NG 269

New game 269 is now available.


Round 1: E U I S L D R C U

I was hoping for a final I for RIDICULES, but no such luck.  I had LIES, DUELS, wondered about CURLIES (not valid), SLUICED, and CURDLES.

The other seven is CRUISED.

My selection: SLUICED


Round 2: B K A A M N C A F

An unpromising mix, with all those A's.  I had BANK and CABANA, speculating idly along the way about BACKMAN or FANBACK.  Later checking showed that these were closer than I thought, as BACK MAN is listed (with reference to Australian Rules Football) and some sources -- but not the Macquarie -- list FANBACK as an adjective describing chairs which have fan-shaped backs.  Not to be confused with this other FANBACK.

The other six here is CABMAN.

My selection: CABANA


Round 3: Target 338 from 100 25 50 5 9 9

I found this a tough ask, with the offsets of 12 or 13 both being difficult.  One off was rather easier with the offset of 14, and I wrote one such down: 339 = 9*50 - 100 - 25 + 9 + 5.  I was unable to better it within time.

There are only two solutions; one of them uses an offset of 162 (!), which is perhaps easier to see the advantage of if one knows that 162 is twice 81.  The resulting solution is 338 = 5*100 - 9*9*50/25.  The other solution makes the target as 333 + 5; I wish I had seen that possibility, as 333 is 9*37 and it falls out reasonably neatly from there: 338 = (50 - 9 - 100/25)*9 + 5.

My selection: 339 = 9*50 - 100 - 25 + 9 + 5  [1 off]
Best: 338 = 5*100 - 9*9*50/25


Round 4: W I R H T R I E S

I had WITH, WRITHE, wondered about WRITHER (it is valid), WITHER, WITHERS, wondered about WRITHERS, WRITERS, amused myself with WHIRRIEST (not listed, as expected), and speculated about SHIRTIER.  I was sure that SHIRTY would be listed (colloquial for "bad-tempered; annoyed"), but rather more dubious about SHIRTIER.  I decided that WRITHERS was better odds, and that was the right decision.

After time I checked up on WRISTIER, but was unsurprised that it was not listed (although WRISTY is).  That makes WRITHERS the only eight; the other sevens are WRITHES, WIRIEST, and WHITIES / WITHIES (plural of WITHY: "a willow, especially an osier").

My selection: WRITHERS


Round 5: C S S E U E R L T

I had SECS / CESS, CUES, RECUSES (RECUSE: "US Law to disqualify from participation in the process leading to a decision, as a judge in a court case, on the grounds of demonstrated prejudice or existing personal involvement"), RECLUSES, CLUSTERS, wondered about TRUCELESS, and LECTURES.  Alas, I wimped out of trying the full monty here -- TRUCELESS is valid.

The other eight is STREUSEL ("a cake topping of nuts, sugar, spices, etc.").  The single-syllable rule might allow CRUELEST, depending on how many syllables one claims it has; my reading of the Macquarie's phonetics is that it claims two syllables, so CRUELEST should not be valid.  On the other hand David might have considered it enough of a grey area to allow it. *shrugs*

My selection: RECLUSES
Best: TRUCELESS


Round 6: Target 267 from 25 4 7 4 8 6

The offset of 8 is already made, and it is a short step to 267 = (7 + 4)*25 - 8.

My selection: 267 = (7 + 4)*25 - 8


Round 7: D N I O S G R E T

I had an uncertain DINO (not valid), IONS, a similarly uncertain DINOS, DOSING, REGIONS, STRINGED, and a rather dubious DESORTING as my only guess at a nine.  It was too unlikely, of course, so eight was the limit.

The other eights are STODGIER and GENITORS (GENITOR: "a father in the biological sense, sometimes distinguished from a legal or acting father").

My selection: STRINGED


Round 8: Target 894 from 75 2 5 7 10 9

I found this one tough also, as I got hung up on making this as 900 - 6 and making a 6 uses up too many useful numbers.  I had to settle for one away with 895 = (10 + 2)*75 - 5.

A bit after time I realised the tweaking options in making the 6 as 3*2 instead, and found one solution: 894 = ((9 - 5)*75 - 2)*(10 - 7).  There's a decent selection of other solutions, as it turns out; one which seems like it should have been findable is 894 = (75 + 2*7)*10 + 9 - 5.

My selection: 895 = (10 + 2)*75 - 5
Best: 894 = ((9 - 5)*75 - 2)*(10 - 7)


Round 9: PANTY RAIL

Another explicitly-chosen conundrum after being presented with a similar one.

My selection: [N/A -- conundrum chosen explicitly]
Best: PLANARITY