NG 156

New game 156 is now available.


Round 1: D T C S U U E R M

I had STUD, MUSTER (thought I had MUSTERED for a moment, then realised that the duplicated vowel was the U, not the E), and CRUSTED / CRUDEST.  After time I noted SUTURED as another seven.

It looks like those are the only sevens, and the best to be done.

My selection: CRUSTED


Round 2: T S I A R H O G M

I had STAIR, RIGHTS, and stalled.  I kept feeling I was missing something in those first seven letters but was not able to put my finger on it; I might also have been distracted by the not-quite-there ALGORITHMS / LOGARITHMS.  I was relieved to find ISOGRAM (another term for ISOPLETH: "a line drawn on a map or chart through all points having the same numerical value of any element, or of the ratio of values of two elements") before time ran out.

The other sevens are AMORIST ("a lover; a gallant"), GOATISH, and possible THORIAS (THORIA being another name for titanium dioxide).  AIR SHOT is two words, and RIMSHOT isn't listed.

But those aren't the best.  There's no eights, but there is a full monty lurking here in the form of HISTOGRAM.

My selection: ISOGRAM
Best: HISTOGRAM


Round 3: Target 144 from 25 1 3 4 8 10

The target is the square of 12, and so has many provocative small factors.  I started with 144 = 8*(10 + 4 + 3 + 1) and continued with 144 = (25 - 1)*(10 - 4), 144 = (8 + 4)*(10 + 3 - 1), and finally 144 = 8*3*(10 - 4).

My selection: 144 = 8*3*(10 - 4)


Round 4: W N K O I E H L T

I had KNOW, WINK, WHINE, TWINKLE, and pondered TOWNLIKE but correctly avoided it.  WHOLEKNIT also seemed a stretch too far.

Seven is the best on offer; the others are TOWLINE (there's a blast from the past), HOTLINK, and HOTLINE / NEOLITH ("a person who lived in the Neolithic period").

My selection: TWINKLE


Round 5: B B L N O A U S R

I had BONUS, SONAR, rejected SUBLOAN, and settled on BARONS for six.

But the best to be done here is the seven of LABOURS

My selection: BARONS
Best: LABOURS


Round 6: Target 523 from 50 75 9 2 8 8

The standard method is clearly the most tempting, as the target is 7*75 - 2.  Fortunately the small numbers can make that 7, giving 523 = (8 + 8 - 9)*75 - 2.  Then I saved a number with the more prosaic 523 = 9*50 + 75 - 2, and finally I looked at the descent from 600 and managed to make it work with 523 = 8*(75 - 9) - 50/(8 + 2).

My selection: 523 = 9*50 + 75 - 2


Round 7: S E I E N N R I J

I had SEINE ("a fishing net which hangs vertically in the water, having floats at the upper edge and sinkers at the lower"), NINES, wondered about INNERS (thinking of archery, and indeed INNER has a noun sense: "the ring next surrounding the bullseye of a target") and then realised that SINNER was a safe anagram, and that was the best I could do.

There is a seven here, though: JENNIES (JENNY being both a female donkey and another term for a spinning jenny).

My selection: SINNER
Best: JENNIES


Round 8: Target 126 from 50 25 3 6 6 3

With the duplicated small numbers 125 + 1 is the most obvious way to start, and I soon had 126 = 3*50 - 25 + 6/6.  The target is 6*21 so I also found 126 = 6*(3*6 + 3) and 126 = 3*6*(25 - 3*6).

My selection: 126 = (3*6 + 3)*6


Round 9: FAULTY RIG

I got lost on this one, with neither the -ARY nor -LY fragments of use.  I'm sure there have been FRUITY GALs, but that's not the answer.  Afterwards, of course, I wondered how I could have missed the -ITY fragment, but it's just one of those days.

My selection: [no answer]
Best: FRUGALITY