NG 222

New game 222 is now available.


Round 1: M R T O E U C E N

I had MORT (I was uncertain about this, but as well as being an obsolete synonym for death it also means "the note blown on the hunting horn to signify the death of the animal hunted"), TOME, ROUTE, CENTRUM ("a centre"), and COUNTER / RECOUNT / TROUNCE.

The other sevens are MOUNTER / REMOUNT and CERUMEN ("a yellowish waxlike secretion from certain glands in the auditory canal, acting as a lubricant and arresting the entrance of dusts, insects, etc.; earwax").

My selection: CENTRUM


Round 2: D T O O R N I I R

I had TROD and TOROID, which I was pleased to spot as I've missed it the last few times it has been available.  I wondered about INTROID but realised I was thinking of INTROIT ("any psalm or anthem sung, or prayer said, at the beginning of divine service in a Christian church"), and wished that the last vowel had been an A for TANDOORI.  (The next vowel would have been an A, too, so with five vowels TANDOORI would have been available.  Of course, in that case I would have lamented that one of the O's was not also an A for RADIATION; clearly there's no pleasing me.)

Six does seem to be the best to be done, with the others being INDOOR, TORRID, and NITRID (variant form of NITRIDE).

My selection: TOROID


Round 3: Target 242 from 25 100 2 4 8 10

I recognised the target as twice the square of 11, which is to say twice 121, and that was easy enough: 242 = 2*(100 + 25 - 4).  Then I saw that the standard method was easier againm yielding 242 = 10*25 - 8.

My selection: 242 = 10*25 - 8


Round 4: A I C B L A L P E

I had LABIA, LABIAL, hoped for another A for PALACIAL but it was an E, then CAPABLE and wondered about PLACABLE.  I was thinking of some kind of variant form of PLACEABLE (which is not listed, I should note), and that was too remote an option so CAPABLE was where I stayed.  I also noted that an O instead of one of those A's would allow the eight of CALLIOPE ("a harsh musical instrument consisting of a set of steam whistles, played from a keyboard").

The other seven on offer is PLIABLE.  However, PLACABLE is valid after all; the right way to think about this is as the inverse of the more common IMPLACABLE.  I might not have chanced it even if I had thought of that, but it is listed ("capable of being placated or appeased; forgiving").

My selection: CAPABLE
Best: PLACABLE


Round 5: O O N H U L P S E

I had HOON, HOLON ("Philosophy a whole or individual entity which contains within it entities which also function as whole entities, as the human body which is a complete system but contains within it other systems such as the nervous system, digestive system, etc."), wondered about UNLOOP (not valid), and settled on UNLOOSE.

The other seven is PHENOLS, but the eight is SULPHONE (annoyingly only listed under the variant spelling SULFONE so I almost disregarded it; it is any member of a certain class of organic compounds containing sulphur dioxide).

My selection: UNLOOSE
Best: SULPHONE


Round 6: Target 719 from 75 100 50 6 4 7

When I saw the target in the 700's and that there was a 6 my thoughts first turned towards working down from 750, as I knew that it was 6*125.  The offset is 31 and I saw that 31 = 6*4 + 7 and the answer followed: 719 = 6*(75 + 50 - 4) - 7.  Then I realised that the standard method was simpler, making this as 725 - 6 via 719 = 7*100 + 75 - 50 - 6.

Seen while writing this up is another route from 700; my usual technique is to try and get close then adjust, often by tweaking.  In this instance 7*4 is 28, which is 9 away from the 19 required.  That would work if we could make 9 from 6, 50, and 75, and fortunately we can.  The resulting solution is 719 = 7*(100 + 4) - (6*75)/50.

My selection: 719 = 6*(75 + 50 - 4) - 7


Round 7: R S T S E E A T H

I had RESTS, STEERS, RESEATS, THREATS, SHATTERS, and THEATRES / THEATERS.

There's no nine here; some sources would allow EARTHSETS (EARTHSET being the equivalent of MOONSET if one were on the moon and looking at the Earth sinking below the horizon) but it is not in the Macquarie.  The other eights are RESTATES / ESTREATS (ESTREAT: "a true copy or extract of an original writing or record, as of a fine").

My selection: SHATTERS


Round 8: Target 138 from 100 50 75 25 6 8

I recognised the target as 6*23, and a solution following quickly: 138 = 6*(25 - 100/50).

My selection: 138 = 6*(25 - 100/50)


Round 9: GRINCH COS

I was slow off the mark here; pulling out the -ING was easy, but for some reason I got blocked on the rest and it took a few seconds to get from there to SCORCHING.

My selection: SCORCHING (5.6s)