extends his lead to 17pts.

Presenter and investigative journalist Donal MacIntyre returns for a 2nd stint in DC. Last time he was with us back in the summer of 2009 he was lucky enough to witness the last game of our very own Innis Carson's octorun and the first 2 games of Andrew Hulme's octorun - only time will tell if he witnesses another octorun this week. Donal reminisces about the time the insect tribe from Papua New Guinea came to live with him, they offered some wise words as well - don't eat sago or cobwebs if you want to have babies, and for a long life keep crocodiles off the porch - good advice if you live in Wimbledon I'm sure. He also talks about the dozens of death threats he's had although sadly didn't mention the one I issued to him for crimes against figure skating, oh well maybe in the next show.

Teatime teaser: BOBREADS -> ABSORBED

Round 6: S G N T O E A O S

C1: TANGOES (7)
C2: TANGOES (7)
DC: STOOGES (7) GENTOOS (7)
OT: ONSTAGE (7) SOONEST (7)
Score: 45–28 (max 46)

Our contestants offer the same maximum word but there were plenty to choose from here.

Round 7: R T S A A E W N A

C1: STREWN (6)
C2: ANSWER (6)
DC: WANTERS (7)
Score: 51–34 (max 53)

Ok, try and make a 6 letter word from that lot without using any of the 3 A's... oh, you did Andy.

Round 8: E I P X T D U E O

C1: POUTED (6)
C2: EXITED (6)
DC: TUXEDO (6) TOUPEE (6)
OT: EPIDOTE (7) EPOXIDE (7) EPOXIED (7)
Score: 57–40 (max 60)

And just when we wanted an A to appear (I think James may even have been fishing for one with that final vowel for EXPIATED), we get an A-less round. Plenty of nice 6's around but all three 7's go unnoticed by all. EPIDOTE is a lustrous yellow, green, or black mineral, commonly found in metamorphic rock. EPOXIDE is a ring-shaped organic compound consisting of an oxygen atom bonded to two other atoms, usually of carbon, that are already bonded to each other. EPOXIED means fastened together with EPOXY (which in chemistry means of, consisting of, or containing an oxygen atom joined to two different groups that are themselves joined to other groups) - are you keeping up?

Round 9: T D K E A E F R T

C1: FREAKED (7)
C2: FREAKED (7)
DC: TREATED (7)
OT: DRAFTEE (7) FRETTED (7)
Score: 64–47 (max 67)

For the 3rd time today our contestants offer the same maximum word.

Susie's Origin of Words explores the grisly origins of the verbs "haggle" and "travel".

Round 10: 9, 6, 1, 4, 1, 10. Target: 446.

C1: 446. ((10 + 1) x 4) x (9 + 1) + 6 (10)
C2: 446. ((6 - 1) x 9 x 10) - 4 (10)
Score: 74–57 (max 77)

At first glance this looked tough with the two 1's but I wonder if James handed the answer to Andy on a silver platter here - James sits back on 10 seconds to take a sip of water while Andy is still looking bemused but then nods afterwards. I may be doing Andy an injustice here, whether he noticed or not the gap remains 17pts as both contestants collect more maximum points.

Teatime teaser: STARSHIP -> HARPISTS

Round 11: R S R O A E W M I

C1: WORRIES (7)
C2: MARROWS (7)
DC: WARMERS (7)
OT: ARMOIRES (8) EARWORMS (8)
Score: 81–64 (max 85)

More 7's all round but a couple of 8's go unspotted - EARWORMS (more commonly corn earworms) are the large destructive larvae of a moth (Heliothis zea) that feed on corn and many other plants.

Round 12: S N I E O P F A U

C1: INFUSE (6)
C2: FUSION (6)
DC: OPINES (6) PAEONS (6)
OT: FUSAIN (6) PIANOS (6) PONIES (6) PUISNE (6) SUPINE (6) UNSAFE (6)
Score: 87–70 (max 91)

Ten 6's here... count 'em! FUSAIN is a fine charcoal in stick form, made from the wood of the spindle tree or a sketch or drawing made with this charcoal. PUISNE means lower in rank, especially an associate judge.

Round 13: R S T I O E C I A

C1: RACIEST (7)
C2: COASTER (7)
DC: AORISTIC (8)
Score: 94–77 (max 99)

This gap has remained at 17pts since round 5 - it really is here where James needs to make a move if he wants to prevail in this contest. Interestingly, Andy has scored in every round so far - could he become the first player to score in all 15 rounds since Edward McCullagh did just that in his 7th win, some 22 shows ago?...

Round 14: 6, 4, 1, 9, 4, 3. Target: 912.

C1: -
C2: -
RR: 912. ((9 x 4) + 3 - 1) x 4 x 6 (10)
Score: 94–77 (max 109)

...not with a stinker of a numbers game like that. Rachel comes up with a brilliant method to show them how it's done. Unfortunately for James this ends his chances of overhauling Andy.

Round 15: D R E A M S P A N

C2 buzzes on 3 seconds to say AMPERSAND which is correct.
Final Score: 94–87 (max 119)

But what a way to bow out - ok James you only need to press the buzzer gently, no need to whack it with the palm of your hand This was a quality spot in a game of a very high standard. James will probably be quietly kicking himself that he didn't offer TOUGHIE in round 1 (which we learn he had also noted) which would have taken this game to a tie-break conundrum. However, it was a high scoring game, the 5th highest aggregate score (181pts) of the series in fact and the highest that didn't feature Adam Gillard or Edward McCullagh. It was also the highest losing score (87pts) this series and the highest losing score since a certain Scott Gillies lost with 90pts in the previous series quarter final... sorry Scott, had to get that one in somewhere

Well played again Andy - top notch effort!

Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=64

[Andy McGurn]

Countdown recap for Monday 21 March 2011.

Round 10: 9, 6, 1, 4, 1, 10. Target: 446.

C1: 446. ((10 + 1) x 4) x (9 + 1) + 6 (10)
C2: 446. ((6 - 1) x 9 x 10) - 4 (10)
Score: 74–57 (max 77)

...I wonder if James handed the answer to Andy on a silver platter here - James sits back on 10 seconds to take a sip of water while Andy is still looking bemused but then nods afterwards. I may be doing Andy an injustice here, whether he noticed or not the gap remains 17pts as both contestants collect more maximum points.

Great observation Marcus: when James sat back It occurred to me that there may be a simple solution, so i looked for one and found it, it then surprised me that James's solution was totally different from mine.

[James Hall]

And just when we wanted an A to appear (I think James may even have been fishing for one with that final vowel for EXPIATED), we get an A-less round.

I was actually hoping for a third E for EXPEDITE (partly as a Portsmouth in-joke as well as the obvious 8 points), but would have been happy with an A as EXPIATED was also in the back of my mind.

And if it adds any colour to the whole story, I managed to cause a break in filming as Susie had a chat with the dictionary elves after my round 1 declaration.

Bit gutted really, but it's pleasing (in a weird kind of way) to know I currently hold the biggest losing score of the series so far!

[Mike Brown]

The episodes this week were only recorded last Monday, possibly the shortest gap between filming and transmission but I'm sure I will be corrected by the experts if I'm wrong.

Equal shortest, to the best of my knowledge. This also happened during 2002 after Carol was off sick for quite some time and they almost ran out of episodes to air.

Susie appears to come down hard on James here explaining that while the dictionary specifies "to tough it out" it doesn't specify "tough" as a verb but this is quite correct and rightfully disallows it.

Quite right, but I can't help feeling the dictionary is wrong here. I seem to recall souping used to be disallowed in a similar fashion because it was only listed as a verb under 'soup something up', which has now been amended.

[James Hall]

Quite right, but I can't help feeling the dictionary is wrong here. I seem to recall souping used to be disallowed in a similar fashion because it was only listed as a verb under 'soup something up', which has now been amended.

Susie seemed to be thinking along the same lines - she did say to me afterwards that she thought it should have been in - and when I declared it (I mentioned 'toughed it out') she said "I think that should be in, but I'll just check", or words to that effect, before asking if we could stop so that she could seek further advice.

[James Hall]

And something I feel I should add (although I've already said it to him in person) is that I couldn't have come up against a friendlier opponent than Andy - I wish him all the best in any future game(s) he has

[Adam Gillard]

And something I feel I should add (although I've already said it to him in person) is that I couldn't have come up against a friendlier opponent than Andy - I wish him all the best in any future game(s) he has

That's the spirit! Well played James; no shame in losing to Andy, especially when you ran him so close.

[Peter Mabey]

Quote:
Round 14: 6, 4, 1, 9, 4, 3. Target: 912.

C1: -
C2: -
RR: 912. ((9 x 4) + 3 - 1) x 4 x 6 (10)
Score: 94–77 (max 109)

...not with a stinker of a numbers game like that. Rachel comes up with a brilliant method to show them how it's done.

Finding Rachel's method looked really easy to me: 912 obviously divides by 6 to give 152, then dividing by 4 gives 38, and the other four numbers get you there. (It's always a good idea with 6 small to see if the target divides by one or more of the given numbers )

[Craig Beevers]

Quote:
Round 14: 6, 4, 1, 9, 4, 3. Target: 912.

C1: -
C2: -
RR: 912. ((9 x 4) + 3 - 1) x 4 x 6 (10)
Score: 94–77 (max 109)

...not with a stinker of a numbers game like that. Rachel comes up with a brilliant method to show them how it's done.

Finding Rachel's method looked really easy to me: 912 obviously divides by 6 to give 152, then dividing by 4 gives 38, and the other four numbers get you there. (It's always a good idea with 6 small to see if the target divides by one or more of the given numbers )

I think it's quite easy to get close at least. I don't go in for dividing by 6 etc. as I'd often end up not having anything to declare. My thought process would be:

912 - big target. Lets see what multiplying the four biggest numbers gets:
4 x 4 = 16 x 6 = 96 x 9 = 864. Not bad. Need another 48. Factors are 4, 4, 6 and 9. There's a 1 and a 3 left over. 4x4x3 = 48. So there's one solution [9x6=54, 54+3=57, 57x4x4=912]. 4x6x(3-1)= 48. There's another [see Rachel's method]. Even if you don't spot those it's easy to get close. 9x6x1 = 54, with a 3 to take off afterwards to get 915 [4x4=16, 16+1=17, 17x6x9=918, 918-3=915]. A bit more complicated is 9x4x1=36, and you can use the factors within that too, so 4 x 3 = 12. This means you do 6x4 = 24. +1 (means you're getting an extra 9x4 or 36) gives 25. 25 by 9 gives 225. Then you add the 3 and multiply by 4. 228x4 = 912.

[JimBentley]

The episodes this week were only recorded last Monday, possibly the shortest gap between filming and transmission but I'm sure I will be corrected by the experts if I'm wrong.

Equal shortest, to the best of my knowledge. This also happened during 2002 after Carol was off sick for quite some time and they almost ran out of episodes to air.

I can just about beat it; my fourth game was filmed on Wednesday 10th September 2003 and shown on Monday 15th September 2003. That said, I'm sure somebody else has had an even shorter interval since.

[James Hall]

The episodes this week were only recorded last Monday, possibly the shortest gap between filming and transmission but I'm sure I will be corrected by the experts if I'm wrong.

Given the week's gap in filming though, I would think that I was in the pretty unique position of knowing who I was going to play before I got to the studios - anyone know if that's happened before?

[Ryan Taylor]

The episodes this week were only recorded last Monday, possibly the shortest gap between filming and transmission but I'm sure I will be corrected by the experts if I'm wrong.

Given the week's gap in filming though, I would think that I was in the pretty unique position of knowing who I was going to play before I got to the studios - anyone know if that's happened before?

Well, carry over champions into a new series for a start...

[James Hall]

...good point.

OK, mid-series then?

[David Williams]

I wasn't sure of the reason that TOUGHED was disallowed. If it was because it only occurs in combination, (i.e. you can have "toughed it out", but you can't have just "toughed") then fair enough I suppose. But Susie seemed to say it was because it wasn't specified as being a verb. That seems very harsh to me. Unless the newer dictionaries have changed, there are plenty of derivatives allowed that don't actually appear. Favourites like ANODISER for example, where ANODISE is given as an alternative spelling of ANODIZE, but only ANODIZER appears as a derivative, so common sense is applied.

[Andy McGurn]

And something I feel I should add (although I've already said it to him in person) is that I couldn't have come up against a friendlier opponent than Andy - I wish him all the best in any future game(s) he has

Thanks James for those comments. It was a close game that could have gone either way. All the best.