NG 639

New game 639 is now available.


Round 1: Y E R I M O A I T

I had MIRE, MOIRE ("a watered fabric, as of silk or wool"), AIRTIME, wondered if MOATIER might be valid under the revised rules (it is not), and MOIETY ("one of two units into which a tribe is divided on the basis of unilateral descent").

AIRTIME is the only seven.  The other sixes are OMERTA ("the code of silence adhered to by members of the Mafia"), IMARET ("(in Turkey) a hospice for pilgrims, etc.") / MATIER*, and OATIER*.

My selection: AIRTIME


Round 2: L I C E T R N Q A

The Q was easily ignorable, at least.  I had LICE, RELICT ("a plant or animal species living in an environment which has changed from that which is typical for it"), CLARINET, and ARTICLE / RECITAL.

CLARINET is the only eight.  The other sevens are CENTRAL, CERTAIN / CERATIN (variant spelling of the protein KERATIN), CARLINE (a plant, also Scottish for an old woman, or perhaps a witch), and LATRINE / RELIANT / RETINAL / RATLINE ("Nautical any of the small ropes or lines which traverse the shrouds horizontally, serving as steps for going aloft") / TRENAIL (variant spelling of TREENAIL: "a cylindrical pin of hard word for fastening together timbers in ships, etc.").

My selection: CLARINET


Round 3: Target 347 from 50 75 2 3 7 1

Too easy with the standard method: 347 = 7*50 - 3.

My selection: 347 = 7*50 - 3


Round 4: G O E C A S I P B

I had CAGE, CAGES, BOSCAGE ("a mass of growing trees or shrubs"), and rightly rejected BIOSPACE.

BOSCAGE is the only seven.  The sixes are COPIES, SOAPIE, BICEPS, BIOGAS, APICES (plural of APEX) / SPICAE (plural of SPICA: "an ear of grain"), BOGIES / GOBIES (plural of GOBY, a type of fish), COBIAS (COBIA also being a type of fish), POGIES (POGIE: "a vat in which oysters are left to rot before being boiled down, the pearls being recovered from the residue"), and SCOPAE (one plural form of SCOPA: "a bunch of hairs on an insect's legs or abdomen for collecting pollen").

My selection: BOSCAGE


Round 5: N S O I R A S E B

I had IONS, IRONS, SONARS, REASONS, noticed that ABRASIONS was almost there, BRASSIE, and rightly rejected BOARINESS / BARONISES.  After time I noted BOSSIER as another seven.

Alas, I should have thought about BARONISES a bit more, as two eights from this mix are BARONIES and BARONESS.  The other eights are ERASIONS / SENSORIA (plural of SENSORIUM: "the supposed seat of sensation in the brain, usually taken as the cortex or grey matter") and ISOBARES (ISOBARE: "one of two or more atoms of different atomic number, but having the same atomic mass number").

My selection: REASONS


Round 6: Target 503 from 25 2 5 3 2 4

I went with a straightforward 503 = 4*5*25 + 3.

My selection: 503 = 4*5*25 + 3


Round 7: N K O U S A F E W

I had NOUS, SUNK, FUNKS, WAKENS, and UNSAFE.

The other sixes are AWOKEN and KENAFS (KENAF being another term for the fibre of the ambary, a type of plant).

My selection: UNSAFE


Round 8: Target 292 from 25 6 6 8 10 7

The offset for the standard method is 8, and that's a promising sign.  I went with 292 = (6 + 6)25 - 8, then a bit later noticed that the offset of 42 was also formable.  That gave me the alternative solution 292 = 10*25 + 6*7.

My selection: 292 = 10*25 + 6*7


Round 9: AD SPOILER

Here the useful fragments are -ED and -ISE.

My selection: [N/A -- chosen]
Best: POLARISED