NG 651

Rather belatedly, new game 651 is now available.  Apologies for the lateness.


Round 1: H N I C T O E G A

I had INCH, NOTCH, TECHNO, COINAGE, INCHOATE, and TEACHING / CHEATING.  After time I checked up on HECTAGON (a hundred-sided polygon) but it is not listed.

That's all the eights listed.  The other sevens are COATING / COTINGA (a type of bird), HEATING / GAHNITE (a mineral), ETCHING, ECHOING, COGNATE, ACONITE, and GNATHIC (adjective derived from GNATHION: "the lowest point on the anterior margin of the lower jaw in the mid-sagittal plane").

My selection: TEACHING


Round 2: O S O L M D E G U

I had LOOS, LOOMS, LOOMED, MODELS, noted that an I instead of the G would have yielded MELODIOUS (fortunately the next vowel was not an I), and MODULES, rightly rejecting SLUMDOG along the way.

The other sevens are GLOOMED and SMOODGE ("to flatter; curry favour"; also "to kiss") / SMOOGED (SMOOGE being a variant spelling of SMOODGE).

My selection: MODULES


Round 3: Target 641 from 75 25 2 3 4 1

For once I turned to the standard method first.  The offset is 9, and I saw the tweaking opportunity presented to get 641 = (4 + 3 + 2)*(75 - 1) - 25.

My selection: 641 = (4 + 3 + 2)*(75 - 1) - 25


Round 4: C T A R S T Y O I

I had CART, CARTS, TRACTS, ACTORS, and then was rather pleased to spot ATROCITY.

The other eights are RICOTTAS, CITATORY, and CRYOSTAT ("an apparatus usually automatic, maintaining a very low constant temperature").  The sevens are CITATOR / RICOTTA, ASTRICT ("to bind fast; confine; constrain or restrict"), COTTARS (COTTAR: "Scottish a person occupying a plot of land under a system similar to cottier tenure"), TRICOTS (TRICOT: "a warp-knit fabric, usually of rayon, with the right and wrong sides different"), SATYRIC, YTTRIAS (YTTRIA being an oxide of yttrium), and OSTIARY ("a doorkeeper, as of a church").

My selection: ATROCITY


Round 5: S E P B A T A D K

I had APES, BASTE, ADAPTS, wanted an I for BAPTISED (the next vowel would have been an I, too), BASKET, and ABASED.

Six is the limit on this mix.  The others are ABATED, ABATES, BASTED, BASKED, ADEPTS, and TASKED / SKATED / STAKED.

My selection: ADAPTS


Round 6: Target 257 from 75 25 10 1 5 8

Again I went with the standard method, finding 257 = 10*25 + 8 - 1.

My selection: 257 = 10*25 + 8 - 1


Round 7: F I R T N U E E C

I had RIFT, FRUIT, noted than an O instead of an E would have given CONFITURE ("a fruit preserve, jam, etc."), CENTRE, wondered about ENTICER (valid) and INFECTER (not valid), but in the end risked neither.  A half-right decision, as it turns out.

There are eights here, though, and I was close to one of them.  They are REINFECT / FRENETIC and ENURETIC (adjective derived from ENURESIS, which is essentially bed-wetting).  The other sevens are RETINUE / REUNITE / UTERINE and ENTERIC ("related to the enteron; intestinal").

My selection: CENTRE
Best: FRENETIC


Round 8: Target 525 from 100 50 9 7 5 8

The target is a familiar 7*75, but we've got the least convenient large numbers for such an approach.  I started out instead by trying for 5*105, and found my way there with the overly complicated 525 = 5*(100 + 50/(9 + 8 - 7)); the option of 525 = 5*100 + 50/(9 - 7) would have been rather simpler!  Then I turned my attention to making 7*75 work, finding first 525 = ((100 + 50)*(9 - 5)/8)*7 and then 525 = (9*8 + 5 - 100/50)*7.

My selection: 525 = 5*(100 + 50/(9 + 8 - 7))


Round 9: LIMNED WIG

As is often the case, the -ING comes into play.

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