NG 749

New game 749 is now available.

The re-run is episode 12; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: R E I O D F E R D

I had RODE, FRIED, and FERRIED.  I also observed REFRIED, but recalled from past experience (new game 483, it turns out) that it is not in the Macquarie.  An annoying omission, but there is a safe anagram.

The Scrabble list I consult lists FODDERER, but it is not in the Macquarie so seven is the limit.  The other sevens are ORDERED, DERIDER, and FOREDID.

My selection: FERRIED


Round 2: I O T B A L U E N

I had OBIT, BIOTA, UNABLE, NOTABLE, and ABLUTION.

The other eights are TAILBONE and ABUTILON (a type of flower).  The other sevens are BAILOUT / TABOULI, OUTLINE / ELUTION, ELATION / TOENAIL, TUNABLE / ABLUENT ("a cleansing agent; a detergent"), NIOBATE, ALUNITE (a mineral), BUTANOL, and BOTULIN.

My selection: ABLUTION


Round 3: Target 172 from 50 10 4 7 9 3

I went straight to the factorisation 4*43, getting 172 = 4*(50 - 7).

My selection: 172 = 4*(50 - 7)


Round 4: C A E D T H W S E

I had ACED, ACTED, WATCHED, SCATHED, and DETACHES.  After time I noted SWATHED and WATCHES as other sevens, then checked up on SWATCHED.  It turns out to be valid, as SWATCH has a verb sense listed as synonymous with SWATHE.

That's both eights listed.  The other sevens are CHEATED, TEACHES / ESCHEAT ("(formerly) the reversion of land to the feudal lord or the Crown in the absence of heirs of the owner"), HEADSET, CHESTED, and SWEATED.

My selection: DETACHES


Round 5: O A T C S A M E T

I had COAT, COAST, MASCOT, COSTATE ("bearing ribs"), and STOMATA (plural of STOMA).

The other sevens are TOMCATS, COMATES / CAMOTES (CAMOTE being a variant spelling of KAMOTE, a Philippine English term for a sweet potato), and CAEOMAS (one plural form of CAEOMA: "(in fungi) an aecium in which the spores are formed in chains and not enclosed in a peridium").

My selection: COSTATE


Round 6: Target 847 from 50 2 8 3 2 9

The target is 7*121, but I did not see a decent way to use that.  Instead, the standard method came through with 847 = (9 + 8)*50 - 3.

My selection: 847 = (9 + 8)*50 - 3


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

I had PONY, BONEY, OPINE, ENEMY, PIEMEN, and YEOMEN.  After time I checked up on BEMONEY, confirming that it was not valid.

The other six is EPONYM ("a name, especially a place name, which is taken, or is supposed to be taken, from a person, real or mythical").

My selection: YEOMEN


Round 8: Target 781 from 25 2 7 7 4 10

The target is 11*71, but again I was unable to make progress with that.  In the end I had to settle for one away with 780 = (7*7 + 25 + 4)*10.

It took me a while after time to find a solution.  The key insight came from thinking of the target as 756 + 25; 756 is obviously 7*108, and some playing with that gave me a solution of 781 = ((7 + 4)*10 - 2)*7 + 25.

There is only one other solution, which takes the same approach but makes the 108 in a different way: 781 = (2*10 + 7)*4*7 + 25.

My selection: 780 = (7*7 + 25 + 4)*10  [1 off]
Best: 781 = (2*10 + 7)*4*7 + 25


Round 9: SENILE CRY

Unfortunately, I was skipping through potential conundrums too quickly by this point, so did not solve this.

My selection: [no answer]
Best: SINCERELY