Friday 5th July 2013 (Series 69, Prelim 5)

[Anthony Endsor]

Due to a shock resignation from a highly respected member of our recap staff, I have answered the SOS call to do today's recap. From next Friday, the Friday recaps will be taken over by series 68 octochamp and finalist Andy Platt.

Countdown recap for Friday 5 July 2013.

C1: Champion Steve Grimble (3 wins, 161 points.) A branch manager for a tool hire company, from Wigston, Leicestershire.
C2: Challenger Dan Skelton. From Alnwick, Northumberland. Cheered on by a gecko called Terry and a rabbit called Cuddly.
DC: Susie Dent and Penny Smith.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: T G N A O H M E I
R02: C S E A O Y E T A
R03: 8, 2, 1, 2, 75, 25. Target: 340.
TTT: ROCKPACT - "Break the vase, you silly fool"
R04: R N S I Q E A O R
R05: G D I S E O R F N
R06: 3, 4, 7, 9, 6, 75. Target: 754.
R07: S W E A R M I R V
R08: K E T A O F R E C
R09: 2, 8, 4, 7, 100, 50. Target: 799.
TTT: BOBREADS - "Bob really enjoys reading his Sponge Bob books"
R10: X S I L N T U O S
R11: D P E D O U P E D
R12: W M O J S N A I L
R13: P T D I E T R A G
R14: 8, 1, 6, 25, 100, 50. Target: 310.
R15: E N C O M P I L E (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: T G N A O H M E I

C1: HEATING (7)
C2: HEATING (7)
DC: MANGE (5) MONTAGE (7) AMNIOTE (7)
OT: EMOTING (7) MAGNETO (7) MEGATON (7) MINTAGE (7) MITOGEN (7) MOATING (7) TEAMING (7) TEGMINA (7) THEMING (7)
Score: 7–7 (max 7)

Round 2: C S E A O Y E T A

C1: YEAST (5)
C2: COAST (5)
OT: CATSEYE (7) COATEES (7)
Score: 12–12 (max 14)

Round 3: 8, 2, 1, 2, 75, 25. Target: 340.

C1: 316.
C2: -
RR: 340. 25x2=50+2=52x8=416-1-75=340 (10)
Score: 12–12 (max 24)

Teatime teaser: ROCKPACT -> CRACKPOT

Round 4: R N S I Q E A O R

C1: ROSIER (6)
C2: REASON (6)
DC: SNORER (6) IRONERS (7) SERRANO (7)
Score: 18–18 (max 31)

Round 5: G D I S E O R F N

C1: FORDING (7)
C2: FINGERS (7)
DC: SNORED (6) FRIDGES (7) FIREDOGS (8)
Score: 25–25 (max 39)

Round 6: 3, 4, 7, 9, 6, 75. Target: 754.

C1: 754. 7+3=10x75=750+4=754 (10)
C2: 754. 7+3=10x75=750+4=754 (10)
Score: 35–35 (max 49)

Round 7: S W E A R M I R V

C1: swarvier
C2: VARIES (6)
DC: MARRIES (7) ARRIVES (7) WAIVERS (7)
OT: SWARMER (7) WARMERS (7)
Score: 35–41 (max 56)

Round 8: K E T A O F R E C

C1: FACTOR (6)
C2: REACT (5)
DC: ROCKET (6) CREATE (6)
OT: ECOFREAK (8)
Score: 41–41 (max 64)

Round 9: 2, 8, 4, 7, 100, 50. Target: 799.

C1: 799. 8x100=800 7-4-2=1 800-1=799 (10)
C2: 799. 8x100=800 7-4-2=1 800-1=799 (10)
Score: 51–51 (max 74)

Teatime teaser: BOBREADS -> ABSORBED

Round 10: X S I L N T U O S

C1: SNOUTS (6)
C2: SLITS (5)
DC: INSULTS (7) TONSILS (7)
OT: LUTINOS (7)
Score: 57–51 (max 81)

Round 11: D P E D O U P E D

C1: UPPED (5)
C2: PODDED (6)
Score: 57–57 (max 87)

Round 12: W M O J S N A I L

C1: womans
C2: liason
DC: SALMON (6)
OT: MALISON (7) MONIALS (7)
Score: 57–57 (max 94)

Round 13: P T D I E T R A G

C1: PARTIED (7)
C2: PIRATED (7)
OT: ATTIRED (7) DIPTERA (7) GRITTED (7) PARTITE (7) TRIAGED (7)
Score: 64–64 (max 101)

Round 14: 8, 1, 6, 25, 100, 50. Target: 310.

C1: 311. 6x50=300 100/25=4+8=12-1=11 300+11=311 (7)
C2: 309. 50x6=300 8+1=9 300+9=309 (7)
RR: 310. 50+1=51x6=306 100/25=4 306+4=310 (10)
Score: 71–71 (max 111)

Round 15: E N C O M P I L E

C2 buzzes on 12 seconds to say POLICEMEN which is correct.
Final Score: 71–81 (max 121)

The conundrum was actually a second conundrum, as nobody correctly answered the first one APATHETIC. Steve had made a 'pathetic' attempt at it, but the scores remained level at the end, so a tie break conundrum was necessary. Dan Skelton buzzed on 12 seconds to say 'POLICEMEN' and claim the Champions crown, bringing Steve's 3 game winning run to an end.
That's all for today. Graeme Cole will be recapping Monday's show. It's been a pleasure bringing to you my debut recap. Hope you had as much fun reading it, as I had writing it

[Guy Barry]

Thanks very much for that, Anthony. A few comments:

In round 5, I think FIREDOGS was a find by Rachel rather than Dictionary Corner (and a very impressive one too).
What was the scramble in the first conundrum? I think the usual practice is to list that one as round 15 and the tie-break as round 16, but I'll leave it to the experienced recappers to confirm. [Edit after checking Wiki: CHAPATTIE, with Steve wrongly buzzing in at 18.25 seconds.]
Interesting way of describing the numbers solves - I hadn't seen that before! I suspect that mathematical purists will object to things like "25x2=50+2=52", but it's obvious what's meant.
I have no idea what Steve was thinking of in round 12. There does appear to be a rare verb "woman" meaning "to provide with women" (presumably coined as a parallel to the verb "man"), but it clearly hasn't made the dictionary.

If I have time I may watch the show again and put together a more detailed commentary.

[Anthony Endsor]

Hi Guy

Thanks for your comments
Yes you're right, FIREDOGS was a spot by Rachel. I wasn't quite sure what to do, with Rachel's primary job being the numbers I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to write RR against it, or just credit it to DC.
As for the conundrum, with it being a tie breaker, there doesn't seem to be an option on the recap writer for a second scramble, so I could only do the one, but as you say I suppose it should have gone on as round 16.
Maybe the number solves could have been described better, but I suppose it's a learning curve with this being my first recap.
Yes 'womans' was rather a strange declaration from Steve. If anything, that word has an apostrophe so I don't know what he was thinking there.

So overall, yes some mistakes were made which is inevitable with it being my first recap, but I'll take on board any comments made, and hopefully I will be back again with more recaps in the future.

[James Robinson]

Just for clarity purposes (and following what everyone else does), I'd have done the conundrums like this:

Round 15: C H A P A T T I E

C1 buzzes on 18.25 seconds to say PATHETIC which is incorrect.
C2 does not buzz.
The answer was APATHETIC.
Score: 71–71 (max 121)

Tie-break conundrum: E N C O M P I L E

C2 buzzes on 12.75 seconds to say POLICEMEN which is correct.
Final Score: 71–81 (max 121)

Mainly, so the first conundrum isn't forgotten, and strictly speaking the 2nd conundrum isn't even round 15! Just a pointer, not a criticism, Anthony.

[Peter Mabey]

Although ODE3r doesn't have WOMANS, the verb is in Collins (and Chambers), so it's OK for Scrabble.

[Anthony Endsor]

Although ODE3r doesn't have WOMANS, the verb is in Collins (and Chambers), so it's OK for Scrabble.

That would explain why Steve declared it then presumably. I'm not sure if he plays Scrabble or not, but if he does, he's not the first player to trip up on Scrabble only words.

[Anthony Endsor]

Just for clarity purposes (and following what everyone else does), I'd have done the conundrums like this:

Round 15: C H A P A T T I E

C1 buzzes on 18.25 seconds to say PATHETIC which is incorrect.
C2 does not buzz.
The answer was APATHETIC.
Score: 71–71 (max 121)

Tie-break conundrum: E N C O M P I L E

C2 buzzes on 12.75 seconds to say POLICEMEN which is correct.
Final Score: 71–81 (max 121)

Mainly, so the first conundrum isn't forgotten, and strictly speaking the 2nd conundrum isn't even round 15! Just a pointer, not a criticism, Anthony.

Thanks James

[Guy Barry]

As Anthony didn't include any commentary in his recap I've taken the liberty of adding a few comments of my own. Hope this is useful.

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Nick starts off by mentioning that it's National Shed Week, which I'm sure everyone's familiar with.

R1: Penny announces "I've got mange", raising a slight titter, but otherwise it's sevens all round.

R2: A curiously unproductive combination, with Susie unable to beat the contestants' five although she's sure there's more in there. The wonderful CATSEYE goes unspotted.

R3: Steve declares 316 even though it's more than ten away and hence an invalid declaration - why do contestants do this? With no declaration from Dan, it's left to Rachel, who admits that it's quite a tricky one.

R4: The contestants are once again tied on six. Nick casts doubt on Susie's first offering of IRONERS, but he's rather more impressed by SERRANO, which is a small green chilli pepper.

R5: Penny and Susie can't beat the seven offered by the contestants. Impressively, though, Rachel manages to spot FIREDOGS, although she 's unsure of the meaning - Nick remembers that they're metal stands used to support logs in an open fire.

R6: A straightforward solve means that the contestants are still tied after six rounds.

Penny talks about her love of opera and how she's been overawed by meeting her great operatic heroes.

R7: "That's not an order!" giggles Rachel as the word SWEAR is spelt out. When Steve declares eight to Dan's six it seems that he might finally pull ahead, but alas ^SWARVIER is not in the dictionary - Susie suggests he might have been thinking of SWARTHIER (and Penny's suggestion of ^SWARMIER isn't there either). So it's Dan who first breaks the impasse.

R8: Dan's lead doesn't last long as he fails to match Steve's six, and we're back to level pegging again. The studio only manages six but there's an ingenious eight lurking in the shadows.

R9: Another reasonably easy numbers game means that the scores are still tied as we go into the second break. Who will resolve the deadlock?

R10: Steve goes ahead for the first time with SNOUTS, but there are a couple of sevens available, leading Nick to reminisce about the time he had his tonsils out. He swears he's never going to do it again, leading to a snigger from Susie but complete silence from the audience.

R11: A lot of repeated letters here! Dan risks PODDED, saying "I might have made it up", but it's a good gamble - it refers to a vegetable or tree that bears pods. So we're back to even stevens yet again, with no indication of the eventual outcome. Could the next round be the clincher?

R12: Sadly not, as both contestants offer invalid words. Dan suspects that's he's misspelt LIAISON, while Steve's offering of ^WOMANS is a strange one - obviously it's not in the dictionary as a plural of WOMAN. He may have been thinking of the verb "woman" which appears in some dictionaries, meaning "to provide with women".

Susie talks about the origin of the name "Greenland", which was apparently a 10th-century piece of PR to try to encourage settlers to move there.

R13: Two good sevens from the contestants, and a few others from the floor, but we're no nearer a resolution. Will the numbers decide it?

R14: Dan gambles by picking three large numbers, but it doesn't pay off as both he and Steve are one away in opposite directions. So we're heading for "a crucial crucial conundrum", as Rachel puts it before neatly demonstrating the correct solution.

R15: Steve's guess of PATHETIC after 18 seconds is an easy mistake to make, but surprisingly it doesn't give away the correct answer to Dan, so once again there's no score. Does this make the next round a "crucial crucial crucial conundrum"?

R16 (tie-break): At last! Dan snatches victory in what must have been one of the closest games for ages. Nick congratulates him and compliments Steve on his three wins, saying that it's made up for the miserable time that he must have had all those years ago in his original appearance. (The viewers, of course, have only had a chance to witness two of them.)

And so we have a new champion in the shape of Dan "Skelly" Skelton. How will he fare on Monday?