Ep 203: Andre Sardone, Tony Moran (October 19, 2016; originally aired May 11, 2011)

Rounds: Here.

Disclaimer: I watched this episode when it first aired, and although I did not recall any of it I cannot rule out memory being a factor.


It's the crucial fourth night for Andre.  As of writing this, I have not seen the previous episode so I don't know how it went, but consulting the books suggests that his score was a very good 69 points.  In the pre-game chat Richard says that it was a nail-biter, so his opponent must also have done well.  Then the topic turns to chess, and we find out that Andre is the tournament director of the Bendigo chess club.

Tonight's challenger is Tony Moran, a school principal from Gunnedah, which Richard describes as "the home of the koalas".  Tony is more precise, noting that Gunnedah claims to be "the koala capital of the world".  They have had koalas in their schoolyard in the past (although not this year because there is construction going on), and often find them in the gum trees in the backyard.  Richard asks if there is something particularly attractive to koalas about Gunnedah, to which Tony responds "lots of gum trees".


It was yet another close game for Andre tonight.  He scooted out to an early lead in the first two letters rounds, but Tony gained ground back when Andre was not able to make progress on the first numbers round.  The contestants matched each other over the next four rounds, then again Tony scored in the numbers while Andre was not able to get anywhere; that tied the scores going into the conundrum.  Andre was able to solve that conundrum very quickly, though, giving him the win 51 to 41.


Round 1: F T C O E R A S N

I had COTE, CROFT, FORCE, FACTOR, FACTORS, wished for a final I for FACTORIES / FACTORISE but Andre chose a consonant instead, ANCESTOR, FORECAST, and SEAFRONT.

Tony tries FROWNS for six, but of course there is no W and his answer is invalid.  After querying by David, Tony notes that he has a couple of other sixes but FROWNS was the option he unwisely chose.  Fortunately (in some sense) it does not matter, as Andre has TRANCES for seven to take the early lead.  David has found the eights of FORECAST and ANCESTOR.

The remaining eight here is ENACTORS.

Andre: TRANCES
Tony: [invalid -- FROWNS]
Me: ANCESTOR
David: FORECAST, ANCESTOR

Scores: Andre 0 (7), Tony 0, me 8


Round 2: V E G O R U M E T

I had GROVE, ROGUE, MORGUE, and GOURMET.

Tony has MEET for four, but Andre has again done well to find GOURMET for seven.  That was the best that David could do also, although he does refer back to the pre-game chat by observing that GUM TREE was in the mix.  (GUM TREE is only listed on its own as two words, although there is a single-word use as part of the term GUMTREE UNIVERSITY.  But per the show's policies, that means that GUMTREE cannot stand on its own and so is not valid.)

GOURMET is the only seven.  The other sixes are REMOVE, METEOR / REMOTE, REVOTE / VETOER, OEUVRE ("work, especially a literary or artistic work"), TERGUM ("the dorsal surface of a body segment of an arthropod"), and GEMOTE (variant spelling of GEMOT: "a meeting or an assembly in Anglo-Saxon England, as for judicial or legislative purposes").

Andre: GOURMET
Tony: MEET
Me: GOURMET
David: GOURMET

Scores: Andre 7 (14), Tony 0, me 15


Round 3: Target 827 from 50 25 5 3 10 7

The target is near 11*75, but an 11 is hard to come by without using up too much.  Looking for other approaches, I started with 825 = (10 + 5)*50 + 3*25, then realised that 17*50 was a better starting point.  Indeed, it gave me a solution: 827 = (10 + 7)*50 - 25 + 5 - 3.

Andre has not been able to get anywhere with this, but Tony has nicely got to one away with 828 = (25 + 50 + 7)*10 + 5 + 3.  That's some much-needed points for him.  Lily has found the same solution that I did.  So did David, as it turns out.

Andre: [no answer]
Tony: 828
Me: 827
Lily: 827

Scores: Andre 7 (14), Tony 0 (7), me 25


First break: UN BLOUSE ("The answer is rather cloudy")

Cloudy, or more precisely NEBULOUS.

David's talk is about the words foreign, forest, forum, and forensic.


Round 4: P I O S A D E N C

I had SOAP, ADIPOSE ("fatty"), OCEANIDS (OCEANID: "an ocean nymph") / DIOCESAN, and CANOPIES.

It's sixes from the contestants, with Andre having SOAPED while Tony has SCOPED.  David has opted for the eight of CANOPIES.

The remaining eights are CANOPIED and SPONDAIC ("of or relating to a spondee"; a spondee is one of the metrical feet in prosody).  There's various other sevens, of which I'll just mention DEACONS as one of the more findable.

Andre: SOAPED
Tony: SCOPED
Me: CANOPIES
David: CANOPIES

Scores: Andre 7 (20), Tony 0 (13), me 33


Round 5: R H J P O I A S M

I had HAIR, PARISH, was relieved when that final M made the mix a lot better and gave me APHORISM ("a terse saying embodying a general truth"), MAJORS, MOHAIRS, and spotted MAJORSHIP but knew from past checking that it was not listed.

It's fives from the contestants this time, with Tony having PAIRS to Andre's SHARP.  David has accurately found APHORISM for eight.

The sevens in this mix are ROMPISH ("given to romping") / ORPHISM ("an art movement dating from 1912, asserting the importance of colour as visual communication, resuling in a form of pure abstract painting"; the main entry is capitalised, but it is noted that it is often lower case).

Andre: SHARP
Tony: PAIRS
Me: APHORISM
David: APHORISM

Scores: Andre 7 (25), Tony 0 (18), me 41


Round 6: Target 806 from 50 25 75 6 10 10

Tony opts for the balanced mix, which is often tricky.  In my case I got a bit lost, and was considering one away with 805 = (75 + 6)*10 - 50/10 for a while.  I was happy to notice the adjustment to 806 = (75 + 50/10)*10 + 6, although just before time I realised that I had taken the scenic route as I found the much simpler 806 = 10*75 + 50 + 6.

Both contestants have solved this using that simpler solution, as did Lily.

Andre: 806
Tony: 806
Me: 806
Lily: 806

Scores: Andre 17 (35), Tony 10 (28), me 51


Second break: TRIES NIP ("In mint condition")

I found this one a bit hard, even with the clue, but eventually found the answer of PRISTINE.


Round 7: N D K I E T S A B

I had KIND, wondered if STINKED was acceptable (it is not), TANKED, knew from prior games that BANDIEST* is not valid, BANDIES (BANDIE being colloquial for a bandicoot), and STAINED.  After time I noted other sevens of KINDEST and DANKEST.

The contestants are matched again, this time with sixes, as Tony has found BANKED while Andre has BASKET.  David had hoped that BIKESTAND was a fully monty, but the Macquarie does not have it.  He mentions BANDITS as a seven, but has done one better by finding BEATNIKS for eight.

BEATNIKS is the only eight, and the best to be done.

Andre: BASKET
Tony: BANKED
Me: STAINED
David: BANDITS, BEATNIKS

Scores: Andre 17 (41), Tony 10 (34), me 58


Round 8: Target 383 from 50 75 25 3 10 9

I could not see a good way to make the necessary offset of 8, so the best that I could manage within time was one off with 382 = 9*50 - 75 + 10 - 3.  A little after time I realised that I could make the offset of 17 as 3*9 - 10, and putting that together with a tweak gave me the solution 383 = 3*(75 + 50 - 9) + 25 + 10.

Andre has not been able to get anywhere with this, but Tony has managed to get to one away with 384 = (50 + 75)*3 + 9.  That good result levels the scores going into the conundrum, so it will be a close finish.  Lily has found a simpler solution than I did: (50 - 9 - 3)*10 + 75/25.  Oh, well done!

Andre: [no answer]
Tony: 384
Me: 382
Lily: 383

Scores: Andre 17 (41), Tony 17 (41), me 65


Round 9: POOL UNLIT

I was pleased to spot the answer of POLLUTION early, and even more so when Andre buzzed in as soon as I restarted the video.  He had correctly found the answer, giving him the win in a game that could easily have gone either way.

Andre: POLLUTION (2.5s)
Tony: [no answer]
Me: POLLUTION (2s)

Scores: Andre 17 (51), Tony 17 (41), me 75


Yet another close game for Andre, who got out to an early lead only to be pegged back by Tony on the numbers.  That's somewhat of a reversal of Andre's earlier game against Jenny, where his better numberwork ensured his win.  Andre survives his fourth night, and his chances of making the finals are decent.