Countdown series 64 episode 2: Mike Pickering, Gavin Cooksley (July 31, 2012; originally aired January 11, 2011)

It felt like a tough set of rounds today (and the maximum total bears that out to an extent), but there were some longer options lurking there to be found.

The c4countdown recap is here.


Round 1: W E A G S N U P Z

A tough set to start; I had WAGE and WAGES.  While checking up on another option I ran across UNPEGS, which is the word found by DC.  The other sixes are PUNGAS (PUNGA being a variant spelling of PONGA, another name for the silver fern) and GAUZES, although I gather that Countdown would not allow this last -- presumably it treats GAUZE as a mass noun, and does not list the verb sense that the Macquarie has.

Mike: WAGES
Gavin: USAGE
Me: WAGES
DC: UNPEGS

Scores: 5 apiece


Round 2: G C I E M R O N E

I had MICE, CRIME, MICRON, and REGION.  I spent some time looking for a way to use -ING for seven or more, but could not.  After time I noted that a final O instead of E would have allowed ERGONOMIC, which led me to find GENOMIC for seven.

DC found GENERIC for seven; the other sevens are INCOMER and REGIMEN.  But the eight -- at least, according to the Macquarie -- is EROGENIC (a synonym of EROGENOUS).

Mike: CRIME
Gavin: CRINGE
Me: REGION
DC: GENERIC

Scores: Mike 5, Gavin 11, me 11


Round 3: A I A S V T E D M

I had VISA, AVAST, MISDATE, and ATAVISM ("reversion to an earlier type").  After time I noted AVIATES and AVIATED, which are legal in Countdown but not Letters and Numbers, and DATIVES (DATIVE being a grammatical case).

Later searching turns up VISTAED and AMATIVE ("amorous") as the other sevens.  But there are two eight-letter words in this mix: ADAMSITE ("a yellow irritant smoke [...] used as a poison gas") / DIASTEMA ("a gap between two teeth").

Mike: STAVED
Gavin: AVIATES
Me: ATAVISM
DC: MISDATE

Scores: Mike 5, Gavin 18, me 18


Round 4: K S I E T R O P H

I had KITES, STRIKE, PORKIEST (not in the Macquarie, but Countdown allows it; in general, it is much more accepting of comparatives and superlatives of two-syllable adjectives that end in Y), STROPHE ("the part of an ancient Greek choral ode sung by the chorus when moving from right to left"), and -- at the last moment -- TROPHIES.

Mike: PORKIEST
Gavin: TROPHIES
Me: TROPHIES

Scores: Mike 13, Gavin 26, me 26


Round 5: Target 274 from 50 6 7 3 3 6

It took a small amount of tinkering to find the right tweak, but I got there within time: 274 = 6*(50 - 6) + 7 + 3.  That was also Rachel's solution.  My favourite of the other solutions is 274 = 3*3*6*6 - 50.

Mike is two away with 276, but Gavin gets the points with a one-away 273 = (50 - 3)*6 - (6 + 3).

Mike: 276
Gavin: 273
Me: 274
RR: 274

Scores: Mike 13, Gavin 26 (33), me 36


First break: CLIP SALE ("The group reforms to make things tasty")

I don't really understand this clue for ALLSPICE, but I guess it was a reference to the Spice Girls.


Round 6: D M E I N W A M O

I had DIME, MINED, and MOANED.  After time I saw ANOMIE ("a social vacuum marked by an absence of social norms or values") as another six.

Mike has DOMAIN, but in Countdown he could have appended an E for DOMAINE.  DC has found the excellent MADWOMEN for eight, and this turns out to be one of the Macquarie's more bizarre omissions: It is generally rather bad at listing -WOMAN words, but it does have MADWOMAN... but without listing the plural form.  Gah.

The other seven here is MIAOWED, a word which I have missed a few times.

Mike: DOMAIN
Gavin: MEADOW
Me: MOANED
DC: MADWOMEN

Scores: Mike 19, Gavin 32 (39), me 42


Round 7: B U A S T V I U R

I had ABUTS / TUBAS, VISTA, BRUITS (BRUIT: "to noise abroad; rumour"), and AIRBUS.

The other sixes are AURIST (another term for an OTOLOGIST: "a physician expert in treating diseases of the ear") and possibly VIRTUS (VIRTU: "excellence or merit in objects of art, curios, and the like").  But there is a seven: ARBUTUS (a type of shrub or tree).

Mike: BURST
Gavin: BURST
Me: BRUITS

Scores: Mike 19 (24), Gavin 32 (44), me 48


Round 8: L R E U D R E C R

I had RULE / LURE, RULED / LURED, CURLED, and CURLER.  After time I saw CURDLE and wondered about CURDLER; the Macquarie does not list it, but it is acceptable in Countdown.  While checking up on some of my less likely possibilities I saw REDUCE and thus REDUCER for seven, and then RECURRED for eight.

Mike: [invalid: DERULED]
Gavin: [invalid: CURDLED]
Me: CURLED
DC: CURDLER, ULCERED (not in the Macquarie either, incidentally)

Scores: Mike 19 (24), Gavin 32 (44), me 54


Round 9: A I B T O D P I S

I had BAIT, BOAT, ADOPT, IDIOT, IDIOTS, ADOPTS, and PATOIS ("a regional dialect often differing markedly from the standard form of the language") / PATIOS; after time I saw TIBIAS as another six.

DC found BIPODS as another six, and the remaining six is BIOTAS (BIOTA: "the total animal and plant life of a region, or sometimes a period, as seen collectively and interdependently").

Mike: IDIOTS
Gavin: ADOPTS
Me: PATOIS
DC: BIPODS

Scores: Mike 25 (30), Gavin 38 (50), me 60


Round 10: Target 565 from 25 2 10 6 4 8

All those even small numbers are going to make an odd target difficult.  I was not able to solve this in time, ending up one away with 564 = (2*25 + 6)*10 + 4.  After time I used the 25 for the odd component, finding the solution 565 = 25 + (8*6 + 2 + 4)*10 -- I just about had this within time, but ran out of time.

Mike is out of scoring range, but Gavin is three away with 568 = (6*4 - 2)*25 + 10 + 8.  Rachel has found the solution listed above.

Mike: [out of range]
Gaving: 568
Me: 564
RR: 565

Scores: Mike 25 (30), Gavin 38 (57), me 67


Second break: SAME TOOT ("Go on red but stop on green")

An amusing clue for TOMATOES.


Round 11: A N O R N E L N H

I had ROAN and LOANER.  DC has found the other six of LANNER, a type of falcon.

Mike: LOANER
Gavin: LOANER
Me: LOANER
DC: LANNER

Scores: Mike 31 (36), Gavin 44 (63), me 73


Round 12: S T E O X T A N O

I had TOES, TOTES, TEXTS, TEXTAS, NOTATES, SEXTON, EXTANT, and SEXTANT.

That's both sevens; the other sixes are ATONES, NOTATE, SEXTAN ("(of a fever, etc.) characterised by paroxysms which recur every sixth day"), and AXONES (AXONE being a variant spelling of AXON: "the appendage of a neuron which transmits impulses from the neuron to other cells").

Mike: SEXTANT
Gavin: TOAST
Me: SEXTANT
DC: NOTATES

Scores: Mike 38 (43), Gavin 44 (63), me 80


Round 13: A T E I L T S E D

Almost a full monty this round, with an O instead of that second E allowing TOTALISED.  As it was, I had LATE, TITLE, LATEST, DILATES, and SETTLED.  After time I noted DETAILS as a more frequently found seven.

The other sevens are SLATTED, STILTED, IDEATES (IDEATE: "to form ideas; think"), ESTATED (ESTATE as a verb: "to establish in or as in an estate"), and DELATES (DELATE: "to inform against; denounce or accuse").

But there is an eight here (with consequent seven): LADETTES (LADETTE: "a young female partner of a lad, with similar dress style and behaviour").

Mike: DETAILS
Gavin: DETAILS
Me: SETTLED
DC: DILATES, SETTLED

Scores: Mike 45 (50), Gavin 51 (70), me 87


Round 14: Target 365 from 100 10 1 6 4 3

A straightforward build-as-you-go target; everyone has 365 = 3*100 + 6*10 + 4 + 1 in short order.

Mike: 365
Gavin: 365
Me: 365

Scores: Mike 55 (60), Gavin 61 (80), me 97


Round 15: S E M I T I G H T

The -IGHT fragment is usually relevant, so it was a matter of shifting it around.  That gave me the answer just after the second mark, and Mike found it only a little afterwards.

Mike: MIGHTIEST (2s)
Gavin: [no answer]
Me: MIGHTIEST (1.5s)

Final scores: Mike 55 (70), Gavin 71 (80), me 107