NG 520

New game 520 is now available.


Round 1: E O I C R K S A H

I had CORE, OCKER, CASHIER, rightly rejected SHOCKIER, and HEROICS.  After time I noted some other sevens of SHOCKER, HACKERS, HACKIER, SHOCKIE (colloquial for a shock absorber), and CHOKERS.

The other sevens are SHAKIER, HACKIES, CHOKIER, CHOKIES* (CHOKY being colloquial for "a police lock-up; prison"), RICKSHA (variant spelling of RICKSHAW: "a small two-wheeled hooded vehicle drawn by one or more people"), COHEIRS, SHICKER ("to drink to excess"), CAHIERS (CAHIER: "a report of the proceedings of any body"), ROACHES / ORACHES (ORACH (also ORACHE) being a type of plant), SCORIAE (plural of SCORIA: "the refuse, dross, or slag left after smelting or melting metals") / ORACIES* (ORACY: "basic competence in oral communication"), and KAROSHI ("(in Japan) death from a heart attack or stroke brought on by the stress of long hours of work and job pressure").

My selection: CASHIER


Round 2: S L C L I I F A O

I had SILL, FISCAL / CALIFS, SILICA, SOCIAL, and LOCALS.

Six is the best on offer, with the others being FIASCO, AIOLIS, FILIAL, LILACS / SCILLA (a type of herb), and FLAILS.

My selection: FISCAL


Round 3: Target 875 from 100 25 50 6 1 6

One of my favourite subtargets, but not usually much challenge on its one.  I noted 875 = (6 + 1)*(100 + 25), 875 = (6 - 1)*(100 + 50 + 25), and 875 = 6*(100 + 50) - 25.

My selection: 875 = (6 + 1)*(100 + 25)


Round 4: E N M S O T U B O

I had MENS, NOSE, OMENS, MOUNTS, was briefly tempted by BOOTMEN but rightly avoided it, and observed that turning the B into another M would allow MOMENTOUS.

Six was my limit, but there are sevens: ENTOMBS, MOONSET, NUMBEST, UNBOSOM ("to disclose one's thoughts, feelings, secrets, etc."), and UMBONES (plural of UMBO: "the boss, knob, or projection at or near the centre of a shield").

My selection: MOUNTS
Best: ENTOMBS


Round 5: L E D C O S I R P

I had CODE, CODES, COILED, SOLDIER, PERIODS, SPLICED, and CRISPED.

Good letters, with a good many sevens available.  The eights are SCLEROID ("Biology hard or indurated") and PERCOIDS (fish resembling perch).

My selection: SOLDIER
Best: SCLEROID


Round 6: Target 502 from 75 50 25 5 1 7

The obvious route to the offset of 2 is 7 - 5, and fortunately a tweak gets the remaining 500: 502 = 5*(75 + 25 - 1) + 7.  Seen just now is the alternative 502 = 7*(75 + 1) - 25 - 5.

My selection: 502 = 5*(75 + 25 - 1) + 7


Round 7: W G E R E T G O R

I had GREW, GREET, GORGET ("a piece of armour for the throat"), REGROW / GROWER, and REGRET.  Later checking confirmed that TOWERER was not valid.

The other sixes are GORGER and ROOTER / TORERO ("a bullfighter who fights on foot").

My selection: GORGET


Round 8: Target 336 from 25 9 8 4 6 9

Another familiar subtarget, being 6*7*8.  I started with 336 = (25 - 9 - 9)*6*8, then eschewed the 25 entirely with 336 = (4*9 + 6)*8.

My selection: 336 = (4*9 + 6)*8


Round 9: MODERN MAC

I chose this conundrum explicitly, after seeing a James Bond reference in passing on iView.

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