The Sphinx's Lair

He does have the one weird opinion about how death is bad and there shouldn't be any, but he's nice and coherent and not self-contradictory and has logical arguments, which is more than usual, so it's fine

12:26 AM

Honestly even if I don't agree with that, his video on the subject (The Dragon metaphor) was really well-produced and is fun to watch solely for the quality of animation and storytelling.

does it have any hidden bees?

it might :p

My favorite bee is the plushie bee that hangs out on his desk during videos like The Race for Staten Island

I also get a kick out of the time he literally flew to a different state to look in a library for a lost document from 1955 for one video

that one was great, I cackled out loud and my family looked at me weird

He was like "the search ends here..."
*jump cuts to him literally on a plane*

"I COULDN'T LET IT GO"

12:45 AM

@Sciborg, I'm watching some CPG Gray right now. I blame you.

5 hours ago, by bobble

So, maybe, (-sub)MERGE(-d) + SORT is your parsing

... is completely, utterly wrong?

This is the intended answer.

sheds a bitter tear

@Sciborg, you got it!

12:49 AM

Sorry if it didn't work out well

shrugs

go for it, @Sciborg :)

(especially stuff=SORT part... I should have chosen a better word, maybe "kind"?)

And yeah, it's indeed the first time for me making a CC

It was understandable, at the very least

Worse for it to be unsolved for a while due to the squickness of the wordplay

1:06 AM

@bobble hm

@Bubbler there's that, and the deletion too - you'd need to specify exactly which letters are removed, not just "shells" meaning any number of letters from both sides

(but other than that, it's a good first attempt! grammar's pretty solid, just need to get some of the subtleties, which you'll learn with time. I've seen ~~and made~~ much worse)

oAlt

1:36 AM

@Avi dayum

And the initials are in alphabetical order too

user478740

2:16 AM

We're on a roll! Nice job all of you, though at my place I was sleeping the whole time...

user478740

Hoaammmmm... Anyways, @Sciborg are you done with your CC?

Wait wait I was gone for a bit, did I solve???

Was (-sub)MERGED(-d) correct??

I have two solves???? :D

Uhhhh hooray!! I'll make a much better C4 than last time I promise! Lol

user478740

2:43 AM

Hopefully

user478740

Sepulcheral? Ummmm

Don't be rude, please. I was just making a good-natured jab at myself.

@Anonymus25 Yeah, that was kind of mean

@Sciborg Dang you have the same (one less) C4 solved then I have in my entire 2+ years in this chatroom XD

In... three days?

yes, Sciborg gets all the claps

I genuinely have no idea how! :p

2:48 AM

A++ level at ~~completely accidental~~ brilliant solutions.

But I really like solving them, they are fun. I'm trying to create a really good one for you guys this time.

I can check over the wordplay, if you want.

I'm fine with forfeiting a chance at solving, since I don't have one in the first place :P

I think my wordplay is okay, I have thoroughly checked to make sure it is completely clued and that I have the correct definition half/wordplay half format. I'll post in a few minutes when I've tweaked the surface to my liking :)

Of the three I've gotten, two were me solving right after it got out. So my chance of getting this one goes down drastically every minute after posting. It's like buying a new car! The value depreciates right out of the gate.

@bobble Ahahahaha

2:54 AM

"Solve it now while it's fresh!"

That's a great analogy

basically :)

Is there a general length limit? I'm realizing it is a bit wordy

Also, I've scrapped the crown-shaped clue pattern idea. I just couldn't work with a pre-set clue placement. I think I will use different-aged bobblies (no points, 1 point, 2 points, 3 points) instead

@Sciborg no, my alicorn one was really long! wordplay legalness matters more.

Wait Bobblies points matter in age?

2:56 AM

no limit but conciseness is better

Oct 12 at 20:29, by bobble

the older they are, the more little points they get

Ah

Wait but you have three points... can your bobblies ever be older than you?

Yes, there are the elderly ones with points all over. They curse at the baby ones with a single point, since one point is more useful than multiple when you want to poke something.

Hahaha

Okay, here it is and I hope you enjoy:

3:04 AM

drum roll

**CCCC:** CCCC text

(bold is two asterisks right?)

yep

yes

prescient

3:04 AM

CCCC: Elizabeth's throat cut by net strike, limbs removed before five hundred attendees - was badly shaken. (7)

How do trees drumroll, you may ask? We just do

Wow, that's violent

my clue had "beheaded baby"

Nice surface, regardless though

Apologies for how gruesome the surface turned out.

@NorthLæraðr guessed what I was going to ask?

3:05 AM

@bobble Of course!

what is a "net strike"? did she get clobbered with a fishing net?

was badly shaken = saw* flashbacks

oh noes

warsaw has 6 letters unfortunately

has Vietnam flashbacks to days of agony over what saws are

3:07 AM

I think my chances have gone to zero :(

can "elizabeth" clue Q (as in queen)?

@experienced solvers

user478740

Ok, this is hard, will this CC recreate the msh madness?

Ankoganit

It's not even been 10 minutes

@Anonymus25 gotta be honest, I find it genuinely funny that you openly insulted my last CCCC a few minutes ago to my face and now you're trying to compliment me on my work on this one

@Sciborg I'm not sure that's a compliment (however, it depends on how the final solution is)

A "hard" CCCC can go both ways - it can be hard for good reasons (e.g. elegant, misleading), or hard for bad reasons (e.g., overcomplexity, bad definition/WP)

still wondering on the "Elizabeth" for "Q" @experienced solvers

3:23 AM

Fair, I hope this one is hard for good reasons then. I still liked our last one even if it turned out to be a bit easy :p

yeah it read like a charm (at the price of a slightly incorrect def)

I usually do best on CCs where the wordplay is 1-2 very simple, clearly clued components. That... doesn't seem to be what's happening here

this one leans a bit on the complicated side

not as far as your Alicorn Gazette one

Alicorn Magazine

ah

3:25 AM

Alicorn Magazine was incredibly complex, I loved it

and I tried to make up for that one by having a very obvious definition & answer

it was like a reversal of def and definition

normally you'd expect the def to be complicated and the definition to be simple but it swapped

anyways, I'm off to read some stuff

cheers

cheers

rubs palms together maniacally in the corner

is there mustache twirling and cackling?

(it can be a metaphorical mustache)

3:28 AM

Absolutely

I should have included the word "saw" just to make us all have flashbacks

or "precipitate"

Or both

"saw precipitate"

"precipitate saw"

Oh god I'm flashing back already

0

Q: You will have the answer

A small puzzle to pass the time, because there's nothing else to do. Find the password from the riddle, with your reasoning. (A note to non-native speakers and really everyone, yes this puzzle requires an English dictionary.) Riddle: 10 is the password, the weapon of choice; 9 tracks your progres...

3:33 AM

by the way, I'm still having problems with not wanting to stop solving Statue Parks long enough to construct a Statue Park

The true struggle

glad you're enjoying the genre! (have you given my puzzles a shot yet?)

I'm trying to work my way through every puzzle in the pack. Completionist tendencies - I started it, so I have to finish it. Planning to look at yours once done!

sounds good!

We love you by the way Deus. (Even if you sniped Bobble and Stiv simultaneously on today's Maserlink :p)

3:39 AM

you're a good puzzler :)

So are you Bobble. Puzzle love for everyone <3

<side note> I initially mistyped that as "god puzzler". Debating whether I should un-fix the typo.

Honestly, it's accurate.

Boss fight idea: Deus, God of Puzzles

what is his weapon?

Sniper rifle and wields Boots of Haste + Crown of Superior Intellect.

Only weakness is the special Honeypot item that stumps him with an impossible puzzle.

3:42 AM

Catchphrase?

"Some basic deductions"

Sidekick?

He has two: Stiv, God of Riddles, and Rand al'Thor, the Mighty Dragon.

Can I be in his fanclub?

And his special summon is to piece together Hex items to form Hexomino, Lord of Logic.

3:46 AM

How about jafe, King of Cryptics?

Ooh yeah, Jafe, King of Cryptics is the god who spawns when Deus is at half health

Then you have to fight all of them at once Dark Souls style.

Can my bobblies be his cheerleader squad?

Your bobblies are both his cheerleader squad and his second special summon, which swarm the battlefield trying to drain your PP (Puzzling Power)

If they latch onto you, you have to quickly shake the controller to shake them off.

this is a great game we're creating

Low key I kinda want to make a Game Jam game out of this lol.

"Puzzling SE Boss Rush"

3:49 AM

"With special bobblie (tm) cheerleader pack, for free if you buy now!"

And you can buy the Sciborg DLC, which gives you a completely random +5 Luck Bonus when you're trying to solve Cryptic minigames.

Why is this turning into an actual game concept

because. it's the Lair.

Brb might have to write some of this down...

Hi, @YouKnowMe!

Bye...

Oop, he left

3:52 AM

Hi
@bobble

hello! haven't seen you here before

Welcome to the Sphinx's Lair :)

Where we solve Cryptic Clues and make video game concepts, apparently

where we don't solve cryptic clues because they take nearly a week

3

Cryptic clues?

3:54 AM

See the guide in the starboard?

This may be helpful :)
https://puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/45984/cryptic-clue-guide

it's a type of crossword clue common in the UK, where every clue has two parts and the challenge is separating them out and parsing them correctly!

Cooooool

We also discuss stuff in Puzzling SE and solve/create puzzles together.

There is occasional AP Physics tutoring

And some people geek out about linguistics

3:56 AM

not naming matt names there :p

well matt isn't the only one

True :)

i'm also prone to geeking out about linguistics

North even made a linguistics puzzle!

So yeah, we talk about a lot of stuff here so you're welcome anytime :)

3:59 AM

Can somebody share a link of an easy(for beginners) cryptic clue?

Deus, link to Kegler's?

And the guide has some good simple examples as well

nvm found it: kegler.gitlab.io/Beginner/Taylor

beginner cryptic crosswords there

here's a cryptic!
https://kegler.gitlab.io/Beginner/Taylor/Taylors_class_09.html
recommended starting clues: 1A, 18A, 2D

it'll still be pretty tough at first, but we're happy to give advice or explain anything you don't understand

There is a bit of a steep learning curve, but once you get the hang of it they're super fun.

Sciborg's learning is sprinkled in the chat transcript

For that matter, so its mine

Same (plus I've created a few cryptic crosswords myself)

4:05 AM

I made a math-cryptic hybrid with an assist from jafe

4:18 AM

How Mathematician snake is Adder?

a mathematician adds numbers, so it is an adder

and there is a kind of a snake called an adder

yep! that's a double-definition clue, where both "mathematician" and "snake" define the answer

in a double definition (ddef), there are two definitions for the same answer, and both must be compliant with normal non-cryptic crossword rules

Mathematicians not only add numbers.

but it isn't wrong to say that they add numbers

4:20 AM

true! "adder" is not a complete description of what a mathematician is, but it's a workable definition/synonym

Oh It requires good vocabulary.

yep

Sorry for asking dumb question. How Reindeer's infamous party is Donner?

good vocabulary helps! you can also look things up if you'd enjoy solving it that way more though

Donner Party :)

4:27 AM

no, it's not dumb! it takes time to get used to cryptics, and some of the clues require knowledge you may not have

Donner is both a reindeer and the name of a doomed expedition that ended in cannibalism.

It's hard to get the hang of, it's okay! You have to kinda think in a weird way at first

Donner is the name of one of Santa's reindeer (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus%27s_reindeer), and the "Donner Party" was... what Sciborg just described

Some people coughs Gareth coughs will use crazy-obscure words as their answers. It's fine to google for possibilities!

Are you all University students?

I'm in high school

North and matt are as well, I think

4:30 AM

College graduate.

there are lots of different age ranges here - i'm a graduate student at the moment (but i joined the site back in high school)

msh210 claims to be an old geezer

user478740

PSE Boss rush? That sounds exciting

4:53 AM

bye for the night!

Good night :)

night!

5:10 AM

"Journey for particles leads to issues (9)". How issues is related to ions?

Particles is a reference to ions.

Journey is another word for quest.

Therefore... QUEST + IONS

user478740

6:04 AM

Ok, I would like to post 3 CCs for all of you to test solve them, please

user478740

So I can give other puzzlers a chance to solve too

user478740

Will you test solve them?

Stiv

@bobble Yep, that's a weekend task! Was leaving it a little while to give more people a chance to view and comment. Plus I ended up real deep in Statue Park...!

user478740

Ok, no answer

oAlt

@YouKnowMe no, but I'm in my last year of high school

@Anonymus25 anyone but me, cuz I'm not good at solving

Q: The combinational switching lights

7:18 AM

0

You have probably encountered the mini puzzle in various games where you have a set of switches and a set of lights (or other triggers), such that each switch "flips" the states of one or more lights ("on" becomes "off" and vice versa). You normally proceed through the puzzle by turning on all th...

mathematics

9:21 AM

@Anonymus25 Ok, just post one for the start :) Do you want to have them checked for legality?

If so, add the explanation of the wordplay

user478740

1:13 PM

Ok, here it is: Evil pushing a goat. (7)

1:55 PM

If you want it checked for legality, you have to give wordplay

user478740

Pushing a goat: Nag a ram, so becomes anagram

where is "anagram" defined?

user478740

Evil: Devious, so angram of devious is Deusovi

ummm that's not a legal def

Definitions have to be acceptable for a regular, non-cryptic crossword

user478740

Pushing a goat is bothering a goat, so nag a goat or nag a ram

2:05 PM

Also, you can't do indirect anagrams

(which means if you anagram any letters, they must come directly from the clue)

Also also, even if everything else worked, pushing a goat would be nagging a ram, so you've got four extra letters.

darn, how did I not catch that!

user478740

2:18 PM

Ok, number 2: The great christian symbol in letterland. (9)

user478740

Christian symbol: CROSS, letterland refers to WORD, =CROSSWORD

How is "the great" a definition for CROSSWORD?

2:36 PM

I don't buy "letterland" as a definition for WORD, either. Also, in cryptic clues "in" generally means putting one thing inside another -- so if you had WOCROSSRD, that would be CROSS in WORD, but not CROSSWORD. That's CROSS on WORD or CROSS with WORD or WORD after CROSS, etc., but not CROSS in WORD.

user478740

The great christian symbol, sorry

wordplay puzzle-creation cryptic-clues cryptic-crosswords

92

Q: Cryptic Clue Guide

This post is not a puzzle. There is nothing puzzly hidden inside it or the self-answer, posted at the same time. What exactly is a cryptic crossword clue, and how do I write one?

so then is "letterland" defining WORD or CROSSWORD, and in the former case where's the definition of CROSSWORD?

(actually, even in the latter case where's the definition of CROSSWORD? I don't think "letterland" defines CROSSWORD.)

user478740

Let's hope the last one is good: Take a crown, change the buzzers with pointy letters, and add a small hat. (6,3)

i bet it's something with bobble

user478740

2:40 PM

Try solving first

bobble hat?

user478740

Dosen't explain the buzzers and pointy letters

user478740

And, small hat is cap

yes, it was just a shot in the dark

since I don't know if the clue is even legal so no idea where to start

user478740

Answer: Bottle cap

2:43 PM

I think you may underestimate how rigorously specified a thing a cryptic crossword clue is. There's a definite "grammar" that applies to the wordplay parts, a definite structure the whole clue has to have. There are clues that break the rules a bit, but the rules are there for a reason -- to make it possible to solve the clue and know that your solution is right. Impressionistic clues that don't follow the rules tend to make that not true any more, and that's a problem.

(Successful rule-breaking clues generally have the property that when you figure out the setter's unorthodox idea, there's no doubt in your mind that you've got it.)

So, again: in this latest clue, where is the definition?

user478740

Crown: Bobble, buzzers: Bs, pointy letters: Ts, Small hat: Cap

I think buzzers -> bees -> Bs is too indirect.

@Sciborg and @bobble I was dying reading your PSE boss fight idea

Also, in terms of style I'm not keen on being so explicit as "change the buzzers with pointy letters"; generally you want to write clues so that the surface reading gives an entirely false idea of what's actually going on in the wordplay, and this is the exact reverse of that -- it literally tells you what to do. (Just a bit obscurely, with e.g. "buzzers" instead of "Bs" and "pointy letters" instead of "Ts", which I think adds the wrong sort of difficulty.)

mathematics geometry geography

3:42 PM

0

Q: Where might I live?

I don't actually see this problem on Puzzling but not sure if it's original with me or not. From home, if I walk one kilometer north, one kilometer east, and one kilometer south, I'm back at home. Where might I live?

Q: Prove that there exists infinite primes, p such that $3^p-2^p$ is a composite number

4:07 PM

0

Prove that there exists infinite primes, p such that $3^p-2^p$ is a composite number.

mathematics primes

0

Q: Square forming challenge

Cut a square into 3 pieces Rearrange them anyway you want Cuts must be straight (but can begin/end anywhere). Scoring method 1: For each visible square 1 point For each cut -1 point Scoring method 2: For each square 1 point For each cut -1 point What it the highest score possible? (separate fo...

geometry dissection

4:18 PM

I see my C4 still stands :p

hello gentleperson

(this is matt)

Hello! I know you're matt :D

(:

how're the bobblies coming along?

I made the template and I've diagrammed everything, just have to actually sew it! Didn't have a chance to sit down and sew this week

DIAGRAMS OF EVERYTHING

4:22 PM

The way you do it is by making a paper template and then using that to cut/sew the pieces :)

That way it's all symmetrical

How has your week been?

pretty good, thanks for asking :)

I'm meeting someone for lunch today, but I'll be back on later and will drop a C4 hint :)

Glad you had a good week!

:)

@bobble h- alright I'll shut up

msh210

@NorthLæraðr what's "sus"?

Never mind, it was explained thereafter in chat

@msh210 suspicious, it's from among us

msh210

4:34 PM

@Avi Rev. Hugh G.

nice!

msh210

@Sciborg I imagine she would be rather shaken by that, yes.

Elemental = ELE MENTAL?

A: A rectangle, a circle, and a triangle are drawn on a plane

5:43 PM

???? I don't understand why people do this

0

Draw a square and from the point of the intersection of two diagonals draw a circle as shown below. Then draw a triangle, as shown. The circle, the triangle and the square intersect at 20 points.

this answer is like, days later, provides almost no new information, and is not even properly spoilered

John Dvorak

They hope to get at least some points off of it