Enjoy.
Countdown recap for Thursday 9 June 2011.
C1: Champion Graeme Cole (2 wins, 217 points.) An Apteforumite from Reading, Berkshire. He works as a software engineer, enjoying making electronic items that are "cool, but have no practical purpose". His hero is the "father of computer science", Alan Turing, famous for his work breaking the ENIGMA code during World War II.
C2: Challenger Aidan Turnbull. He has just finished a history degree at Oxford University. He is a keen pool player and a Liverpool F.C. supporter. Every summer he goes to Lourdes (not Lord's, as many of you might've thought at the start) doing charity work for underprivileged children.
DC: Susie Dent and Shobna Gulati.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: P D N U E I S N V
R02: S M W E A G N I T
R03: S F H U A E D R I
R04: A U D C M E A L R
R05: 9, 1, 5, 10, 8, 10. Target: 530.
TTT: HAMUDDER - "It'll take the mother of all beatings, but it won't bruise"
R06: L V R S U A I N A
R07: L D L E A E G P T
R08: N F R A E A R Q T
R09: G L E O R I M G E
R10: 75, 7, 9, 4, 6, 5. Target: 458.
TTT: GAMESRAN - "The games ran out for those who got the sack"
R11: S K T O E I S E P
R12: D T X T O E I S Z
R13: J T S O U E S H T
R14: 75, 25, 2, 5, 9, 1. Target: 769.
R15: A C T E D S T E P (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: P D N U E I S N V
C1: SINNED (6)
C2: SUPINE (6)
DC: DUNNIES (7)
OT: UNDINES (7) UNIPEDS (7)
Score: 6–6 (max 7)
Clearly neither contestant watched the 4th quarter-final last week, although in fairness, this was recorded before that was broadcast, so we'll excuse them for missing DUNNIES.
Round 2: S M W E A G N I T
C1: STEAMING (8)
C2: STEAMING (8)
DC: SWEATING (8) MANGIEST (8)
Score: 14–14 (max 15)
But both get STEAMING and this sounds like we might be in for a tight contest today.
Round 3: S F H U A E D R I
C1: SHADIER (7)
C2: SHADIER (7)
DC: REDFISH (7)
OT: RESIDUA (7)
Score: 21–21 (max 22)
Round 4: A U D C M E A L R
C1: CARAMEL (7)
C2: caulder
DC: CALDERA (7)
OT: ALARMED (7) MACULAE (7) MACULAR (7) RADULAE (7)
Score: 28–21 (max 29)
The first breakthrough arrives as Aidan goes colder with caulder.
A MACULE (plural MACULAE) is a spot or blotch, especially on one's skin.
A RADULA (plural RADULAE) is a chitinous band in the mouth of most molluscs, set with numerous, minute, horny teeth and drawn backward and forward over the floor of the mouth in the process of breaking up food.
Round 5: 9, 1, 5, 10, 8, 10. Target: 530.
C1: 530. ((9 x 5) + 8) x 10 (10)
C2: 533.
Score: 38–21 (max 39)
A nice easy 6 small, unless your name is Aidan Turnbull that is......
Shobna talks about her skill as a palm-reader, predicting Susie's & Rachel's futures.
Teatime teaser: HAMUDDER -> DRUMHEAD
Round 6: L V R S U A I N A
C1: INSULAR (7)
C2: NAILS (5)
DC: URINALS (7)
OT: SAURIAN (7) SAVARIN (7)
Score: 45–21 (max 46)
Another good 7 for Graeme, and yet again he's looking in good form today yet again.
SAURIAN is an adjective meaning belonging or pertaining to the Sauria, a group of reptiles originally including the lizards, crocodiles, and several extinct forms but now technically restricted to the lizards.
A SAVARIN is a spongelike cake leavened with yeast, baked in a ring mould, and often soaked with a rum syrup.
Round 7: L D L E A E G P T
C1: PLEDGET (7)
C2: PALLETED (8)
OT: PETALLED (8)
Score: 45–29 (max 54)
But hold on, Aidan is suddenly back in it with a very good 8.
Round 8: N F R A E A R Q T
C1: RAFT (4)
C2: farter
JS: RAFTER (6)
DC: NARRATE (7)
Score: 49–29 (max 61)
Graeme has definitely gone downriver in this round, but luckily for him, Aidan doesn't blow his own trumpet with farter here.
Round 9: G L E O R I M G E
C1: LOGGER (6)
C2: LOGGER (6)
DC: LEGGIER (7)
Score: 55–35 (max 68)
DC go darrenic, as both contestants are happy being LOGGERs.
Susie's Origins Of Words talks about words for things that many people didn't think had words for: the groove at the top of your lip (PHILTRUM), the protective metal knob at the end of your umbrella (FERRULE), the tag at the end of your shoelace (AGLET), the indentation at the bottom of a moulded glass (PUNT), the crescent marking at the bottom of your fingernails (LUNULE), the dot above the "i" and "j" (TITTLE), the smooth prominence between your eyebrows (GLABELLA) and the strip of wood between panes of glass (MUNTIN).
Round 10: 75, 7, 9, 4, 6, 5. Target: 458.
C1: 458. (75 x 6) + 7 + 5 - 4 (10)
C2: 458. (75 x 6) + ((7 - 5) x 4) (10)
Score: 65–45 (max 78)
A nice simple numbers game means that the gap remains at 20, as we head into the last part of today's game.
Teatime teaser: GAMESRAN -> MANAGERS
Round 11: S K T O E I S E P
C1: POETISES (8)
C2: POSIES (6)
DC: PESKIEST (8)
Score: 73–45 (max 86)
Now that's the Graeme we know and love, a very good spot indeed, and you would think that he'll now be heading towards a 3rd victory.
Round 12: D T X T O E I S Z
C1: OXIDES (6)
C2: DOXIES (6)
DC: DOZIEST (7)
Score: 79–51 (max 93)
DC go darrenic again, as Aidan impresses Jeff with a word he'd never heard of before (I hadn't either actually!
)Round 13: J T S O U E S H T
C1: outsets
C2: HOUSES (6)
DC: OUTSET (6) JOUSTS (6)
OT: JOSHES (6) SHOTES (6) SHOUTS (6) SOUTHS (6) STOUSH (6) STOUTS (6) TOSHES (6) TUSHES (6)
Score: 79–57 (max 99)
Oooooooh, we actually give OUTSETS as OK, but thanks to reason by Susie on screen, Damian behind the scenes, and Joseph in the spoiler thread, the reasoning for not having it in is more than justified. No matter, Graeme has now won the game, but his chances of a 3rd consecutive century have now gone.
A SHOTE (or SHOAT) is a young, weaned pig.
A STOUSH is a fight or brawl.
Round 14: 75, 25, 2, 5, 9, 1. Target: 769.
C1: 769. ((75 + 1) x 5 x 2) + 9 (10)
C2: 770.
Score: 89–57 (max 109)
Maximum points in the numbers again for Graeme, but can he solve a conundrum this time
Round 15: A C T E D S T E P
C1 buzzes on 15 seconds to say SPECTATED which is correct.
Final Score: 99–57 (max 119)
And he can, even though he needed half the time to solve it, but he won't be concerned by that right now.
So, a slightly stuttered 3rd win, but Graeme did make it look convincing at the end, despite the outsets fiasco.
Can he win tomorrow when a blast from the past returns to the challengers chair
Join Mike for that.I'll be back on Wednesday, hopefully recapping Graeme's 7th and then 8th game.
So still then, bye bye.
Statistics Corner
Graeme:
Total score - 99
Raw score - 106
Total % of max - 83
Raw % of max - 89
Total average score per round - 6.6
Raw average score per round - 7.1
Number of maxes - 9
Aidan:
Total score - 57
Raw score - 82
Total % of max - 48
Raw % of max - 69
Total average score per round - 3.8
Raw average score per round - 5.5
Number of maxes - 5
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=65