NG 442

New game 442 is now available.


Round 1: N A D H I S M F A

I had HAND, HANDS, MAIDS, observed that a second D instead of the F would have allowed HANDMAIDS, amused myself with FISHMAN, and MAIDANS.  After time I noted SHAMAN as a valid six, and checked up on DANISH, but even in the pastry sense it requires the capital letter.

I was surprised (and, obviously, disappointed) that the Macquarie does not list MAIDAN (Chambers has it: "an open plain; an open space near a town, used as a sports ground or parade-ground in India, Pakistan, etc.").  Bother.

There is a seven here, though: SAMADHI ("Buddhism, Hinduism the highest state of concentration reached by meditation").  There's a few other sixes, of which I'll just mention FAMISH, MAFIAS, ADMINS, and MANIAS.

My selection: [invalid -- MAIDANS]
Best: SAMADHI


Round 2: E O B L U C T S R

I had LOBE, BLUE, CLOUT, TROUBLES, wondered about CLOUTERS (not valid), BLUSTER, and CORBELS (CORBEL: "a supporting projection of stone, wood, etc., on the face of a wall").

The other eights are COULTERS (COULTER: "a sharp blade or wheel attached to the beam of a plough, used to cut the ground in advance of the ploughshare") and BOULTERS (BOULTER: "a long, stout fishing line with several hooks attached").

My selection: TROUBLES


Round 3: Target 697 from 100 2 9 8 4 7

Getting to 700 is pretty clear, and as expected the remaining smalls can make the required 3: 697 = 7*100 - (9 - 4 - 2).

My selection: 697 = 7*100 - (9 - 4 - 2)


Round 4: P L U O C O D O N

I had COUP, CLOUD, CODON / CONDO, and COLON.

There are two sixes to be had here: COUPON and UNCOOL.

My selection: CLOUD
Best: COUPON


Round 5: R S E C F A E M E

I had FARCES, an uncertain REFACES (I knew it had come up before, but could not remember the outcome; it is valid), and RACEMES (RACEME: "a simple indeterminate inflorescence in which the flower are borne on short pedicels lying along a common axis, as in the lily-of-the-valley") / AMERCES (AMERCE: "to punish by inflicting a discretionary penalty of any kind").

Those appear to be all the sevens, and the best to be done (since the Macquarie does not list SEAMFREE).

My selection: RACEMES


Round 6: Target 361 from 50 7 8 3 1 5

The target is 19*19, but 19 is always difficult to make and two of them is out of reach.  Instead, the standard method works easily: 361 = 7*50 + 8 + 3.

My selection: 361 = 7*50 + 8 + 3


Round 7: K E A T S O M D Y

I had TAKE, STEAK, ATOMS, STAKED, and MODESTY.  After time I thought of SOMEDAY, but the Macquarie only lists this as two words.

MODESTY appears to be the only seven, and the best to be done.  The other candidate is the dog breed SAMOYED, but it requires a capital letter.

My selection: MODESTY


Round 8: Target 196 from 100 8 5 4 9 2

Another square target, this time the square of 14.  My first version was via 4*49 with 196 = (8/2)*(9*5 + 4).  Then I noted the simple 196 = 2*100 - 4, and went back to factorisations.  The next one I found was 196 = (9 + 5)*(8 + 4 + 2), and finally I noted a solution via 7*28: 196 = (5 + 2)*(4*9 - 8).

My selection: 196 = (9 + 5)*(8 + 4 + 2)


Round 9: FOUL PUN EH

The -FUL fragment stood out for me, and coupled with UN- it was a relatively short step to UNHOPEFUL.

My selection: UNHOPEFUL (3.2s)