NG 135

New game 135 is now available; apologies for the delay.


Round 1: D T D S I A E A N

I had STAID, wondered about DADAIST (it is valid, a noun derived from DADA: "a movement in art and literature, originating in Zurich and lasting from about 1915 to 1922, which intended to outrage and offend by deliberately flouting traditional aesthetic standards and social mores"; my concern had been in case it was capitalised, but it is not named after a person after all, so lowercase is fine), STAINED, and DANDIEST.

DANDIEST looks like the only eight, and there are a fair few other sevens: DISTEND, DANDIES, DETAINS / SAINTED / INSTEAD / NIDATES (NIDATE: "to implant in a uterus"), NIDATED, NAIADES (one plural form of NAIAD: "one of a class of water-nymphs fabled to dwell in and preside over streams and springs"), and ANSATED (variant form of ANSATE: "having a handle or handle-like part").

My selection: DANDIEST


Round 2: L R B L E E U I C

I had BELL, REBEL, wondered about BULLIER (I was thinking as a comparative, since BULLY would be the agent noun), an uncertain CULLER (it is valid), and BILLER.

After time I checked on BRÛLÉE (only listed as part of the phrase CRÈME BRÛLÉE) and BRUCELLI (hoping that this was a plural of BRUCELLUS, which I in turn hoped was the bacteria behind BRUCELLOSIS; but there's no BRUCELLUS and no BRUCELLI -- the term I wanted was BRUCELLA but the Macquarie does not list it in any case).

The seven here is LIBELER.  The other sixe is BELIER (REBILL does not get a mention, strangely).

My selection: BILLER
Best: LIBELER


Round 3: Target 907 from 75 1 7 10 6 9

Clearly a case for the standard method, so putting aside the 7 leaves the requirement to make 12 from the other small numbers.  There's a couple of ways but I went with the easy 907 = (10 + 9 - 6 - 1)*75 + 7.  Then I tried a different way to make the 900 and saved a number with 907 = 10*(75 + 9 + 6) + 7.

My selection: 907 = 10*(75 + 9 + 6) + 7


Round 4: D S K T A I M T E

I had TASK, ADITS, MISTAKE, wondered if somehow MISTAKED had ended up  in the dictionary (it has not), DIKTATS (DIKTAT: "a harsh settlement imposed on a defeated group"), and was pretty tempted by MIDSTATE but it felt a bit too American-only to me.  That may have been poor reasoning, but it was the right result as MIDSTATE is not listed.

I'd hoped for a final O to allow MATTOIDS, but no such luck.  After time I checked up on MEDKITS but it is not listed.

Seven seems to be the best on offer; the other is MISDATE.

My selection: MISTAKE


Round 5: T P H G R U E O T

I had RUTH, PURGE, one of my "pet" words of UPHROE (variant spelling of EUPHROE: "Nautical an oblong or oval piece of word perforated with holes through which small lines are rove, forming a crowfoot, from which an awning is suspended"), TROUPE / POUTER, and TOUGHER for seven.  After time I noted GHETTO as another six.

The other seven in this mix is TURPETH ("a drug obtained from the roots of a plant, Operculina turpethum, of South-East Asia, formerly used as a purgative").

My selection: TOUGHER


Round 6: Target 416 from 50 9 7 2 5 4

Pulling out the factors is easy enough -- just keep dividing by two!  The target is 2*208 = 4*104 = 8*52 = 16*26 = 32*13.  I stopped at the 8*52 stage and found the solution 416 = (50 + 2)*(7 + 5 - 4).  Then I tried more prosaic means of working down from 450, and a tweak gave me the solution 416 = 9*(50 - 4) + 2.

My selection: 416 = 9*(50 - 4) + 2


Round 7: R G P C R A A I N

I had CARP, CARING, CARPING, and ARRAIGN.

The other seven is CRAPING (CRAPE being a variant spelling of CREPE: "to cover, clothe, or drape with crepe").  Another should be PARRING, as the Macquarie does list PAR as a verb.  It fails to list the inflected forms, though, which would incorrectly suggest they are PARED and PARING (which are actually the inflected forms of PARE).  Just one more error on the Macquarie's part.

My selection: ARRAIGN


Round 8: Target 720 from 75 4 5 7 7 10

Pulling out the factor of 10 is an obvious starting point, and it did not take much to find 720 = (75 - (7 - 4))*10.  I wondered if the large number could be avoided entirely, though, and was rather pleased to manage it with 720 = ((7 + 4)*7 - 5)*10.

My selection: 720 = ((7 + 4)*7 - 5)*10


Round 9: SEDGES ERR

A good case for building from fragments, with the RE- and -ED common options.  Combined with a likely doubled S there was not much left to piece together to produce REGRESSED.

My selection: REGRESSED (4.2s)