NG 53

New game 53 is now available.


Round 1: S D K R A A I A E

I had DARK, DARKS (I was slightly uncertain, thinking of a noun sense; I think that is defensible, but DARK is also listed as a verb synonymous with DARKEN so this is all right), RAIDS, DRAKES, RISKED, and DARKIES.  As I commented back on episode 61, although this has a derogatory meaning (which would have made it problematic for the show) it also has an acceptable one as another name for the fish luderick.

DARKIES looks like the only seven.  The other sixes are DARKIE, KAISER ("an emperor; a Caesar"), and AIDERS / RAISED.  If allowing derived forms of inflected spellings then DIKERS would also be valid (DIKE is listed as an alternate spelling for the verb DYKE: "to enclose, restrain, or protect by a dyke" and the form DYKER is listed).

My selection: DARKIES


Round 2: N C L U O T R E F

Good letters, and after a bit I recognised them as a subset of COUNTRY LIFE, the soap that I've mentioned a few times.  From many hours in the shower staring at them I know the nines and they all need an I, so eight would be the maximum.  Unfortunately I don't know the eights offhand...

I had a speculative UNCLE (the final E did turn up), COUNT, COUNTER / RECOUNT, and FORTUNE.  Lots of sevens, but I could not find an eight even after time.

There was one there, though, and it got a mention twice in the show in episode 306 (where it was part of a full monty) and episode 359.  To CONFUTE is "to prove to be false or defective; disprove" and CONFUTER is listed as an eight.  It seems to be the only one.

The other sevens are CONFUTE, FLOUNCE, FLOUTER, TROUNCE, COULTER ("a sharp blade or wheel attached to the beam of a plough, used to cut the ground in advance of the ploughshare"), FUNCTOR ("a factor among others which brings about a certain condition; a parameter"), FLEURON ("an ornamental flower-like design, used in printing, architecture, pastry-garnishing, etc."), and NOCTULE ("any of a number of large reddish insectivorous bats [...]").

My selection: COUNTER


Round 3: Target 528 from 75 25 50 100 4 3

My first instead was to try to make this as 7*75 + 3, but it does not seem feasible to get both the 7 and the 3 (without also using up the 75).  It seems clear that one should keep back the 3, and the rest must be manageable.  I discounted making it as 4*125 + 25 at first and instead found 528 = 4*(100 + 50) - 75 + 3, and then realised that -- as I have used many times before -- there are two ways to make 125 and the other also works: 528 = 4*(75 + 50) + 25 + 3.

My selection: 528 = 4*(100 + 50) - 75 + 2



Round 4: I E G N P E O R T

The -ING showed up early, but I had problems using it.  I had PING, PEEING, INTEGER / TREEING, and POINTER / PROTEIN.

The eight I was looking for is PETERING (as I've mentioned a few times on the blog, to PETER is "(in whist) to signal or call for trumps").

The other sevens are PEERING, PORTING, PIONEER / PEREION ("the thorax of crustaceans"), PROTÉGÉ, TROPINE (a chemical), GENITOR ("a father in the biological sense, sometimes distinguished from a legal or acting father"), and EPIGONE ("an inferior imitator or follower of an important writer, painter, etc.").

My selection: INTEGER


Round 5: L D T L U O I M T

An unpromising mix!  I had DULL, and correctly rejected MULTI (prefix only) and OUTMILL.  After time I saw DITTO as a possible five.

There are sixes available, though: MODULI (plural of MODULUS: "(of a number, especially a complex number) magnitude or absolute value"), ULTIMO ("in or of the month preceding the present"), and TOLUID (variant form of TOLUIDE, a type of chemical).

The other fives are MOULD, MOULT, TUMID, and ODIUM.

My selection: DULL


Round 6: Target 894 from 25 2 4 8 5 10

I floundered a bit here and ended up one away with 895 = (5*8 - 4)*25 - 10/2.  After time I managed to spot a different route to the 900 which left tweaking options, and found the solution 894 = ((10 + 8)*25 - 5)*2 + 4.

There's a small number of other solutions.  The one which seems most findable was to note the factorisation of 3*298, and work on that to get 894 = (5 - 2)*(10*(25 + 4) + 8).

My selection: 895 = (5*8 - 4)*25 - 10/2


Round 7: N D S X E O E T G

I had SEND, NODES, and EXTENDS.  After time I noted DETOXES as another seven.

The other seven is DENOTES.

My selection: EXTENDS


Round 8: Target 544 from 2 5 3 4 8 3

My first instinct was to get close with 27*20.  That used up the 4, alas, but did get me two off with 542 = (3*8 + 3)*5*4 + 2.  Then while considering 28*20 I realised that the target was 560 - 16, which meant a factor of 8.  The cofactor is 68 which is 4*17, so that was rather promising and shortly after that observation I had a solution: 544 = (3*5 + 2)*4*8.

There are two other solutions, both exploiting similar factorisations: 544 = (2*(3 + 3) + 5)*4*8 and 544 = (5*(3 + 3) + 4)*2*8.

My selection: 544 = (3*5 + 2)*4*8


Round 9: CERE TAKER

I would have used a different division, but that is how it was presented to me and I figured everyone else could suffer through the distraction of not-CARETAKER also. *chuckles*  I did not solve this -- the answer is RACKETEER.

My selection: [no answer]