NG 281

New game 281 is now available.  Also, the (delayed) longer writeups for NG 268 through NG 275 are now up, and I'll finish 276 to 280 over the course of this week.


Round 1: R I K D N I A T S

I had DIRK, DRINK, and STRAIN.  Just after time I saw the seven of DISTAIN (marked as archaic for "to discolour; stain; sully") and somewhat later the more familiar DIARIST.

There is an eight here: DISTRAIN (a legal term: "to constrain by seizing and holding goods, etc., in pledge for rent, damages, etc., or in order to obtain satisfaction of a claim").  The other seven is NITRIDS (NITRID being a variant spelling of NITRIDE).

My selection: STRAIN
Best: DISTRAIN


Round 2: I A B B R H T I O

I had RABBI, TIBIA, optimistically contemplated HIBITOR (not valid), and THORIA (an oxide of thorium).  After time I noted ATHROB (not valid, to my surprise, although I must have looked this up before and been similarly surprised) and RABBIT, then checked on RABBITO and was surprised to find it was valid.  RABBITO is given as a variant form of RABBIT-OH, colloquial for "a street vendor selling rabbits".

The hyphen in RABBIT-OH is required, so there is no eight here.  If the H had been a second R then the mildly amusing RABBITOIR would be the full monty available.  RABBITO is the only seven, and the other six on offer is HOBBIT.

My selection: THORIA
Best: RABBITO


Round 3: Target 892 from 75 100 10 8 2 5

I started by working up from 800, which was perhaps more straightforward than one might expect: 892 = 8*100 + 75 + 10 + 5 + 2.  Then I went for the more attractive option of 900 - 8 and found the alternative solution 892 = (10 + 2)*75 - 8.

My selection: 892 = (10 + 2)*75 - 8


Round 4: M S L E O E R A H

I had ELMS, MOLES, MORSEL, and ARMHOLES.  After time I noted EARHOLES as another eight.

Those are the only eights; the sevens are ARMHOLE, EARHOLE, HEALERS, AREOLES, and probably MORALES although one could make a case for it not being valid.

Update: Commenter Victor points out that I overlooked the other eight of ARSEHOLE.

My selection: ARMHOLES


Round 5: S T O S A I E F M

I had SOTS, SEATS, and FOAMIEST.  Then I noted down a few other shorter words that I liked: TMESIS ("the separation of words that constitute a compound or construction by the insertion of other elements [...]"; in true Macquarie style they give an example of "kangabloodyroo"), FOAMIES (FOAMIE: "a surfboard made from plastic foam"; I recall David finding this once in what turns out to be episode 442), and FOMITES (plural of FOMES: "a substance, as bedding or clothing (but not food), capable of transmitting infection").

The other eights are SEMISOFT and ATOMISES / SOMATISE ("to convert psychological distress into physical disorders, usually to gain attention, elicit sympathy, etc.").

The other sevens are ATOMISE / ATOMIES (plural of ATOMY, either an archaic term for an atom or an obselete term for a skeleton), SOFTIES, FIESTAS, SAMITES (SAMITE: "a heavy silk fabric, sometimes interwoven with gold, worn in the Middle Ages") / TAMISES (TAMIS: "a cloth sieve or strainer"), and SOMITES (SOMITE: "any of the longitudinal series of segments or parts into which the body of certain animals is divided").  No explicit plural form is given for FATSO, so it would have to go to adjudication as to whether FATSOES is valid or not.

My selection: FOAMIEST


Round 6: Target 998 from 10 2 9 4 7 5

It seems clear to try and make this as 1000 - 2, so I started pulling out factors.  After the 10 and the 5, I realised that the remaining three would give me the required 20 and so had my solution: 998 = (9 + 7 + 4)*5*10 - 2.

There are two other solutions: 998 = ((10 + 4)*5*7 + 9)*2 and 998 = ((9 + 5)*10 + 2)*7 + 4.

My selection: 998 = (9 + 7 + 4)*5*10 - 2


Round 7: D E E T A N R T G

I had TEED, DATE, ANTED (later checking shows that ANTEED is an acceptable alternative form), an uncertain ATTENDER, DANGER, and DRAGNET / GRANTED.  I decided to chance ATTENDER and fortunately it is valid.  After time I noted ENTREAT and REAGENT as other sevens, and TARGETED as another eight.

The other eight is the safer anagram of ATTENDER: NATTERED.

The other sevens are ANGERED / ENRAGED / DERANGE / GRENADE / GRANDEE ("a Spanish nobleman of the highest rank"), NEGATED, TREATED, GRANTEE, TENTAGE ("tents collectively; equipment or supply of tents"), TERNATE ("consisting of three; arranged in threes") / RATTEEN (obsolete variant spelling of RATINE: "a rough woollen cloth, formerly in use chiefly for travelling coats"), and DENTATE ("having a toothed margin, or toothlike projections or processes").

My selection: ATTENDER


Round 8: Target 298 from 50 100 6 10 9 1

The simplest way to 300 is 6*50, and the rest works out satisfactorily: 298 = 6*50 - (10 + 1 - 9).

My selection: 298 = 6*50 - (10 + 1 - 9)


Round 9: MOURN TUBE

After extracting the OUT- fragment is was not too hard to get to the answer of OUTNUMBER.

My selection: OUTNUMBER (2.3s)