NG 140

New game 140 is now ready.


Round 1: N S R N A U U O D

I had RUNS, AROUND, ROUNDS, UNSOUND, and wondered about UNADORNS and UNROUNDS.  I didn't like either of them, so UNSOUND was where I stayed.

Later checking showed that UNADORNS is not valid (although UNADORNED is listed); however, UNROUNDS is valid (UNROUND: "to pronounce without rounding the lips; the vowel of bit is normally unrounded, the vowel of put is often unrounded").  In fact, I mentioned this only six weeks ago, for NG 110 -- if only I'd remembered!

UNROUNDS looks like the only eight; the other sevens are UNROUND, ARDUOUS, URANOUS ("Obsolete containing trivalent uranium"), and ANUROUS (alternative form of ANURAL: "tailless").

My selection: UNSOUND
Best: UNROUNDS


Round 2: X S O T N I C S A

The X is a bit of a spoiler, although if that T had been a W then COXSWAINS would have been there.  As it was, I had TONS, TOXINS, CONSIST, ACTIONS, and CASINOS.

Seven is the best on offer; the others are CATIONS (CATION: "any positivel charged ion, radical, or molecule") / ATONICS (ATONIC: "Phonetics an unaccented word, syllable, or sound"), TOCSINS (TOCSIN: "a bell used to sound an alarm"), CASSINO (a type of card game) / CAISSON ("a structure in which labourers can work on river beds, etc., consisting essentially of an airtight box or chamber with an open bottom, the water being kept out by the high air pressure maintained within"), and SCOTIAS (SCOTIA: "a concave moulding, as at the base of a column or the angle between the wall and the ceiling").

My selection: ACTIONS


Round 3: Target 565 from 100 8 6 6 5 4

I started by tweaking my way down from 600 with 565 = 6*(100 - 6) + 5 - 4.  Then I pulled out the factor of 5 instead to get 565 = (100 + 8 + 4 + 6/6)*5, and finally I tried to make it as 560 + 5 and found 565 = (100 - 6*4 - 6)*8 + 5.

My selection: 565 = 6*(100 - 6) + 5 - 4


Round 4: T T E N T I S P E

I had TENT, TENTS, SPINET (an early instrument of the piano family), and PETTIEST.

That's the only eight, with six the best on offer after that.  The other sixes are PETITE, SEPTET, INSTEP, and TENETS.

My selection: PETTIEST


Round 5: W M H B O O A P O

Ergh, horrible mix.  I had WOMB, BOOM, an uncertain WHOMP (it turns out not to be valid), and WHOOP.

There is a six lurking here: OOMPAH ("the sound of two notes played on a brass instrument such as a tuba or trombone").  The other fives are OOMPH and WAHOO (a type of fish).

My selection: WHOOP
Best: OOMPAH


Round 6: Target 848 from 50 2 6 1 10 4

My first instinct was to pull out factors; the target is 8*106, which is 16*103.  Hence the solution 848 = (50 + 2 + 1)*(10 + 6) followed directly.

Seen just while writing this up is that the standard method words, arguably more easily: 848 = (10 + 6 + 1)*50 - 2.

My selection: 848 = (50 + 2 + 1)*(10 + 6)


Round 7: G L L R O E E N I

I had ROLL, LONGER, REGION, ROLLING, REELING / LEERING, and LONELIER.

That looks like the only eight, with the other sevens being ERELONG ("Archaic before long; soon") and RELLENO ("a Philippine dish consisting of stuffed poultry").

My selection: LONELIER


Round 8: Target 833 from 100 6 5 6 9 1

Gah, I talked myself out of finding a solution here.  I started out with a one-away 832 = (9 - 1)*(100 + 5 - 6/6), then tried to tweak my way down from 900.  The various tweaks I could find also only got me to one away, though, so that was where I stayed.

Just a little after time I considered not tweaking, and soon found a solution of 833 = 9*100 - 6*(6 + 5) - 1.  Bother!

Another approach that could have been considered is to note that the target is near 840, which is 6*140.  It is seven away, so another way of looking at it is 6*139 - 1.  That leads prettily easily to 833 = (100 + 6*5 + 9)*6 - 1, and a minor variation of 833 = (100 + 9*5 - 6)*6 - 1.

There's exactly one other solution: 833 = 5*100 + 9*(6*6 + 1).

My selection: 832 = (9 - 1)*(100 + 5 - 6/6)  [1 off]
Best: 833 = 9*100 - 6*(6 + 5) - 1


Round 9: ROSILY SPY

I apologise for this conundrum; I was pleased enough to solve it, but I don't think it's good conundrum material.  With a pair of Y's they can't both be at the end; I looked for other plausible fragments and found PYRO- and thus PYROLYSIS as the answer (PYROLYSIS: "the subjection of organic compounds to very high temperatures and the resulting decomposition").

My selection: PYROLYSIS (13.8s)