C1: Champion Jon Elmer (3 wins, 260 points.)
C2: Challenger Mark Deeks.
DC: Susie Dent and John Stapleton.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: T E N L N I A U X
R02: S E D O C A F Q E
R03: D M O A E N M L O
R04: P E R S I D E S R
R05: 50, 1, 10, 9, 5, 6. Target: 292.
TTT: SURESINS - "The bright boy wakes up at the crack of dawn."
R06: Z F U Y M T O E S
R07: W P I E G L R I A
R08: S U S E T K O E T
R09: N A R P T U E S B
R10: 50, 75, 100, 25, 4, 9. Target: 450.
TTT: SEEDYWAG - "You can't get a word in from any angle"
R11: S A D S N E A I C
R12: N E G D A J R U I
R13: G A H P V U E A H
R14: 25, 50, 75, 100, 4, 7. Target: 999.
R15: C U T E F A U L T (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Champion Jon Elmer is back for his forth game. John is a Maths lecturer whose hobby is pub quizzes, both as a contestant and quizmaster. As he says himself, the best questions are those where you go: "I'll know it when you tell me".
Challenger Mark Deeks from Braughing in Hertfordshire is a student and basketball journalist. Newbie Apterite Mark describes himself as talkative whilst his Mum describes him as miserable. Time will tell which one is right.
Jeffs opening theme today is "30 seconds" where he reels off a list of things that happen during one round of Countdown: 300 new videos uploaded to YouTube; 250,000 comments posted on Facebook;350,000 searches made on Google; 84 million emails sent; Fabio Capello (assuming a 40-hour week
) earns £24.04; Rachel changes her mind about what to wear a dozen times. Expanding on the theme of filling dead time on air, John Stapleton tells the true story behind Jeremy Paxmans' famous interrogation of Michael Howard, where Paxman confessed long afterwards that the next item had "technical difficulties" and he was really stalling for time.In other news Susie Dent apparently always does it in 30 seconds. Bet her husband's not too pleased.
Enjoy the show.
Round 1: T E N L N I A U X
C1: TUNNEL (6)
C2: TUNNEL (6)
DC: TUNNEL (6) ANNULET (7)
Score: 6–6 (max 7)
Neither contestant digs deep enough her to find the lone 7. An ANNULET is an architectural feature, a band encircling a column.
Round 2: S E D O C A F Q E
C1: FAECES (6)
C2: DEFACES (7)
Score: 6–13 (max 14)
Jon sees his effort go down the pan as Mark finds the single 7 at the second attempt.
Round 3: D M O A E N M L O
C1: DAEMON (6)
C2: MOANED (6)
DC: ALMOND (6) NOODLE (6)
OT: MAMELON (7)
Score: 12–19 (max 21)
This time nobody spots the 7. A MAMELON is a small rounded hillock.
Round 4: P E R S I D E S R
C1: DISPERSER (18)
C2: PRESIDES (8)
Score: 30–19 (max 39)
Big decision time for both players as Jon declares 9 and Mark, after some thought, bravely decides to stick with 8. Presiders^ was almost spelt out in the selection, so Jons' DISPERSER was an inspired spot.
Round 5: 50, 1, 10, 9, 5, 6. Target: 292.
C1: 292. (50*6)-9+1 (10)
C2: 292. (50*6)-9+1 (10)
Score: 40–29 (max 49)
Easy numbers sees Jon keep his 11-point advantage.
Teatime teaser: SURESINS -> SUNRISES
Clue: "The bright boy wakes up at the crack of dawn."
Round 6: Z F U Y M T O E S
C1: MUSTY (5)
C2: FOETUS (6)
JS: MOUSEY (6)
DC:FOETUS (6)
OT: FUMETS (6) FUTZES (6) TUMEFY (6)
Score: 40–35 (max 55)
Mark delivers a six to keep him in the race. Incidentally, the Americans have it right for once. FETUS is the correct spelling.
Round 7: W P I E G L R I A
C1: pailer
C2: EARWIG (6)
DC: PERIWIG (7)
Jons' risky 6 springs a leak, while Mark creeps back into the lead. DC distinguish themselves with PERIWIG, the formal wig worn by judges and barristers.
Score: 40–41 (max 62)
Round 8: S U S E T K O E T
C1: OUTSET (6)
C2: outsets
OT: SUTTEES (7)
The invalid outsets appears again and the lead changes hands for the third time. SUTTEE was the former Hindu custom whereby a widow burnt herself to death on her husband's funeral pyre.
Score: 46–41 (max 69)
Round 9: N A R P T U E S B
C1: UPRATES (7)
C2: PARENTS (7)
DC: PEANUTS (7)
OT: BANTERS (7) BARNETS (7) BURNETS (7) ENTRAPS (7) NATURES (7) PASTERN (7) PASTURE (7) PUNSTER (7) PUNTERS (7) SAUNTER (7) SUNTRAP (7) TREPANS (7) TURBANS (7) UNSTRAP (7) UPBEATS (7)
Score: 53–48 (max 76)
7's galore here for a change. TREPANNING is a surgical intervention in which a hole is drilled or scraped into the skull, usually to relieve pressure. BURNETS are any of several plants of the rose family.
Origin of Words today is a little bit of a hotchpotch; tuffet ( a small hill, again); Plantagenet^ ,(literally, a sprig of broom);playing possum (from the opossums trick of playing dead); small fry (literally , little fish) and similarly sprat (a tiny dwarf herring).
Round 10: 50, 75, 100, 25, 4, 9. Target: 450.
C1: 450. 9*50 (10)
C2: 450. 9*50 (10)
Score: 63–58 (max 86)
Another easy numbers.
Teatime teaser: SEEDYWAG -> EDGEWAYS
Clue:"You can't get a word in from any angle"
Round 11: S A D S N E A I C
C1: CANDIES (7)
C2: CANDIES (7)
DC: ASCENDS (7)
OT: ACEDIAS (7) DECANIS (7) INCASED (7) INCASES (7) NAIADES (7)
Score: 70–65 (max 93)
DECANI means of or pertaining to the epistle or liturgical south side of a church as opposed to CANTORIS. Not sure if a plural form should be valid there. NAIADES (alt NAIADS) in Greek mythology, were a type of fresh-water nymph, or an aquatic plant. ACEDIA describes a state of listlessness or torpor.
Round 12: N E G D A J R U I
C1: READING (7)
C2: READING (7)
DC: INJURED (7)
OT: ADJURING (8)
Score: 77–72 (max 101)
Again everybody misses the darren.
Round 13: G A H P V U E A H
C1: AGAPE (5)
C2: GUAVA (5)
DC: GUAVA (5) VAGUE (5)
OT: PAVAGE (6)
Score: 82–77 (max 107)
And again. PAVAGE was a tax towards paving streets, or the right to levy such a tax.
Round 14: 25, 50, 75, 100, 4, 7. Target: 999.
C1: 1000. ((75/25)+7)*100 (7)
C2: 1000. (25+50+75+100)*4 (7)
Score: 89–84 (max 114)
An impossible target means that both contestants score for the sixth round in a row bringing us to a crucial conundrum.
Round 15: C U T E F A U L T
C2 buzzes on 4 seconds to say FLUCTUATE which is correct.
And in a game of fluctuating fortunes for both players it's Mark who buzzes in with the correct answer, (and a huge sigh of relief). Marks Deadpan Snarker act earns him a lot of fans in the studio. I bet he'd make a scary poker player. Jeff fills in the remaining 30 seconds with a list of things that happen in 30 seconds. Thought we'd done that bit already.
Final Score: 89-94 (max 124)
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=65
