NG 818

New game 818 is now available.

The re-run is episode 81; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: H I E N T U B W A

I had THINE, UNITE, AUNTIE, WHITEN, and HABITUÉ.  After time I checked up on UNWHITE; it is in my Scrabble list but not the Macquarie.

HABITUÉ is thus the only seven.  The other sixes are BUTANE, HENBIT (a weed), WAHINE ("a Maori woman, especially a wife or girlfriend"), and BINATE ("Botany double; produced or born in pairs").

My selection: HABITUÉ


Round 2: S U C I U O R L S

I had CURIOS and CURIOUS.  I had hoped for a final D for LUDICROUS, but no such luck.

CURIOUS is the only seven, but the eight here is LUSCIOUS.  The other sixes are SCOURS, OCULUS ("Architecture a circular opening, especially one at the apex of a dome"), COULIS, and SULCUS ("a furrow or groove").

My selection: CURIOUS
Best: LUSCIOUS


Round 3: Target 325 from 50 25 100 7 8 9

The target is 13*25, so I started with 325 = (8 + 7 - 100/50)*25.  Then I noted down the simpler 325 = 9*25 + 100.

My selection: 325 = 9*25 + 100


Round 4: I O Z I T N S G A

I had INTO, was quite unsure about AGONIST (I was thinking in the dramatic sense, where we have protagonists and antagonists, so it seemed a stretch; but there is actually an anatomical meaning: "an actively contracting muscle considered in relation to its opposing muscle (the antagonist)"), and SATING.

After time I checked up on ZIONIST, confirming (as expected) that it is proper.  That makes AGONIST the only seven, but the surprise in this round is the nine: AZOTISING (AZOTISE: "to nitrogenise").  There are no eights.

As I've commented before, the -ING fragment tends to play better with only three vowels.  AZOTISING gives the lie to that somewhat, but it fairly unusual.  Note that if a final consonant had been chosen then it would have been an H, giving the easy eight of HOISTING.

My selection: SATING
Best: AZOTISING


Round 5: O H L E R A S C T

I had HOLE, CHOLERA, CHOLERAS, thought for a moment that ORCHESTRAL was there before I caught the double-R, wished that the L had been another R for ORCHESTRA / CARTHORSE, CHORALES, was rightly dubious about CLOTHERS and LATCHERS, was also dubious about LOATHERS (valid), and finally found the valid nine of CHLORATES.

After time I noted another eight of TROCHLEA ("a pulley-like structure or arrangement of parts affording a smooth surface upon which another part glides, as a tendon or bone"), but the plural form of that is TROCHLEAE so it does not lead to another nine.

The other eights are CHLORATE, CHORTLES, SECTORAL / LOCATERS, ARCHLETS, ESCHALOT (another name for a shallot), and THORACES (plural of THORAX).

My selection: CHLORATES


Round 6: Target 874 from 25 75 50 6 5 7

The target is near by favourite 875, so I soon had 874 = 7*(75 + 50) - (6 - 5).

My selection: 874 = 7*(75 + 50) - (6 - 5)


Round 7: D S O E A C S R T

I had DOES, DOSES, CROSSED, ACTRESS, TORSADES (TORSADE: "a twisted cord"), COASTERS, and spotted DRESS COAT but rightly assumed it would be two words.  After time I checked up on CASTORED, finding that it was not valid.

Eight is the limit here; the others are ASSORTED, COARSEST, DOCTRESS (a rare term for a female doctor), and REDCOATS (REDCOAT: "a British soldier").

My selection: TORSADES


Round 8: Target 668 from 75 10 5 8 4 6

I started by tweaking up from 600, finding 668 = 8*(75 + 5 + 4) - (10 - 6).  Then I spotted the option of multiplying by 10 to get the slightly simpler 668 = 10*(75 - 8) - (6 - 4).

My selection: 668 = 10*(75 - 8) - (6 - 4)


Round 9: MUDS OMENS


My selection: [no answer]
Best: SUMMONSED