Thursday 7 March 2013

NG 79

New game 79 is now up.


Round 1: R P W E E C E R U

I had WEEP, CREEP, and CREEPER.

CREEPER is the only seven, and the only six is WEEPER.

My selection: CREEPER


Round 2: S F A I S S L U A

A lot more duplication in this round, bother.  I had SASS, LASSIS (LASSI: "a sweet or savoury Indian drink made from yoghurt or buttermilk, mixed with water"), and SALSAS (referring either to the dance or the sauce).  I briefly contemplated ASSFULS, but it's no surprise that it is not a word.

There is a seven here, though: The vexingly straightforward ASSAILS.  The other sixes are ASSAIL, SISALS (SISAL being either a type of fibre used for making ropes, or "a plant yielding such fibre"), and FUSILS (FUSIL: "a light musket or flintlock").

My selection: SALSAS


Round 3: Target 358 from 50 5 8 2 9 7

A straightforward 358 = 7*50 + 8 was almost all I bothered with, but then I decided to avoid the large number and also found 358 = 8*9*5 - 2.

My selection: 358 = 7*50 + 8


Round 4: M D A A T R O H M

I had DATA, DRAMA, and MATADOR.  Those two words were a little amusing to me, because in each instance I had noticed that they would be available if the next letter were right, and it was.

MATADOR is the only seven.  The sixes are MARMOT (a type of ground squirrel; I'll note that the animal presented here is not actually a marmot), DHARMA ("(in Hinduism and Buddhism) essential quality or character" plus several similar meanings), and DAMMAR ("a copal-like resin, chiefly from trees [...] in Southern Asia [...], much used for making colourless varnish").

My selection: MATADOR


Round 5: D T N I D A L E C

This round hurts.  I had DINT, DIALECT / CITADEL, CANDLED, CANDIED, and then spotted DEDICANT.  Unfortunately, the Macquarie does not have it; Chambers does ("a person who dedicates").  I've most often seen it used in religious contexts.

The other sevens are DELTAIC / EDICTAL, DILATED, and NIDATED (NIDATE: "to implant in a uterus").

But there is an eight after all: TIDELAND (an American term: "land in the interidal zone").

My selection: [invalid -- DEDICANT]


Round 6: Target 794 from 50 6 10 7 9 1

Much like the first numbers round, find the appropriate multiple of 50 and adjust by the rest.  I found 794 = (9 + 7)*50 - 6 and left it at that.

My selection: 794 = (9 + 7)*50 - 6


Round 7: O E O B P T Y I N

I had OBOE, BOOT, BOOTY, POINTY, and POTION.  I had hoped for a final S for OBESITY, but no such luck.

After time I noted that PONYBITE could be formed from the letters, but unsurprisingly there's no entry for it.  There is one for HORSE BITE (as two words), though.

A bit later again I was pleased to see BIOTYPE ("a group of organisms with the same hereditary characteristics") for seven.

That's the only seven; the other sixes are BOOTIE, OPTION, POINTE ("(in ballet) the tip of the toe"), TOONIE (the Canadian two-dollar coin), BONITO (a type of tuna), and BETONY (a type of herb).

My selection: POINTY


Round 8: Target 694 from 100 5 3 10 8 5

This round was a struggle, with a 6 very hard to make from the small numbers.  I wrote down a fallback 695 = (10 - 3)*100 - 5, and in the end that was where I stayed.

With good reason, as it turns out: The target is not achievable.  There are many ways to one off (on both sides), though.

My selection: 695 = (10 - 3)*100 - 5 (1 off)


Round 9: RAINY GIFT

I pulled out the -ING, didn't see anything useful from the result, and moved on in search of other potential conundrums.  That was careless, as the answer is RATIFYING.

My selection: [no answer]

8 comments:

Jan said...

CREEPER
SALSAS
7*50 + 8 = 358
MATADOR
DILATED
(10+7+1)*50 - 6 = 794
POTION
((10-8) + 5)*100 - 5 = 695. 1 off
-

Jan said...

Just saw the conundrum! RATIFYING

Sam Gaffney said...

CREEPER
LASSIS?
358 = 7*50 + 8
MATADOR
DILATED
794 = (9+7)*50 - 6
OPTION
one off: 695 = (10-3)*100 - 5
3.3s with ARTIFYING, but switched to RATIFYING, probably within time.

Jan said...

Oops - typo in the second numbers round. Should have been 10 + 7 -1 etc

Victor said...

Well spotted with Matador, Jan and Sam.

1. PURER
2. ASSAILS
3. 358 = 7*50 + 8
4. AROMA
5. CITADEL
6. 794 = (9 + 7)*50 - 6
7. POINTE
8. 1-away: 695 = (10 - 3)*100 - 5
9. X (INGRATIFY - 10.0s) (I made this word up)

Mike Backhouse said...

Back from Brisbane to the (so called) Sunshine Coast!

PURER (missed CREEPER - grrrr...)
ASSAILS
Everyone's way
MATADOR
x-INLACED (not in my second edition but thought it might relate to technical aspects of a TV picture)
(6+10)*50-7-1=794
BOOTIE
(10-3)*100-8-5/5=693 (1 off)
x - ATRIFYING (well I think it should be a word!)

Mike Backhouse said...

I think I was thinking of INTERLACED rather than INLACED.

Geoff Bailey said...

I'm slightly behind with my writeups again; I'll aim to get them done tonight. I'm a bit relieved to see a lot of people struggled at the same places I did.

Sam: Yep, LASSIS is valid; that was my original option, until I decided that SALSAS was safer. Congratulations on (probably) solving the conundrum.

Well done to Victor and Mike on spotting ASSAILS; it seems obvious in retrospect, but it was elusive in practice. I missed it.

Mike: INLACED is valid in Scrabble (and meanings are both as a synonym for interlaced and also wrapped with laces, so you were reasonably on track), but the Macquarie does not have it. I wondered about it, too.

For the last numbers game the target is unreachable, and one away is the best that can be done.

My answers:

1. CREEPER
2. SALSAS
3. 358 = 7*50 + 8
4. MATADOR
5. [invalid: DEDICANT; it's in Chambers but not the Macquarie]
6. 794 = (9 + 7)*50 - 6
7. POINTY (found BIOTYPE after time)
8. 695 = (10 - 3)*100 - 5 (1 off, best possible)
9. - (gave up on this too early)