NG 282

New game 282 is now available.


Round 1: I G C E U R T L A

I had CURE, CURIE (a unit used for measuring radiation), LITRE, ARTICLE / RECITAL, RETICULA (plural of RETICULUM: "a network; any reticulated system or structure"), LIGATURE, and then somehow managed to drag CURTILAGE from the depths of my mind (CURTILAGE: "the area of land occupied by a dwelling and its yard and outbuildings, actually enclosed or considered as enclosed").  Woohoo, full monty!

There's another nine here: GRATICULE ("a grid of meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude drawn on a particular map projection; the basis on which a map or chart is plotted").

That's all the nines and eights listed; the other sevens are CURTAIL, GLACIER / GRACILE ("gracefully slender"), AURICLE ("a part like or likened to an ear"), UTRICLE ("a small sac or bag-like body, as an air-filled cavity in a seaweed"), and TEGULAR ("relating to or resembling a tile").

My selection: CURTILAGE


Round 2: T P P I M C S A E

I had PIMP, PIMPS, PASTIME, IMPACTS, and CAMPEST.  I flirted with the idea of CAMPIEST but correctly resisted it.  After time I saw CAMPSITE as a much more sensible option, but checking revealed that the Macquarie insists it is two words.  I was surprised by that -- I'd certainly have declared it if I had seen it within time.

Seven is the best to be done; the others are IMPASTE, PACIEST / ASEPTIC / SPICATE ("(of a plant) having spikes"), PEPTICS (PEPTIC: "a substance promoting digestion"), and SEMATIC ("serving as a sign or warning of danger, as the conspicuous colours or markings of certain poisonous animals").

My selection: PASTIME


Round 3: Target 316 from 75 25 1 8 5 2

From the start I decided to keep back the 8 and 2 to make the 16 (although with an eye toward tweaking with them if appropriate).  It took me rather longer than I would have liked to then find a suitable answer of 316 = (5 - 1)*75 + 8*2.  Then I considered the factorisation 4*79 and noted another option of 316 = (5 - 1)*(75 + 8/2).

My selection: 316 = (5 - 1)*75 + 8*2


Round 4: A R N A L U S L K

I had ANAL, ULNA, ULNAS, SAUNA, LARKS, and SKULL.

There are some sixes, although I'd not call any of them common: KNURLS (KNURL: "a small ridge or the like, especially one of a series, as on the edge of a thumbscrew to assist in obtaining a firm grip"), KRAALS (KRAAL: "South African an enclosure for cattle, etc."), ALULAR (adjective derived from ALULA: "the group of three to six small, rather stiff, feathers growing on the first digit, pollex, or thumb of a bird's wing"), and ANURAL ("tailless").

My selection: LARKS
Best: KNURLS


Round 5: C O B D G T E E I

I had BODGE, DECEIT, and BIGOTED.

The eight in the mix is GEODETIC ("relating to geodesy", which is "that branch of applied mathematics which determines the shape and area of large tracts of country, the exact position of geographical points, and the curvature, shape, and dimensions of the earth").

BIGOTED is the onlt seven; the other sixes are BODICE, COEDIT, BETIDE, and GEODIC (adjective derived from GEODE: "a rounded hollow in a rock coated with crystals which have grown freel inwards").

My selection: BIGOTED
Best: GEODETIC


Round 6: Target 682 from 50 25 75 8 5 8

The offsets are 7 and 18, neither of which felt very promising.  The former sufficed for one off easily enough, though, so I wrote down a fallback 683 = 8*75 + 50 + 25 + 8.  With a bit more playing around I stumbled upon the key point that the offset of 7 is also an offset of 32, and 32 is 5*8 - 8.  The tweaking worked out (although I took a slightly circuitous route) to give me a solution of 682 = 5*(75 + 50 + 8) + 25 - 8.

Seen while writing this up is the shorter version of that: 682 = 8*(75 + 5) + 50 - 8.

My selection: 682 = 5*(75 + 50 + 8) + 25 - 8


Round 7: M I O E H W U D R

I had HOME, HOMIE, HOMIER, RHEUM, WORMED, and then had a flashback to episode 323 and found HEIRDOM for seven.

The other sevens are HUMORED and HUMIDOR / RHODIUM.

My selection: HEIRDOM


Round 8: Target 780 from 100 25 1 2 5 2

Those small numbers are not overly promising, but I started by looking to get near.  6*125 is 750, which was a start; the difference is 30, which is 6*5, and the answer fell out: 780 = 2*(2 + 1)*(100 + 25 + 5).  Then I considered the alternative factorisation 26*30 for another solution of 780 = (100/(2*2) + 5)*(25 + 1).

Perhaps the most straightforward solution is 780 = (100 - 25 + 2 + 1)*5*2.

My selection: 780 = 2*(2 + 1)*(100 + 25 + 5)


Round 9: A NOISY EGG

I looked at the -ING fragment but the remainder was not promising.  The best-sounding effort I could come up with was GYNOGESIA, but I certainly wasn't prepared to try that.  It turns out that the -ING fragment was right after all but it was a tough ask to find the answer of EASYGOING.

My selection: [no answer]
Best: EASYGOING