NG 412

New game 412 is now available.


Round 1: A I R S T P R U A

I had AIRS, STAIRS, TAPIRS, PURIST, TIARAS, and wondered if UPSTAIR was acceptable.  I decided against it, which was the right decision.  After time I noted another six of SATRAP ("a governor of a province under the ancient Persian monarchy").

There are two sevens to be had: STIRRUP / IRRUPTS (IRRUPT: "to burst or intrude suddenly").

My selection: TAPIRS
Best: STIRRUP


Round 2: I G E U W H F S B

Ergh, what a mix.  I had HUGE, WIFE, flirted with BUGFISH and SUBWIFE but never seriously, and tried to decide if WIFES or WHIGS might be valid.  Both required a certain optimism (a verb sense of WIFE, a lowercase use of WHIG), and I ended up discarding them.  That was correct, but it left me with only a four to declare.  After time I played around a bit, spotting a dubious FEWISH (not valid) and then finally the six of WEIGHS.

WEIGHS appears to be the only six, and the best to be done.  (The Macquarie lists BEWIGGED but not BEWIG, so BEWIGS is not valid.)  Some other sources would allow HUSWIFE (either an old variant of HOUSEWIFE, or a term for a sewing case; this latter sense is used in Jane Austen's Emma, for instance).

The fives are WEIGH, GUISE, and GIBES.

My selection: HUGE
Best: WEIGHS


Round 3: Target 976 from 75 2 1 5 6 1

The target is 13*75 + 1, and it was a short step from that observation to a solution: 976 = (6 + 5 + 2)*75 + 1.

My selection: 976 = (6 + 5 + 2)*75 + 1


Round 4: K D C D A E M E S

I had CAKED, wondered about MACKED (not valid; I thought there was a colloquial sense of MACK to do with kissing, but it's not in the Macquarie), SMACKED, and DECADES.

SMACKED and DECADES are the only sevens, and the best on offer.

My selection: DECADES


Round 5: T O D U E G E N F

I had OUTED, an uncertain GOUTED (not valid), and TONGUED.

TONGUED seems to be the only seven.  The sixes are TONGUE, FONDUE, DENOTE, and DENGUE.

My selection: TONGUED


Round 6: Target 697 from 100 4 9 6 5 3

It seemed pretty clear to make this as 7*100 - 3, and although keeping the three aside has removed the most obvious way to make the 7, there are still several others.  I went with 697 = (6 + 5 - 4)*100 - 3.

My selection: 697 = (6 + 5 - 4)*100 - 3


Round 7: A C C O I R T B S

I had COCA, ACTOR, and ABORTS.  I kept getting distracted by the not-there ACROBATS, but after time I saw ACROSTIC for eight.

ACROSTIC is the only eight (ASCORBIC is only part of the compound noun ASCORBIC ACID).  The sevens are BORACIC (variant form of BORIC: "of or relating to boron") and ACROTIC (adjective derived from ACROTISM: "absence or weakness of the pulse").

My selection: ABORTS
Best: ACROSTIC


Round 8: Target 206 from 75 5 6 8 9 5

The target is 8*25 + 6, and that broke down nicely without needing the 75 at all: 206 = 8*5*5 + 6.

My selection: 206 = 8*5*5 +


Round 9: BENT TIGER

The -ING fragment was rewarding here, with the remainder resolving easily to give BETTERING.

My selection: BETTERING (1.6s)