Monday 28 April 2008 (Series 58, Game 80)

[JimBentley]

Monday 28 April 2008 (Series 58, Game 80)

C1: Ben Hanks - now with red hair! - an undergraduate maths student from Mickleover in Derbyshire (appearance 7)
C2: David Preedy, a semi-retired IT consultant from Surrey; supports Barnsley FC, which was founded by his great-great uncle
DC: Susie Dent and Keith Barron

Summary of game:

ROUND 1 S T V A O A G R A
ROUND 2 S O E I D W S P E
ROUND 3 E T N H I L A R T
ROUND 4 D R O E O N D F E
ROUND 5 75 25 1 1 4 7 Target 687

TTT 1 HELLNICE Think twice below the knee, what a yarn

ROUND 6 A E O S B K M C L
ROUND 7 P S I A D X Q I T
ROUND 8 E E A R N C T Y S
ROUND 9 N N S E O E R C G
ROUND 10 10 10 6 9 5 5 Target 797

TTT 2 BLUESORT I've got mine, you've got yours, so the song goes

ROUND 11 F P O A L M E R D
ROUND 12 E A O L T B Z T S
ROUND 13 N R S E I E L D N
ROUND 14 75 4 8 4 3 6 Target 378

ROUND 15 I G O T B O I L S


Now with six wins, Ben's looking a pretty good bet to make the quarter-finals, but he may need to win one more game to be absolutely sure. He's ditched the blue hair that has seen him this far and has gone for a vibrant red (kind of the same colour as Miki Berenyi from Lush had back in the early nineties). It looks good. But will the change of hair colour coincide with a change of fortune for the champ?


ROUND 1 S T V A O A G R A

C1: GROATS (6)
C2: GROATS (6)
DC: AVATARS (7)
OT: AVATARS is the only seven
Max: 7 (7)
Score: 6 - 6

ROUND 2 S O E I D W S P E

C1: SPEEDS (6)
C2: SWIPED (6)
DC: EPISODES (8)
OT: And EPISODES is the only eight
Max: 8 (15)
Score: 12 - 12

ROUND 3 E T N H I L A R T

C1: LATRINE (7)
C2: LATHER (6)
DC: RELIANT, NITRATE (7)
OT: ENTHRAL, HAIRNET, HERNIAL, INHALER, NATTIER, RETINAL, TERTIAN, THERIAN, TRENAIL (7)
>>> HERNIAL (adjective) relating to a hernia or hernias; RETINAL (adjective) relating to the retina; TERTIAN (adjective) denoting a form of malaria that recurs every second day (TERTIAN FEVER); THERIAN (noun) a mammal of the group Theria, which comprises the marsupials and placentals (also adjective, relating to same); TRENAIL (noun, also TREENAIL) a hard wooden pin used to fix timbers together
Max: 7 (22)
Score: 19 - 12

ROUND 4 D R O E O N D F E

C1: FONDER (6)
C2: FRONDED (7)
DC: FRONDED (7)
OT: FOREDONE (8)
>>> FOREDO (verb, also FORDO, past participle FOREDONE or FORDONE) archaic word for kill or destroy
Max: 8 (30)
Score: 19 - 19

ROUND 5 75 25 1 1 4 7 Target 687

C1: 679 = ((7 + 1 + 1) x 75) + 4
C2: Declares 686, but he's made a mistake
CV: 686 = (75 + 25 - 1 - 1) x 7
OT: 686 is as close as is possible here
Max: 7 (37)
Score: 24 - 19

Tea Time Teaser 1 HELLNICE = CHENILLE

ROUND 6 A E O S B K M C L

C1: COMBS (5)
C2: CAMELS (6)
DC: BECALMS (7)
OT: CEMBALOS, MOCKABLE, SMOKABLE (8)
>>> CEMBALO (noun) another term for HARPSICHORD
Max: 8 (45)
Score: 24 - 25

ROUND 7 P S I A D X Q I T

C1: TAXIS (5)
C2: TAXIS (5)
DC: IXIAS (5)
OT: SPADIX (6)
>>> SPADIX (noun, plural SPADICES) a spike of minute flowers closely arranged round a fleshy axis, usually enclosed in a sheath
Max: 6 (51)
Score: 29 - 30

ROUND 8 E E A R N C T Y S

C1: reenacts (x) - it's hyphenated, unfortunately
C2: CANTERS (7)
DC: RECANTS, EARNEST (7)
OT: ANCESTRY, SARCENET (8)
>>> SARCENET (mass noun, also SARSENET) a fine, soft silk fabric
Max: 8 (59)
Score: 29 - 37

ROUND 9 N N S E O E R C G

C1: gonners (x) - it's GONERS only
C2: CONGERS (7)
DC: CONGEES (7)
OT: CONGENERS (9)
>>> CONGENER (noun) a thing or person of the same kind or category as another (typically an animal or plant of the same genus as another)
Max: 18 (77)
Score: 29 - 44

ROUND 10 10 10 6 9 5 5 Target 797

C1: 0
C2: Declared 798, but he's made another mistake!
CV: 796
OT: 796 = ((10 + 6) x 5 x 10) - (9 - 5) is as near as is doable
Max: 7 (84)
Score: 29 - 44

Tea Time Teaser 2 BLUESORT = TROUBLES

ROUND 11 F P O A L M E R D

C1: FLAMED (6)
C2: FLAMED (6)
DC: LEOPARD, FEMORAL (7)
OT: EARLDOM, PAROLED, PLEROMA, PRELOAD (7)
>>> PLEROMA (noun) in Christian theology, the totality or fullness of the Godhead which dwells in Christ, if you believe in that sort of thing
Max: 7 (91)
Score: 35 - 50

ROUND 12 E A O L T B Z T S

C1: BATTLES (7)
C2: BOTTLES (7)
DC: ZEALOTS (7)
OT: BATTELS, BOATELS, OBLATES, TABLETS, TALBOTS (7)
>>> BATTELS (plural noun) at Oxford University, a college account for food and accommodation expenses; BOATEL (noun) a waterside hotel with facilities for mooring boats; OBLATE (noun) a person dedicated to a religious life, but has typically not taken full monastic vows; TALBOT (noun) a dog of an extinct breed, with large ears and heavy jaws
Max: 7 (98)
Score: 42 - 57

ROUND 13 N R S E I E L D N

C1: DINNERS (7)
C2: DINNERS (7)
DC: LINSEED (7), REDLINES (8)
OT: REDLINES is the only eight available here
Max: 8 (106)
Score: 49 - 64

ROUND 14 75 4 8 4 3 6 Target 378

C1: 379 = ((8 - 3) x 75) + 4
C2: 379 = ((6 - (4 - 3)) x 75) + 4
CV: 378 = ((6 - (4 / 4)) x 75) + 3
Max: 10 (116)
Score: 56 - 71

ROUND 15 - Conundrum

I G O T B O I L S



C1 buzzes after 12 seconds to say BIOLOGIST - and he's right!
Max: 10 (126)
Score: 66 - 71


Tough break for Ben as he fails at the penultimate hurdle, largely down to disallowed words in two consecutive rounds. Two impossible numbers games in one match is pretty unusual and probably didn't help Ben's cause (but then, it didn't help David's cause either, what with him making mistakes on both of them). If David can get his numbers brain together, he could win a few more.

Meanwhile, with his six wins and one loss, Ben finds himself provisionally no. 6 seed for the finals. Here's the current leaderboard:

1. David O'Donnell - 8 wins, 880 points
2. Michael MacDonald-Cooper - 8 wins, 780 points
3. Tim Reypert - 8 wins, 773 points
4. Barry Smith - 7 wins, 648 points
5. Richard Priest - 6 wins, 697 points
6. Ben Hanks - 6 wins, 580 points
7. Jason Cullen - 4 wins, 421 points
8. Tony Durrant - 3 wins, 389 points

Not too long to go until the quarter-finals start, so Ben's got a decent chance of hanging on until then. Who knows what's around the corner, though?


Further summaries are at:
http://www.sooreams.com/cd/series.asp?series=58


Written by Veronica Purdey & Jim Bentley

[Joseph Bolas]

ROUND 6: A E O S B K M C L

C1: COMBS (5)
C2: CAMELS (6)
DC: BECALMS (7)
OT: CEMBALOS, MOCKABLE, SMOKABLE (8)

Max: 8 (45)
Score: 24 - 25

ROUND 12: E A O L T B Z T S

C1: BATTLES (7)
C2: BOTTLES (7)
DC: ZEALOTS (7)
OT: BATTELS, BOATELS, OBLATES, TABLETS, TALBOTS (7)

Max: 7 (98)
Score: 42 - 57

I thought that when Ben said 5 in round 6 he was going to declare BOLAS . The last time BOLAS was declared by a contestant was ironically in series 52 .

I like it when the selection offers BOLAS or BOLASES (assuming the latter is allowed), but I have learn't that there is always a word longer .

[Dinos Sfyris]

Apparently BOLASES is not allowed. Yep. More than one Bolas in the same public place is punishable by death. You can have LESBOS tho

[Joseph Bolas]

Apparently BOLASES is not allowed. Yep. More than one Bolas in the same public place is punishable by death. You can have LESBOS tho

Double checking the dictionay, it states in brackets [treated as sing. or pl.}, but I still long for the day someone tries it just to finalise it for me . I think the closest I will get to with BOLASES on Countdown is BOLUSES. Also you can have TOMBOLAS so thats a nice 8 .

I know though that BOLAS and BOLASES are both allowed in Scrabble, so I guess that makes up for it . I don't think I would offer LESBOS though if it ever came up .

[Martin Gardner]

No comment on the game, just thanks you Jim and Veronica for tirelessly doing a recap every Monday.

Martin

[Charlie Reams]

No comment on the game, just thanks you Jim and Veronica for tirelessly doing a recap every Monday.

Yep, amazing stuff and greatly appreciated.

[Joseph Bolas]

ROUND 7 P S I A D X Q I T

OT: SPADIX (6)
>>> SPADIX (noun, plural SPADICES) a spike of minute flowers closely arranged round a fleshy axis, usually enclosed in a sheath
Max: 6 (51)
Score: 29 - 30

When I saw this, I thought you were actually making this word up

[Jason Larsen]

Here we go with my random thoughts.

Keith Barron is a great Dictionary corner dweller.

Letters Round #1: I was just praying for an "i" in the first selection. That would have made Bob Dole very happy. Has anyone heard of "viagra?"
Numbers round #1: David, what a shock it was to see you make a mistake! It happens to everyone, though. Nobody's perfect.
Teatime Teaser #1: What is chenille?
Letters game #7: Ben, I had a feeling re-enacts was hyphenated. Tough break!
Letters game #8: Ben, I don't know if I had written my poem to the Countdown crew before this show aired, but goners has one n.
Numbers game #2: David made another mistake. I wonder if he wasn't having a good day.
Teatime Teaser #2: I got it! Even though I'm too young to remember the song, "You've Got Your Troubles," I've heard it many times, and I do know the song.
Numbers game #3: What? Was David's solution valid?

Tough break for Ben! But, good effort though, and I hope to see you in the quarter-finals?