NG 272

New game 272 is now available.


Round 1: M W O T S P E K O


I struggled here, with what is a fairly difficult mix.  I had MOST, MOTES, and SPOOK.  After time I noted SPOKE as another five, and a little later TEMPOS for six.  (Although I was a bit unsure as to whether it would be alright, as I knew TEMPI was listed as a plural form.  But both are acceptable.)

There are two sevens here: TWOSOME and MOPOKES.  Some sources would allow SMOKEPOT for eight, even, but it's not in the Macquarie.  The other sixes are MOPOKE and KOTOWS (KOTOW being a variant spelling of KOWTOW).

My selection: SPOOK
Best: MOPOKES


Round 2: L N T S I O A D M

I had LINK, TALIONS (TALION: "retaliation as authorised by law, especially when the punishment inflicted corresponds in kind and degree to the injury, as 'eye for eye'") / LATIONS (LATION being listed as an Aboriginal English term for "a relative"), and a speculative MALISON (an old word for a curse, but I thought I recalled checking on it another time and finding it not listed; whether or not that is true, it is not listed).

I noted that an E instead of the O would have allowed DISMANTLE for nine, and after time checked up on SAINTDOM and MONADIST.  Neither is valid, although MONADISM is, making MONADIST a surprising exclusion (MONADISM: "the doctrine of monads as ulimate units of being").  I also noted the other sevens of ALMONDS and DALTONS (DALTON being another term for an atomic mass unit).

That last should have guided me to the nine here; DALTONISM is another name for colour blindness.  There's also an eight: SALMONID, any fish of a certain family.

The other sevens are DOMAINS / DAIMONS (DAIMON being a variant spelling of DAEMON, "a subordinate deity"), DIATOMS / MASTOID, LADINOS (LADINO: "an uncontrollable horse, steer, etc.; a stray"), SOMITAL (adjective derived from SOMITE: "any of the longitudinal series of segments or parts into which the body of certain animals is divided"), and possibly AMIDOLS.

My selection: LATIONS
Best: DALTONISM


Round 3: Target 106 from 100 75 7 6 2 9

Really not much to say about this: 106 = 100 + 6.

My selection: 106 = 100 + 6


Round 4: S E I L R R C E D

I had ISLE, RILES, RESILE ("to spring back; rebound"), RESILED, SERRIED (SERRY: "to force to crowd closely together"), and rightly rejected RESLICED.

There are two eights to be had: DECRIERS / DESCRIER.  The other sevens are DECRIES, DECRIER, DESIRER, and DECILES (DECILE: "Statistics one of the values of a variable which divides its distribution into ten groups having equal frequencies").

My selection: RESILED
Best: DECRIERS


Round 5: R N F E A I S N I

I had FERN, INFER, INFERS, and FANNIES.  After time I noted FANNERS as another seven.

The other sevens are ASININE, SIENNAS, and FINISES.

My selection: FANNIES


Round 6: Target 810 from 75 100 5 4 10 4

My first instinct was to make this as 10*81, leading to 810 = (75 + 5 + 4/4)*10.  Then I looked instead at 9*90 and found the solution 810 = (100 - 10)*(5 + 4).

My selection: 810 = (100 - 10)*(5 + 4)


Round 7: C S P S G O O G E

I had COGS, SCOOPS, and a dubious SPOOGES.  I'd never have tried SPOOGES on the show, of course, but I gave it a try here (albeit with some hesitation about lowering the tone).  But it isn't listed, which surprised me a little -- the Macquarie has never held back on listing sexual slang; I'd have been better off taking the self-censoring route.

Six is the best to be done; the others are COPSES / SCOPES and GOOSES.

My selection: [invalid -- SPOOGES]
Best: SCOOPS


Round 8: Target 877 from 50 100 5 8 3 6

The offset of 27 looked more promising than the offset of 23, and I was fortunate to note that 27 = 5*6 - 3.  That led to the solution 877 = 8*100 + 50 + 5*6 - 3.

My selection: 877 = 8*100 + 50 + 5*6 - 3


Round 9: WHOSE UREA

Yet another conundrum that was chosen explicitly after being presented with a similar one.

My selection: [N/A -- conundrum chosen explicitly]
Best: WAREHOUSE