The Sphinx's Lair

HTM

2:06 AM

@mbingo FASCIST is actually the correct answer, but there's a much better explanation for the wordplay

And since it's the trickiest part, I'll give the W to whomever manages to figure it out first

mbingo

2:39 AM

Figured it would be something much better. :) Tricky indeed. I'll think on it.

Sphinx

3:02 AM

0

Q: I place you back on the ground

My infix spells an alphabet, And can put things to action My prefix means to criticise, And undo or inaction My postfix is a sound And to a plant, it is bound As a verb I am found I place you back on the ground Who am I? Hint:

Sphinx

10:09 AM

1

Q: Series of interestingly increasing words!

What is the next word(more than one is possible!) in the below sequence of words: NO, ATE, OPTS, _ _ _ _ _ ? Note: 1 Only standard English words(as per Oxford English Dictionary) are to be provided. 2 As multiple answers are possible, first correct entry wins 3 There can be other sets of ...

word wordplay no-computers word-property

msh210

2:19 PM

I want the C4 to be like this: FASCIST is: return (=ASCII D [in hex]) de-tailed (each word has its last letter removed, yielding ASCI) in F(ile) + S (=to concern) + T(he). But I can't find any reason "to concern" should clue S.

mbingo

Oh, nice. I looked at return in ASCII but didn't consider looking at the hex code. Great call.

Is F acceptable as an abbreviation for "file"? Or does it need the "beginning" indicator?

Maybe in chess, F is a file (and so you could use "file" for any of A-H)?

Okay, re-reading, your solution is using the "beginning" indicator (and "left" as well).

dcfyj

2:38 PM

I'd help, but I'm rubbish at CC lol

The only thing I can think of is some synonym of concerned that starts with S, but I don't think that's valid

Avi

"detailed in" = I

"file" = C

mbingo

This could work:

definition: "Nazi"
"return detailed" = ASCI ("ASCII D" de-tailed)
"file" = F (i.e. chess file)
"beginning to concern" = S (beginning of "solicitude", i.e. a synonym for "concern")
"the left" = T
ASCI in FST → FASCIST

dcfyj

@Avi how do you get FAS or ST though?

Avi

no idea

was going for something like (FAS)< + CIST

how is "return" "ascii D"?

dcfyj

@Avi Except detailed in is before file so you'd get IC not CI

@Avi carriage return is D in the ASCII table

mbingo

2:49 PM

The "return" character, in ASCII, has code 13 (which is D in hex).

Avi

sneaky

dcfyj

Feels a little stretch to me, but what do I know lol

Avi

what is "in" doing, then?

mbingo

It's definitely unusual. I think it's more fair to go the other way around (i.e. define "return" using "ASCII D" or something).

dcfyj

ASCI in FST

mbingo

2:50 PM

"in" is a container indicator.

Avi

Nazi's quick theft left the coronavirus' beginning inside (7)

dcfyj

@Avi I'd imagine that's FASCIST

Avi

FAS(-t he, +C)IST yes

return = reversal indicator, detailed = removal of tail indicator, in = containment indicator, beginning = head indicator, beginning to = head indicator, left = removal indicator

file = chess file (A-H), concern(ing) = CA/RE, left = L

so many indicators I didn't even know this was possible

dcfyj

I've had a CC where it started and ended with anagram indicators, it was interesting

msh210

@mbingo it works, though I'm not happy about the initial-letter-of-a-synonym thing.

mbingo

3:04 PM

Me neither.

msh210

@HTM see above, please.

@msh210 this post and on, until here

dcfyj

@msh210 Isn't that an infinite loop though? You'll crash HTM!

North

@dcfyj lol

msh210

@dcfyj "until" meaning "until and not including"

dcfyj

:P

Gareth McCaughan

3:21 PM

I really really don't like "take a synonym and use first letter" because that way almost any word could produce almost any letter.

mbingo

I totally agree!

Gareth McCaughan

And I really really really don't like "return detailed" = "ASCII D" minus some letters = "ASCI" because that way almost anything of form "[character name] detailed" could produce any initial substring of any character set/encoding name. I mean, it could just as well be "tab detailed"; or "return detailed" to make EBC because of EBCDIC or UNI because of Unicode.

So there's no actual interaction, so to speak, between what's in the clue and what's in the answer.

All of which makes me pretty sure that that's not how the clue is meant to work...

I mean, don't get me wrong, it's ingenious. But it had better be wrong :-).

mbingo

I'm with you on all of that too.

msh210

@GarethMcCaughan my idea (which I have to say I, too, am not a big fan of) was that "detailed" = "with the tail, last letter, of each word removed" -- then ASCII D --> ASCI

mbingo

His point is, why "return"?

msh210

3:26 PM

I agree with that. I'm just saying it's not just "minus some letters" yielding "any initial substring", it's minus very specific letters yielding a specific initial substring.

mbingo

Okay, I see.

But yeah, it would feel kind of cheaty. Truthfully, I don't even like the "the left" = T mechanism, but that's more controversial.

Yet more personal is that I don't love "beginning to X"... I'm on team "beginning of X" or "X's beginning".

But neither of those kills the attempt the way the ASCII and the synonym-first-letter thing do.

msh210

agreed, agreed, and agreed. So maybe this is not the intended solution. :-)

(though I don't agree re "the left". I have no problem with that.)

Avi

squints angrily

Ni!

mbingo

Yeah, that's fair. I prefer "the's left", but it's defensible.

Sphinx

3

Q: Math puzzle - Running Out of Digits

You initially have 100 of each digit from 0 to 9. This means you have 1000 digits in total. This count for each digit is shown in the table below. Now start counting by ones, from 1. Each time you say a number you must remove the digits required to make the number from your stockpile of digits...

mathematics number

msh210

3:32 PM

I also don't mind "start to X". "Beginning to X" I wouldn't mind if it were actually used in English (as "start to X" is) but offhand I can't think of a way it is.

Avi

"beginning to explode"

Angry fish beginning to explode

mbingo

Yeah, it doesn't really upset me when I see it in a puzzle, but I avoid it in my own clues.

Yeah, it's used in that context, but we don't really say "beginning to X" to mean "beginning of X", do we?

Avi

Tough-looking and angry fish start to explode (5)

Stir melted fraction of steel to create conflict (6)

first one is (SHIF)*+E_

second one is (STRI)*+FE

Central bureaucracy can destroy extremes of governance to provide freedom (6)

_U_ + (NCA)* + G_E

Deusovi

3:55 PM

completely agreed with "start to X" vs "X left"

"can destroy" doesn't work grammatically there

Avi

can destroyed :(

Can destroy Deusovi CC my

more importantly, I need to come up with an &lit x.x

Deusovi

no, you don't

Avi

yes, I do

Deusovi

my advice is to first focus on making your clue grammar work

Avi

I can make my clue grammar work when I'm making a CC

Deusovi

4:01 PM

once you're consistent at that, make your surfaces smoother

and then once you're consistent at that, you can go for an &lit if you want

Avi

shoot for the sky and you might land on the ground

shoot for the stars and you might land in the sky

shoot for the sun and well

...

North

shoot at the sky and you hit a bystander

Deusovi

or you might suffocate in the vacuum of space

Avi

only if you make it

Deusovi

going for an &lit on random words is not a great idea, IMO - there's a reason they're so rare! my advice is to wait until you've found a word that seems naturally workable into an &lit (and to know what seems naturally workable into something, you need a lot of practice with making your surfaces smoother)

Avi

4:03 PM

I mean, I'm looking for that word

until then, I've only gotten semi-&lits

North

@Avi shoot for the starts and then you'll fall towards earth at such an acceleration until you hit terminal velocity and then become a ball of fire burning into nothing or splat so hard your remains become nothing

Avi

@North It seems you have experience with that

:P

North

@Avi im a tree, parachuters fall on me all the time

or they try to fall on me but splat on the ground

Deusovi

I think "shooting for the stars" is a great goal to have, but you should focus on practicing getting smooth surfaces

Avi

Anybody falling into the arms of a tree is spectacularly misinformed as to their possible prospects for future survival

Deusovi

4:07 PM

and being able to "nudge" the meaning of your surfaces consistently in a particular direction

North

@Avi Yea, they get stabbed or break my branch, which HURTS

mbingo

I agree with Deusovi. Honestly, a killer, deceptive surface is more impressive/valuable than an &lit, anyway.

&lits will come.

Avi

Killer deceptive surface is doable

&lits, not so :(

Deusovi

It's harder than you think, especially keeping the surface smooth-reading

&lits are not inherently better than other clues - they're neat when they come up, but too much forcing and they're unfun

2

Avi

:x

was trying to come up with something like

Be, for example, first

except "before" isn't first

dcfyj

4:21 PM

@Avi Fraction of steel is FE? Fe is iron though...

Avi

iron + carbon makes up steel

dcfyj

Eh, I don't really like it

North

@Avi more or less yes

Avi

Poor township - I'm an editor for the newspaper (3,7)

they must be very sad at my crosswords lol

Deusovi

@Avi and the clue doesn't match the part of speech

"be [...] first" is a verb phrase; "before" is a preposition or conjunction

Avi

4:24 PM

"come before" might work

but I can't be bothered to make the full clue work out

dcfyj

@Deusovi Random question, have you played DYO? (steam game)

North

@dcfyj He doesn't play platformers often, I don't believe

dcfyj

It's a nifty, if short, puzzle game though

mbingo

That looks interesting.

Deusovi

@North that's definitely not true - I 100%ed Celeste (and played through the first 6 chapters of the D-Side mod)

platformers are probably my second favorite type of game behind puzzle games

and nope, haven't played DYO

dcfyj

4:28 PM

@mbingo DYO? I liked it well enough. For the most part the puzzles weren't terribly difficult, but there were a couple nasty ones (for me)

mbingo

Same! Celeste is italian chef finger kiss.

dcfyj

@Deusovi It's free, you should check it out

mbingo

Free to play, hard to say no.

@Deusovi Did you fall under the golden berry spell at all?

No achievements, but I couldn't resist for some of them.

dcfyj

I had issues beating the last level in the left branch (took me a while to figure it out) and the first level after the middle/right branches, that one I recruited a friend to help me with lol I was going about it all kinds of wrong

Deusovi

nope, didn't do goldens apart from the winged golden

North

4:30 PM

@Deusovi Ah nvm then

dcfyj

Yes?

Deusovi

I'm generally not a fan of "you did this, now do it better" challenges - also why I'm not into engineering-style puzzle games

North

@Deusovi Oh you don't like RPG was it?

Turn-based

?

Deusovi

(I see them as problems to solve rather than puzzles with an intended solution. that's one reason I say they shouldn't be here)

dcfyj

@Deusovi See, I don't mind those, what I don't like is time challenges

mbingo

4:31 PM

@dcfyj What style of puzzle is it? I could just play it but...

Deusovi

yeah, not usually a fan of RPGs

North

@mbingo I wish I was good enough to play Celeste

Avi

Harvester in Korea, perhaps (6)

mbingo

Aww, I'm a Zachtronics fanboy, though I don't spend too much time optimizing on a metric.

dcfyj

@mbingo DYO?

mbingo

4:32 PM

Yeah, DYO.

North

I suckkk at platformers

Deusovi

I've played through Pokemon Sword recently though, it was nice

North

Perhaps because I tend to stand at just one place

mbingo

@North Celeste is amazing for that, though—assist mode provides lots of tools and doesn't shame you for using them.

North

@Deusovi It's okay. Very good graphics

Avi

4:32 PM

Have you played Lightmatter?

Deusovi

@North try it! Celeste is really good at "training you" with a smooth difficulty curve

dcfyj

Puzzle platformer, you control both characters (at the same time) and can lock each side of the screen to make pathways up to the end door

Deusovi

and plus, assist mode is there, and it's really good

Avi

terrible story but ok puzzles

North

@Deusovi I would recommend Pokemon Platnium

@Deusovi Hm I still gotta get Baba is You :/

Deusovi

4:33 PM

Played Platinum a while back

also Baba is good but brutally hard

mbingo

I'll let you know what I think, @North :D I've got a bit of a backlog, though...

dcfyj

the first 10 levels or so introduce you to the game mechanics, once the path splits there are 3 new major mechanics introduced

mbingo

Yeah, Baba awesome but tough.

Snakebird-style.

@Avi what's Lightmatter like?

Avi

It's ok

dcfyj

@mbingo the video on the steam page does a decent job of summarizing the gist of the game

Avi

4:34 PM

long game though, and mostly the same mechanics throughout

dcfyj

@Avi define long

Avi

hours?

North

at least I've played UNDERTALE

But yeah I can't beat Mario sooooo

dcfyj

@Avi yeah

Avi

hours

maybe days but definitely not weeks

dcfyj

4:35 PM

10+,20+...?

fine I'll look it up lol

@Avi Howlongtobeat.com has the main story at 6 hours at a leisurely pace, that's not long

Avi

Yeah

dcfyj

granted, long to me is like 80+ lol

I wish I could experience Antichamber for the first time again :(

Deusovi

oh, Antichamber was interesting

mbingo

Antichamber's the one that everyone loved but I didn't care for.

dcfyj

@mbingo Why's that?

mbingo

4:39 PM

I accept that I'm the problem there. I'm weak with spatial stuff.

Deusovi

that's fair!

mbingo

And then you have Antichamber doing what it does...

Deusovi

The Witness is one of my consistent recommendations

mbingo

I struggle with regular open-world games, getting lost all the time. e.g. real life.

Yeah, The Witness became really difficult for me for that reason. Braid > Witness :D

dcfyj

@Deusovi Loved that game, I'm perfectly content with the platinum I got on it :)

mbingo

4:40 PM

(But again, that's just me. Witness is very cool.)

North

List of games to play still:
Celeste
Baba is You
Ace Attorney
Xenoblade

uh

Avi

The witness

Deusovi

oh I get lost a lot too

North

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

dcfyj

Braid is also excellent, trying to get 100% achievements on it, just missing the speedrun...

North

4:41 PM

@Avi eh, looks like way too much brain work

Deusovi

I built up a pretty good mental map of the island over time though

dcfyj

@Deusovi Yeah, It's fairly small (thankfully)

Plus you can use the boat to help

North

like witness looks fun but like a little too much thinking

mbingo

I did the Braid speedrun on Xbox, but I should do it again on Steam.

Not into thinking, @North?

dcfyj

@North It's fairly intuitive, but it definitely has those AHA! moments

North

4:42 PM

@mbingo More into storyline more than anything else

Deusovi

I figured anyone who visited Puzzling would be interested in thinky games

mbingo

You might demote Baba a few spots, then :)

dcfyj

The only section I had major issues figuring out the rules for was the desert. Still annoys the crap out of me that I looked it up...

North

But Baba looks enjoyable, but the Witness doesn't look particularly interesting to me

mbingo

Baba is enjoyable in a "novelty" kind of way for the first half hour, and then it's enjoyable in a "I am doing nothing but thinking right now" kind of way after that.

Deusovi

4:43 PM

^

mbingo

So... definitely play it, but fair warning :D

Deusovi

Baba is absolutely brutal in its difficulty, especially in the endgame

dcfyj

Oh, that looks interesting

mbingo

Where do we all stand on Tametsi?

dcfyj

First glance looks like minsweeper

mbingo

4:45 PM

Yeah. It's essentially that, but... much better.

Deusovi

Tametsi was fun for the first half to two thirds, but I kinda lost interest later on

dcfyj

I like logic grids, so I'd probably play it

mbingo

Hexcells (trilogy) is I guess the place to start.

Then Tametsi if you like that and want more/way tougher.

Yeah, understandable, @Deusovi.

Deusovi

I wanted it to play with a bunch of weird grids, but the later puzzles are just big square grids with maybe one or two vertices that the connectivity is different on

mbingo

For sure. Eventually it becomes an achievement grind more than an "oh, new ideas" sort of thing.

dcfyj

4:48 PM

Anyone played Safecracker? (it's fairly old and didn't work on newer machines for quite a while, but a fix was found for it)

mbingo

I haven't. But I like the sounds of it.

dcfyj

Also, one of these days, I'll finish spacechem lol just have to wrap (warp?) my brain around the level I'm on lol

@mbingo safecracker

Sid

Wow. Been a while since I was here. Looks like the CCCC hasn't died off.

mbingo

That game blew my mind when I first saw it.

Hi @Sid :D

dcfyj

A wild Sid has appeared

@Sid yeah, I was surprised too when I got back on for the first time in forever a couple weeks ago

mbingo

4:51 PM

Ugh.

dcfyj

@mbingo tab, not enter, to autocomplete

mbingo

@dcfyj I went to add Safecracker to my wishlist, but it wouldn't let me.

Ha, thanks.

dcfyj

Odd

mbingo

@dcfyj It's because I already own it.

I must have gotten it in a humble bundle or something.

dcfyj

lol, that's great

Mithical

4:52 PM

Also, if you roll over a message with your mouse, you should see a reply arrow all the way to the right, assuming non-mobile.

(Excluding your own.)

mbingo

@Mithical Cool, good to know.

Oh, nice.

dcfyj

Yeah, can't reply to yourself :(

Mithical

I mean... you can, you just have to type in ":<message ID>"

dcfyj

@mbingo you'll want to do the fix for it after you install, otherwise it's nigh unplayable (flickering screen can't see mouse)

mbingo

@mbingo Really nice.

Sid

4:53 PM

@dcfyj Feels like forever to me too. Probably been more than a year since I was active around here. Uni is hectic. Huh.

mbingo

@dcfyj Deal.

@Sid Speaking of C4, wanna help us crack the wordplay on this one? :D

dcfyj

Vessel is another interesting puzzle game, although most of them aren't terribly difficult

Sid

Hmm. Been a long time since I solved one of these things, my first thought is FASCIST because Nazi but that's probably a red herring

dcfyj

(going through my steam list) I should play Teslagrad again too...

@Sid HTM confirmed that Fascist is the answer

Sid

And no, I have no idea of the wordplay.

dcfyj

4:56 PM

15 hours ago, by HTM

@mbingo FASCIST is actually the correct answer, but there's a much better explanation for the wordplay

mbingo

Speaking of that, I'd prefer if the def. were "Nazi, for instance", since Nazism is a subset of fascism.

Avi

no

dcfyj

That would murder the surface though lol

mbingo

That gives away where the definition is, kind of, but that's the nature of cluewriting :D

Avi

Nazism, perhaps -> Fascism

mbingo

4:58 PM

@Avi no? Maybe my understanding of the two is off, but they're definitely not the same thing.

Avi

NAZI is-a FASCIST

mbingo

Right, that's what I'm saying.

Avi

just like how your definition can be "ANIMAL" and the word "CAT"

CAT is-an ANIMAL

mbingo

Right. We agree, then. "Nazi" shouldn't define "fascist", just as "cat" shouldn't define "animal".

Deusovi

@dcfyj Never played it - the screenshots don't actually show much puzzle content, though...

Avi

4:59 PM

@mbingo ah, yes

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