[6] þenna leik, er kennir hafðan ‘this contest, which he recognises has been held’: Wisén (1886-9, II, 110) defends the reading of Bb and translates hunc lusus, quem peractum sentit ‘this game, which he senses has been completed’. The contest or game has been held or had, and the devil is unhappy with the results. Cf. Heggstad, Hødnebø and Simensen 1997: hafa 9, which cites the analogous idiom hafa þing ‘to hold a meeting’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) conflates several mss to arrive at the reading þenna leik, er harðan kennir ‘this game, the hardness of which he experiences’. Skald repeats this conflation.