NG 761

New game 761 is now available.

The re-run is episode 24; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: I S N T D O A R G

I had TINS, DINTS, RATIONS, ADORING, and correctly rejected all of GRADINOS, TRAGIONS (the plural form of TRAGION -- "a point in the depth of the notch just over the tragus of the external ear" -- is given as TRAGIA), and ROADSIGN.  After time I finally saw the eights of ORGANIST / ROASTING, and those were bad misses.

The other eight is INTRADOS ("the interior curve or surface of an arch or vault").

My selection: ADORING
Best: ROASTING


Round 2: U T B A R H R E M

I had TUBA, BREATH, was dubious about THUMBER (not valid), and likewise rightly rejected MATURER.  Sometime later I noticed that a G instead of the T would have given HAMBURGER for nine.

The sevens that I missed were ERRATUM and URETHRA.

My selection: BREATH


Round 3: Target 225 from 25 75 9 5 3 10

Disappointingly easy; 225 = 3*75 was obvious, as was 225 = 9*25.  I looked for a solution in small numbers alone, and found 225 = 9*(3*5 + 10).

My selection: 225 = 3*75


Round 4: P D J I F T S E I

I had FIST, DIETS, and PITIES.

FIDEIST is not listed, although FIDEISM is, so six is the limit here.  The others are PITIED, FISTED / SIFTED, TIDIES, and SPITED.

My selection: PITIES


Round 5: W E O S I E D C T

I had OWES, WEEDS, COSTED, and CESTOID ("(of worms) ribbonlike").

The other sevens are COEDITS / COTISED (COTISE is a heraldic term; as a verb it means "to border with cotises" while as a noun it is "a narrow diminutive of a bend"), DECEITS, DIOCESE, DEWIEST, and CESTODE (any member of a certain class of worms).

My selection: CESTOID


Round 6: Target 259 from 25 100 75 6 8 4

The target is 7*37, but that is difficult to use.  Instead, I turned to 275 - 16, and fortunately tweaking made that work: 275 = 8*(25 - 6 + 4) + 75.

My selection: 275 = 8*(25 - 6 + 4) + 75


Round 7: U N L B K O I C G

I had BUNK, BLINK, UNBLOCK, and BLOCKING.

The other eight is BUCKLING.  The other sevens are BUCKING, BULKING, LOCKING, GUNLOCK ("the mechanism of a firearm by which the charge is exploded"), BOCKING ("a coarse woollen fabric, resembling baize, formerly used as a floor-covering"), and LUCKING* (as in LUCKING OUT).

My selection: BLOCKING


Round 8: Target 526 from 75 25 1 4 8 2

The target is 7*75 + 1, so the task is to make 7 from the other four numbers.  That was possible, and gave me 526 = (4*8 - 25)*75 + 1.

My selection: (4*8 - 25)*75 + 1


Round 9: NEAT IDIOM

The -ATION fragment is useful here, although one could get sidetracked by DOMINATE.

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