Monday 22nd October 2012 (Series 67, Prelim 55)

[Graeme Cole]

Countdown recap for Monday 22 October 2012.

C1: Champion Rose Boyle (5 wins, 451 points) is an accountant from Dublin, back for her sixth appearance. She's been doing well, with her lowest score so far being 86.
C2: Challenger Alan Pattison is a househusband from north London. A few years ago he worked as a volunteer for a children's HIV/AIDS centre in Botswana.
DC: Susie Dent and Jon Culshaw.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: N J D E O I T S A
R02: T G T E O N A I D
R03: L S P U A E T V O
R04: S G P A E L O F E
R05: 75, 10, 3, 5, 4, 9. Target: 338.
TTT: PAULSAPE - "Paul goes ape with lots of clapping."
R06: C F M S I O A D E
R07: T M G A O A D L E
R08: R N B I E D H A I
R09: F T D E O U T S E
R10: 25, 100, 8, 6, 4, 2. Target: 915.
TTT: RATEDEBT - "A bit worn out, like a piece of fish."
R11: N Y R U A E B N R
R12: M N H G I A A S W
R13: P L X E I R E S Q
R14: 75, 2, 7, 3, 5, 8. Target: 523.
R15: T E A C O F F I I (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: N J D E O I T S A

C1: SEDATION (8)
C2: JOINTED (7)
DC: DONATES (7)
OT: ADJOINTS (8)
Score: 8–0 (max 8)

Champion Rose takes an early lead with SEDATION.


Round 2: T G T E O N A I D

C1: DOTTING (7)
C2: DOTTING (7)
DC: TITAN (5) TANGOED (7) ANTIDOTE (8)
Score: 15–7 (max 16)

Note to people still living in the ODE2 era: smugly offering TETANOID instead of ANTIDOTE won't get you any points any more.


Round 3: L S P U A E T V O

C1: OVULATES (8)
C2: APOSTLE (7)
Score: 23–7 (max 24)

A darrenical spot by Rose puts her even further in front.


Round 4: S G P A E L O F E

C1: ELOPES (6)
C2: PEELS (5)
DC: APOGEES (7)
OT: PELAGES (7) SOLFEGE (7)
Score: 29–7 (max 31)

This one's a bit trickier, but there are three sevens there. Jon Culshaw, rapidly becoming part of the Countdown furniture, draws on his astronomical knowledge and spots APOGEES. The APOGEE of an object orbiting Earth is the point at which it's furthest from Earth. The opposite is PERIGEE. Incidentally, there are other words APOLUNE and PERILUNE for things orbiting the moon, APHELION and PERIHELION for things orbiting the sun, and a whole list of other words for satellites of other heavenly bodies. Alternatively you could just use the general suffix -APSIS if you don't want to have to remember an archaic name for the body that's being orbited. For some unearthly reason, PERIAPSIS is in the dictionary but APOAPSIS isn't.


Round 5: 75, 10, 3, 5, 4, 9. Target: 338.

C1: 338. 75*4+9*5-(10-3) (10)
C2: 339.
Score: 39–7 (max 41)

Another perfect numbers game from Rose gives her a comfortable lead at the anecdote.


Teatime teaser: PAULSAPE -> APPLAUSE


Round 6: C F M S I O A D E

C1: COSIED (6)
C2: FACED (5)
DC: FIASCO (6)
OT: MEDICOS (7)
Score: 45–7 (max 48)

Looks like a promising selection, but seven is the best, there's only one available, and even dictionary corner don't find it.


Round 7: T M G A O A D L E

C1: GLOATED (7)
C2: GLOATED (7)
DC: GAOLED (6) DAMAGE (6) LEGATO (6)
OT: OATMEAL (7)
Score: 52–14 (max 55)

Alan is up into double figures with GLOATED. Susie and Jon offer a brace of sixes.


Round 8: R N B I E D H A I

C1: HANDIER (7)
C2: BRAINED (7)
DC: BEHIND (6) BANDIER (7)
OT: DENARII (7)
Score: 59–21 (max 62)

Sevens each. DENARII is the plural of DENARIUS, the ancient Roman coin whose name derives from the phrase "denarius nummus" or "coin worth ten asses". However, some believe its real translation is "word you can use instead of the invalid 'unraised'".


Round 9: F T D E O U T S E

C1: OUSTED (6)
C2: fousted
DC: TOUTED (6) TESTED (6) DETEST (6)
OT: FOUETTES (8)
Score: 65–21 (max 70)

Alan gambles with a seven but it's not in. FOUETTÉ comes from the French word for the verb to whip. It's a ballet term for "a pirouette performed with a circular whipping movement of the raised leg to the side".


Round 10: 25, 100, 8, 6, 4, 2. Target: 915.

C1: 916. Mistake in working.
C2: 908. Mistake in working.
RR: 915. (100-6)*(8+2)-25 (10)
Score: 65–21 (max 80)

A non-intuitive numbers game which Rachel still solves with a number to spare. Our contestants both make mistakes though, so the scores are unchanged going into Origins of Words, which today is about words for things you didn't know had words for them. A GROANIEST selection - one that looks like a nine must be there even though it isn't - is curiously absent.


Teatime teaser: RATEDEBT -> BATTERED

Round 11: N Y R U A E B N R

C1: urbaner
C2: BUNNY (5)
DC: BARNEY (6) BURNER (6) RUNNER (6) URBANE (6)
OT: BANNER (6) BARREN (6) NEARBY (6) REBURY (6)
Score: 65–26 (max 86)

Alan plays safe and this time it's Rose's turn to take the dodgy gamble. "Urbaner" isn't valid, whether as a person who is urban (that's an URBANITE) or as a comparative of URBAN or URBANE. Jon rattles off four sixes.


Round 12: M N H G I A A S W

C1: WASHING (7)
C2: WASHING (7)
DC: MASHING (7) mingaas
OT: MAWASHI (7) SHAMING (7) SIAMANG (7) SWAGMAN (7)
Score: 72–33 (max 93)

Seven each. Jon decides that "mingaas" is a word from The Only Way is Essex. MAWASHI is a sumo wrestler's loincloth, SIAMANG is a large black native gibbon from Sumatra and Malaya, and a SWAGMAN is an Australasian term for that burglar you see in comic books with a "SWAG" bag slung over his shoulder.


Round 13: P L X E I R E S Q

C1: EXPIRES (7)
C2: REPLIES (7)
DC: PIXELS (6)
OT: PREXIES (7) SPIELER (7)
Score: 79–40 (max 100)

Both Alan and Rose spot the maximum here, but Rose has sewn up the game by doing so. A PREXY is a US term meaning the president of a college or society. A SPIELER is, among other things, a glib or voluble speaker.


Round 14: 75, 2, 7, 3, 5, 8. Target: 523.

C1: 523. 75*7-2 (10)
C2: 523. 75*7-2 (10)
Score: 89–50 (max 110)

Ho hum.


Round 15: T E A C O F F I I

C2 buzzes on 11 seconds to say OFFICIATE which is correct.
Final Score: 89–60 (max 120)

We don't get to find out if Rose's buzzer is still set up to make a buzz noise rather than a bell noise, as Alan solves the conundrum on 11 seconds (incidentally, with a buzz noise). Still, Rose is now on 540 points with a good chance of coming back for the finals in December. She'll be back for her seventh game tomorrow.


Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=67

[James Robinson]

C2: Challenger Alan Pattinson

Note for future reference, it's PATTISON, not PATTInSON. (Not that he's going to be on again.............. )

[Graeme Cole]

C2: Challenger Alan Pattinson

Note for future reference, it's PATTISON, not PATTInSON. (Not that he's going to be on again.............. )

Whoops, fixed. Is there a way of correcting it in cdb?

[James Robinson]

C2: Challenger Alan Pattinson

Note for future reference, it's PATTISON, not PATTInSON. (Not that he's going to be on again.............. )

Whoops, fixed. Is there a way of correcting it in cdb?

Possibly by asking the big man himself.

[Graeme Cole]

Note for future reference, it's PATTISON, not PATTInSON. (Not that he's going to be on again.............. )

Whoops, fixed. Is there a way of correcting it in cdb?

Possibly by asking the big man himself.

Will do.

[Johnny Canuck]

A GROANIEST selection - one that looks like a nine must be there even though it isn't - is curiously absent.

The term is "No 9 4 U".