Hi, Here is a new dirty trick: \starttext % we make sure that we get two passes. \setupalign[verytolerant] % we enable some tracing \tracinglousiness1 % \tracinglousiness2 this gives the breakpoints that tex considers as it progresses \hsize8cm \lousiness 0 \samplefile{ward} % let's see what their demerits are {\tt \the\lousiness} % and overload one of them (index 11) \hsize8cm \silliness 11 \samplefile{ward} % do how about overloading more (index 11 and 8) \hsize8cm \lousiness 2 11 0 8 200 \samplefile{ward} \stoptext As the names suggest, it's a bit weird feature but so is \looseness. It might evolve from playground into some interfaced feature. Of course changing the text gives different results. But then, \looseness also assumes a stable paragraph. Hans (a byproduct of more advanced experiments) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Hans Hagen | PRAGMA ADE Ridderstraat 27 | 8061 GH Hasselt | The Netherlands tel: 038 477 53 69 | www.pragma-ade.nl | www.pragma-pod.nl -----------------------------------------------------------------