NG 129

New game 129 is up.  Enjoy!


Round 1: T L C E U E Z D A

I had LUTE, ELUTE ("Chemistry in chromatography, etc., to remove by dissolving, as absorbed material from an adsorbent"), and EDUCATE.  The next vowel was an I, so if only that Z could have been thrown away the potential for ELUCIDATE was there.  Sort of.

After time I noted CLEATED as another seven.

The other seven on offer is TEAZLED (TEAZLE being a variant spelling of TEASEL: "to raise a nap (on cloth) with teasels", where TEASEL as a noun is a prickly herb.).

My selection: EDUCATE


Round 2: R D F S I A O I B

I had RIDS, RAIDS, RADIOS, BRAIDS, BOARDS / BROADS, and FORBIDS.

I was pretty pleased with FORBIDS from that lot, but commenter Jan managed even better with the lovely eight of FIBROIDS (FIBROID: "a benign tumour largely composed of smooth muscle and fibrous tissue, especially such a tumour in the wall of the uterus").  Well done, Jan!

The other seven is FIBROID.

My selection: FORBIDS
Best: FIBROIDS


Round 3: Target 443 from 50 25 10 7 5 1

The standard method is obviously the way to go; I started with 443 = (10 - 1)*50 - 7 and followed up with the variation 443 = 10*(50 - 5) - 7.

My selection: 443 = (10 - 1)*50 - 7


Round 4: T N C S I A A R A

I had TINS, SCANT, ANTICS, ARTISAN, and an uncertain SATANIC.  I was concerned that a capital letter might be required, but it is not and SATANIC is fine.  After time I noted CANASTA as another seven.

Seven looks like the best; the others are TSARINA / ANTIARS (ANTIAR being another name for UPAS, a Javanese tree, or the poisonous sap arising from it) and ARNICAS (ARNICA being any one of several plants).

My selection: ARTISAN


Round 5: G T W R I U I O L

I had TWIG, GROUT, TWIRL, and OUTRIG.  OUTRIG turns out to be the only six.

My selection: OUTRIG


Round 6: Target 457 from 50 25 9 2 4 5

The standard method is easily the way to go, producing 457 = 9*50 + 5 + 2 in short order.

My selection: 457 = 9*50 + 5 + 2


Round 7: K S R A I A E P S

I had ARKS, RISK, ARIAS, ASPIRE, ASPIRES / PRAISES, and SPARKIES (SPARKY and SPARKIE being colloquial for either a radio operator or an electrician).

The other eight on offer is SPIRAEAS (SPIRAEA being any of certain herbs or shrubs).  The other sevens are SPARKIE, SPIRAEA, SPIREAS (SPIREA being a variant spelling of SPIRAEA) / PARESIS ("incomplete motor paralysis"), KAISERS (KAISER: "an emperor; a Caesar"), and SPIKERS (SPIKER: "a stag with his first set of antlers").

My selection: SPARKIES


Round 8: Target 603 from 50 25 2 9 5 3

Once again it's the standard method; I started with 60= (9 + 5 - 2)*50 + 3, then went slightly more complicated with 603 = 2*(9 - 5)*(50 + 25) + 3.

My selection: 603 = (9 + 5 - 2)*50 + 3


Round 9: SAIL COVER

The -ISE fragment proved handing again, and I was fortunate to unravel VOCALISER from this in good time.

My selection: VOCALISER (6.3s)