The Sphinx's Lair

dcfyj

8:04 PM

I can't see that (NN) as anything else but true neutral lol

Avi

I can't see it as anything but neural network

but that didn't stop me

0

A: Mensa Norway last 3 questions

For the first problem a.k.a problem #33 I looked it up in downward direction. For each column we can see that there is a triangle that never “moves” (red circle) and that's our reference point and it follows the clockwise pattern . So we can expect that in the third column there will be a plain t...

^ how many times are people going to necromancer this question ;-;

John Dvorak

#{years_elapsed*2}

Avi

as years_elapsed -> inf

mbingo

8:23 PM

@Avi I'm dum when it comes to Star Wars, but do you mean REY?

Avi

I'm dumber, apparently - Yes

Jedi's riddle genre I'll nearly reject (3)

RILEY - IL(-l) = REY

Ready to destroy advertisement for Jedi (3)

mbingo

The concept is fine, but you'd never say "X, Y nearly reject" to mean "take Y out of X".

Avi

RE(-ad)Y

mbingo

Ready, destroying advertisement for Jedi (3)

(Assuming "destroying" is okay for "removing"... might be better just as "removing" or "without")

Avi

I'm of the opinion that the first one I attempted is bad but the second one is passable

@Deusovi

mbingo

8:28 PM

I guess its passability depends on your strictness :)

Avi

I'm fairly sure it's OK

mbingo

You'd never say "X to destroy Y for Z". You'd say "Remove Y from X for Z" or something.

Deusovi

I think "X to have Y destroyed for Z" or something is probably okay

Avi

Jedi ready to have destroyed advertisement (3)

mbingo

X has Y destroyed for Z; X, with Y destroyed, results in Z

Avi

8:29 PM

ehhhh

Deusovi

using "to" in the newspaper headline sense of "should/must/will", it might be fine?

mbingo

I think "X to have Y destroyed" is better than "X to destroy Y". I think the subtlety is that the latter positions X as the thing doing destroying, which is weird in the wordplay reading.

Deusovi

yeah

Sphinx

-1

Q: Looking for a word(s) that starts with I or L and is still a valid word after the l or i is dropped

Looking for a word(s) that starts with I or L and is still a valid word after the l or i is dropped. I would like to solve this programmatically but I only need one example. one I can think of is iPod and pod. but I would like one without using proper names.

wordplay

Avi

Jedi inclined to reject promotion (3) would have worked if not for no "X to minus Y"

dcfyj

8:40 PM

Is this valid?

Man that struck oil starts idolizing force user (4)

Avi

... what's the wordplay?

dcfyj

Jed+i

Deusovi

"man that struck oil" = JED?

dcfyj

Beverly hillbillies

Deusovi

also "starts idolizing" doesn't work because "starts" is plural and doesn't grammatically apply to "idolizing"

mbingo

8:42 PM

I don't love "starts X" to mean "the start of X".

dcfyj

Fair enough, just came to mind figured I'd try :P

Avi

and "starts to idolize" gives ID, I believe

mbingo

If you like "beginning to X", that can work.

dcfyj

Man that struck oil beginning to idolizing force user (4)

A little more wordy, but it still fits

mbingo

(Plus I'd s/that/who.)

Avi

8:45 PM

Short governor leaves leadership and starts to idolize poet (4) - (-g)OV + ID_

mbingo

(And s/idolizing/idolize.)

Deusovi

(and "beginning to idolize")

@Avi "leadership"?

Avi

ok that would more likely be S than "take off the head"

Short governor loses head and starts to idolize poet (4) - (-g)OV + ID_

mbingo

I think you can get away without "short".

Avi

as in, he's outta his goddamn mind

who idolizes poets in this day and age

mbingo

8:47 PM

Yeah, that's a fine clue, if you like "starts to X" to mean "first two letters of X". Might be a bit loose.

Avi

proceeds to write a poem

Deusovi

yeah, if anything I would prefer losing "short"

(and "starts to X" meaning first two letters is pretty conventional)

mbingo

I wouldn't say I idolize him, but Anthony Etherin writes awesome wordplay poems. He puts a bunch on Twitter.

Avi

is leadership -> S(-hip) ok?

Deusovi

i'd say no

Avi

8:48 PM

what about leadership -> HI(-p)

Deusovi

but it is a thing that's done

Again, no

that's called elision

mbingo

Really? It's done?

Avi

It's done

just wondering if it was ok here

Deusovi

most people are strongly against it but more libertarian publications use it

Avi

Leader's hip -> is that L_ or _R, optionally?

Deusovi

8:49 PM

(well "most people" is probably pretty strong)

I wouldn't use "hip" to mean that

Avi

hmmm, ok

Deusovi

@Avi well, if you use it, I'll complain

Avi

We don't want Deusovi complaining

because then we'll never hear the end of it

dcfyj

Flutist using Denmark transmitter causes panic (8)

Avi

using?

dcfyj

8:50 PM

Couldn't think of anything better to connect the sentence lol

Was trying to avoid clue words as well

mbingo

What fun! We'll never hear the end of it (4)

Avi

oh my god

mbingo

Working on that Denmark...

dcfyj

@mbingo Reminds me of "Throckmorton knew that if he ever farted in the echo chamber he'd never hear the end of it"

mbingo

Haha, what's that from?

Avi

8:52 PM

"Hehehehehehehehe," Tom chuckled, in the echo chamber

dcfyj

I don't remember, I think I saw it on a paper posted on a bulletin board at a niversity

mbingo

Haha, love it.

@dcfyj Oh, the specific name implied to me that it was from something. Still love it.

Avi

"I' unabl t tal properl righ no," To babble, endlessl.

dcfyj

heh

mbingo

:D

dcfyj

8:55 PM

@mbingo As in it's actually worth working on or just trying to figure it out? lol I love it when I make a decent one

mbingo

I'm trying to figure it out.

Avi

same

Jedi loses energy and eats a creature from the ocean (3) - R(E->A)Y

mbingo

That looks good to me.

dcfyj

@mbingo WHEE(-l)?

mbingo

@dcfyj Yep.

dcfyj

8:58 PM

Yay! I can understand yours!

Avi

sneaky

you can probably even extend that

dcfyj

although I'm not sure about that "we'll never hear" bit

mbingo

Is the name of a specific flautist required for the DK clue?

Avi

What fun! We'll never hear the end of it (∞) - WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...

mbingo

@dcfyj It's not the best, but I was just trying to use @Avi's sentence directly.

Haha, 400 version is great.

Haha even better.

Avi

8:59 PM

Ha, 400

dcfyj

@mbingo He's quite well known

Avi

we can probably even make that &lit.

with the ∞, you know

because you'll literally never hear the end of it

dcfyj

Anyhow, I need to leave, so if you want the solution now...

Avi

yes please

dcfyj

(there also might be a mistake in it)

mbingo

9:00 PM

The only flute player I know is actually an 8, but I'd be really surprised.

dcfyj

PAN+DE+MIC

panic was the def

mbingo

Oh. Fair.

Denmark is DK, though.

DE is Germany.

Deusovi

also, MIC = transmitter?

Avi

using?

dcfyj

@Deusovi it's a synonym of it apparently

@Avi I already explained that one lol

Avi

9:01 PM

synonym -> abbreviation is a bit too far I think

Flutist with German microphone causes panic (8)

mbingo

It has to be Germany, sadly. :(

Avi

true

dcfyj

lol

mbingo

But "with" is a better solution for that, yeah.

dcfyj

Yeah, I forgot that Denmark's abbreviation isn't DE, my bad

@mbingo couldn't think of anything that worked lol

Avi

9:02 PM

Flutist with half-dead microphone causes panic (8)

mbingo

Yeah, I definitely get the pressures of quick cluing.

I do keep that in mind with all of my comments... we're just throwing clues out there :D

Avi

check that pandemic and panic aren't etymologically related

I got donked with ESSAY and ASSAY once

dcfyj

@Avi No idea, you can @ me the information if you like, but I need to go

mbingo

Actually, it looks like PANIC and PAN are.

Later @dcfyj!

Avi

@mbingo and, RIP another clue :(

mbingo

9:05 PM

Etymology sucks.

I wanna be able to use "Write with writing utensil (3)".

Avi

what's the wordplay :o

mbingo

It's just PEN / PEN double def.

Avi

XD

mbingo

Etymology sucks. :(

Avi

Warm one's missing from lift (3)

HOIST - (I'S) = HOT

mbingo

9:10 PM

Fine by me. I think you can find a better definition, though.

Avi

Beautiful one's missing from get-up (3)

mbingo

get-up = HOIST?

Avi

get up = hoist

remember, you ignore punctuation if need be

get-up is just how I misdirect you

mbingo

Yeah, but I still don't quite feel it.

Avi

get up = rise

mbingo

9:12 PM

I get the gist but... one is transitive and one isn't.

I mean, you can get X up, I suppose, but is that the same as hoisting X?

Maybe.

Avi

different part of speech, I feel it

Beautiful one's missing from drink (3), maybe

Though that may not be the nicest thing to think about

Sphinx

0

Q: A bugs job (Wordplay)

A bug signs up to a service to help them with their job. What is the bugs profession and why?

wordplay

Avi

A flea might be an itch-hiker

A grasshopper might be a grass-chopper

VTC too broad

A spider might surf the web for a living

A moth might host balls

A dragonfly might be a Rider (i.e. Eragon series Rider)

Assassin bug might be a contract killer

Black widow...

Stoneflies might be miners

ok I'm out of ideas

Mosquito might be manufacturing Keto diet products from moss

Plant diet reportedly creates infectious vector (8)

MOSS + KETO sounds like MOSQUITO

mbingo

9:29 PM

I pronounce the first O in MOSQUITO as a schwa and the O in MOSS as AW.

MUSS KETO sounds closer, to my ear.

Avi

maws

maws is closer to moss, you're saying, than muss

which I agree with

mbingo

Yeah, but then MAWS and MOSS have the voiced/unvoiced endings (respectively).

Avi

Make a mess of diet

MUSS + KETO

how to get pronunciation indicators there?

It's said to make a mess of diet - MOSQUITO

definition needed

unless it's &lit

because gross, who eats mosquitos

It's said to make a mess of diet! (8) - "MUSS KETO" ~= MOSQUITO &lit.

if nobody says that it makes a mess of diet

here is proof: I'll say it right now.

Mosquito will make a mess of diet if eaten.

esp. raw mussketo

aha

Bit of claim over time (6)

TIT(T)LE = TITTLE [bit]

Sphinx

10:15 PM

0

Q: A Tale of Prehistoric Times

$$\def\T{\\\text}\normalsize{\begin{array} \\\text{Gather round if you want to know} \T{A tale of creatures from long ago} \T{This rhyme is of the greatest beast} \T{To rule the land from West to East} \T{All creatures then would tend to run} \T{To see the beast, their lives were done} \T{The rea...

word enigmatic-puzzle

Deusovi

Is the mathjax formatting really necessary there?

Avi

I mean, no

But then it won't be centered

and I will be unhappy, because I like to have my poems centered on the page

For your eyes, I have fixed it

Rejoice, dear puzzler

Deusovi

10:41 PM

(I asked because Mathjax takes extra time to load, and is often inaccessible over very slow connections. It's specifically for mathematics, not general formatting, and it also hurts screenreader accessibility when used)

Avi

It hurts to read on mobile

1 person swung too far

This is important. I need you to listen...

I think my upcoming puzzle isn't hard enough

Maybe you'll just have to wait some more time

Please, hold on

,,,

HTM

If we're sharing upcoming PSE content, might as well announce that I'm currently in the process of creating a new puzzle series

It'll be themed around a certain university and will contain seven puzzlehunt style puzzles and a final meta

However I've only got the meta down (just constructed it last night actually), so this announcement might be a bit premature

And that is all.

Avi

I'll be creating a single puzzle with a series of related puzzles

With interrelated solutions :)

Except, it's all one big puzzle

I just finished writing down the solutions to the sudokus so it's probably a bit far away

Sphinx

11:16 PM

1

Q: Rosetta's Stone

Another puzzle in the spirit of the Density™ puzzle. Fairly hard I suspect. Enjoy! Final Answer: (6, 7) Version for the color impaired here.

enigmatic-puzzle visual anagram

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