NG 134

New game 134 is now available.


Round 1: C S R W D A E O N

Good letters, although the W is a mild spoiler.  I wrote down CROWDS speculatively and the O did appear, DRAWS, SCARED, COWARDS, ONWARDS, DEACONS, DANCERS, an unlikely DOWNCASE (since I'd checked up on UPCASE before and it was not listed), and reluctantly rejected SWORDCANE -- the right decision, as it is listed as two words (SWORD CANE).

After time I noted down further sevens of WARDENS / WANDERS, CROWNED, and WONDERS / DOWNERS.

There's a lot of sevens here, but the eight is ENDOSARC: "the endoplasm of a protozoan".

My selection: COWARDS
Best: ENDOSARC


Round 2: C A N A N N U D L

Not promising, with that triple N and the repeated A's.  I had CANNA (a type of plant, but I was not certain of it), NAAN, CANAL, CAUDAL ("of, at, or near the tail"), an uncertain CLANNAD (I thought it was an Irish gaelic word for family or similar, but I may have been misled by the band), and then the safe seven of CANNULA ("a metal tube for insertion into the body, used to keep a passage open, to draw off fluid, or to introduce medication").

CANNULA seems to be the only seven; the other sixes are UNCLAD, ANNUAL, LANDAU ("a four-wheeled, two-seated carriage with a top made in two parts, which may be let down or folded back"), and LACUNA ("a gap or hiatus, as in a manuscript").

My selection: CANNULA


Round 3: Target 674 from 75 1 10 9 2 3

An easy one for those familiar with the 75-times tables: 674 = 9*75 - 1.  For some reason I also wrote down the more cumbersome 674 = 9*(75 + 1) - 10.

My selection: 674 = 9*75 - 1


Round 4: T I S G E T O C S

I had GIST and COSIEST, rejecting SCOTTIES since past experience has shown that it is only listed with a capital letter.  I also observed that a final A (which the next vowel would have been) would have given COGITATES, so this is a round where a full monty could have appeared.

That was too much time spent thinking about words that weren't there, as just after time expired I saw EGOTISTS for eight.  (And a final I would have allowed EGOTISTIC for nine.)

That looks like the only eight; the other sevens are EGOTIST and EGOISTS / STOGIES (STOGIE: "a long, thin cigar, composed of different blends of tobacco leaf resulting in unique flavours").

My selection: COSIEST
Best: EGOTISTS


Round 5: R D H R F A E I C

I had HARD, HEARD, FAIRED (which now that I look at it I was clearly thinking of FARED, but this does turn out to be valid; FAIR as a verb: "Shipbuilding to adjust or test the lines of curve of a hull, design, etc."), CHARIER (relatively fresh in the mind from NG 126), CARRIED, and HARRIED / HARDIER.

Seven is the best on offer; the others are CHAIRED, CHARRED, and CHIRRED (CHIRR: "to make a shrill trilling sound, as a grasshopper").

My selection: CARRIED


Round 6: Target 638 from 50 75 6 4 3 7

I got myself in a nasty tangle here, trying to work up from 625 (which is the square of 25, so 50*75/6 amongst other options) but unable to retain the 6 and 7 I wanted to make the offset of 13.  I was about to head off into increasingly unprofitable territory when I stopped to try making 650 and a solution just fell out: 638 = (7 + 6)*50 - 3*4.  Phew!

My selection: 638 = (7 + 6)*50 - 3*4


Round 7: R D T B C E E I S

I had BRED, DEBIT, CREDITS, DISCRETE / DISCREET, BISECTED, and DESCRIBE.

The other eight is BESTRIDE.  There's lots of other sevens to be had.

My selection: DESCRIBE


Round 8: Target 935 from 50 100 8 4 7 6

Another case where I almost got myself in a tangle, but once I decided to keep the 8 and 7 aside for an offset from 950 it ended up being all right: 935 = (6 + 4)*100 - 50 - 8 - 7.

My selection: 935 = (6 + 4)*100 - 50 - 8 - 7


Round 9: FANG CARER

The -ANCE fragment came in very handy, and I soon had FRAGRANCE.

My selection: FRAGRANCE (1.4s)