Tuesday 2nd June 2009 (Series 60, Prelim 83)

[Phil Reynolds]

Countdown recap for Tuesday 2 June 2009.

C1: Champion James Doohan (7 wins, 608 points.)
C2: Challenger Angela Nayar.
DC: Susie Dent and Richard Digance.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

James, from Falcarragh in County Donegal, has already secured his place in the quarter finals, so today's game for him is essentially about the honour of becoming an octochamp. Angela is a recently retired dinner lady from Barnsley who enjoys knitting, painting, crosswords, walking her dog Dave and playing with her young grandson George; she also has a propensity for getting lost, evidenced by taking six hours the last time she drove the 25 miles or so from Leeds to Barnsley.

R01: G M B E I N Y R A
R02: T E N D O L N U P
R03: S S T D T A E I C
R04: S Q R O E T I A D
R05: 50, 2, 3, 6, 9, 7. Target: 871.
TTT: ACTENDED - "A record label, Susie and a self-indulgent"
R06: N O P T E R H I J
R07: W L M R E I O S U
R08: E I D Z A G P E S
R09: T F L O I N E T S
R10: 100, 9, 5, 3, 6, 2. Target: 848.
TTT: FOPTORSO - "Shout out the answer here, but don't fall off"
R11: M R I O E L X P R
R12: D T A H A E C G D
R13: N R N V A E S T O
R14: 75, 5, 9, 3, 6, 2. Target: 669.
R15: E U R O S C O U T (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: G M B E I N Y R A

C1: REAMING (7)
C2: BEAMING (7)
DC: BREAMING (8)
OT: EMBAYING (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 8)

BREAM as a verb is an archaic nautical term meaning to clear debris from the bottom of a ship by heating to soften the pitch. EMBAY means to form into or enclose in a bay.

Round 2: T E N D O L N U P

C1: PUNTED (6)
C2: OPULENT (7)
DC: TEN POUND NOTE
OT: UNTONED (7)
Score: 7–14 (max 15)

An excellent spot by Angela outclasses DC and gives her an early lead.

Round 3: S S T D T A E I C

C1: DICTATES (8)
C2: DICTATES (8)
DC: DISTASTE (8)
OT: STAIDEST (8) STATICES (8)
Score: 15–22 (max 23)

STATICES is the plural of STATICE (not of "statex" as you might think), a name for various types of plant including sea lavender.

Round 4: S Q R O E T I A D

C1: SORTIED (7)
C2: ASTEROID (8)
Score: 15–30 (max 31)

Another good spot increases Angela's lead. James's octochampdom begins to look under serious threat.

Round 5: 50, 2, 3, 6, 9, 7. Target: 871.

C1: 871. (2 + 6 + 9) x 50 + 3 x 7 (10)
C2: 873.
Score: 25–30 (max 41)

It seems Angela is not quite as confident with the numbers, giving James a vital opportunity to claw back some points.

Teatime teaser: ACTENDED -> DECADENT

(I may have mistranscribed the clue for this, which I struggled to make sense of.)

Round 6: N O P T E R H I J

C1: POINTER (7)
C2: PROTEIN (7)
DC: JOINTER (7)
OT: PHONIER (7) REPOINT (7)
Score: 32–37 (max 48)

A JOINTER is a tool for pointing mortar joints, as in brickwork.

Round 7: W L M R E I O S U

C1: MOUSIER (7)
C2: MOUSIER (7)
DC: MISRULE (7)
OT: LOURIES (7) LOUSIER (7)
Score: 39–44 (max 55)

LOURIE is a name for several species of brightly coloured South African bird.

Round 8: E I D Z A G P E S

C1: SEIZED (6)
C2: PAGES (5)
OT: AZIDES (6) ZAIDES (6) ESPIED (6) GASPED (6)
Score: 45–44 (max 61)

James outdoes Angela in a letters round for the first time in the game to just edge in front. AZIDES are certain compounds of nitrogen; ZAIDES is a variant spelling of the plural of ZAYDE, a Yiddish term for a grandfather (thanks Kai!).

Round 9: T F L O I N E T S

C1: FINEST (6)
C2: TOILETS (7)
DC: LOFTIEST (8)
Score: 45–51 (max 69)

And Angela snatches back the lead in what is becoming a seesaw game.

In OoW, Susie describes the origins of the expression "fair dinkum".

Round 10: 100, 9, 5, 3, 6, 2. Target: 848.

C1: 848. (100 + 6) x (5 + 3) (10)
C2: 848. (100 + 6) x (5 + 3) (10)
Score: 55–61 (max 79)

Teatime teaser: FOPTORSO -> ROOFTOPS

Round 11: M R I O E L X P R

C1: ROPIER (6)
C2: implorer
DC: LORIMER (7)
OT: IMPLORE (7)
Score: 61–61 (max 86)

Ouch. Angela's risky 8 backfires and gives James the opportunity to level the score. A LORIMER was a maker of stirrups or other iron objects in, as Susie is so fond of saying, the olden days.

Round 12: D T A H A E C G D

C1: DETACH (6)
C2: CADGED (6)
DC: CATHEAD (7)
Score: 67–67 (max 93)

James declares DETACH as "a dodgy 6" for some reason. A CATHEAD is another nautical term, this time a support for carrying an anchor when raised.

Round 13: N R N V A E S T O

C1: TANNERS (7)
C2: astron
DC: SERVANT (7)
OT: RESONANT (8)
Score: 74–67 (max 101)

Another slip by Angela lets James creep in front. No one spotted the darren 8, but there were numerous other 7s including SENATOR, TAVERNS and TREASON.

Round 14: 75, 5, 9, 3, 6, 2. Target: 669.

C1: 669. 9 x 75 - 6 (10)
C2: 669. 9 x 75 - 6 (10)
Score: 84–77 (max 111)

An easy numbers round does nothing to change the position, so it's a crucial conundrum.

Round 15: E U R O S C O U T

C1 buzzes on 29 seconds but doesn't have an answer.
C2 does not buzz.
The answer was COURTEOUS.
Score: 84–77 (max 121)

(Unusually, although COURTEOUS was the "official" answer, there was an alternative valid solution to the conundrum: OUTSOURCE.)

And so, after a hard fought battle, James makes it through to become the sixth and final octochamp of Series 60. The capricious nature of the game can never have been more evident than in round 11; had James with his 6 been the first to declare, Angela would (presumably) have stuck with the safe 7 IMPLORE and, the rest of the game being equal, would have gone into the conundrum 6 points ahead instead of 7 behind. Them's the breaks.

Konstadinos Sfyris having brought along a note from his mum, today's recap was brought to you by Phil the Greek.

Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=60

[Neil Zussman]

Round 8: E I D Z A G P E S

C1: SEIZED (6)
C2: PAGES (5)
OT: AZIDES (6) ZAIDES (6) ESPIED (6) GASPED (6)
Score: 45–44 (max 61)

James outdoes Angela in a letters round for the first time in the game to just edge in front. AZIDES are certain compounds of nitrogen. I can't find ZAIDES in any dictionary or online reference; anyone know what on earth it means?

I could be totally wrong (it's happened before, believe it or not!) but is there any chance that ZAIDE is an alternate spelling of ZAIDA which is a yiddish term for a grandmother (BUBBA being the respective term for a grandfather, if anyone is interested).