The Sphinx's Lair

2:49 AM

0

8712 and 9801 are the only 4-digit numbers which are multiples of their reversals: 8712 = 4*2178 and 9801 = 9*1089. Without using a calculator/computer can you find 5-digit example(s) of such numbers? Note that palindromes and multiples of 10 are not allowed.

Sphinx

3:12 AM

0

Q: Numbers that are the sum of the cubes of their digits

There are just four 3-digit numbers which are the sums of the cubes of their digits. For example: 370 = 3^3 + 7^3 + 0^3 and 371 = 3^3 + 7^3 + 1^3. Without using a calculator/computer, can you find the other two 3-digit numbers with this property? Are there any more such numbers?

mathematics no-computers

oAlt

3:51 AM

heh, looks like I can't start immediately solving jafe's crossword

my laptop was borrowed LOL

and transcribing the grid and writing down clue explanations is inconvenient on mobile

Deusovi

4:07 AM

hey, you made me check for the puzzle D:

oAlt

oh LOL

Always Confused

4:38 AM

Haha what they have done with these water voles

We did similar sort of library book vandalisms at schooldays

Now it looks like the rabbit of Alice in the Wonderland

Green coloured cigar... LOOOOL

@Mithical This entire thread made my day

Sphinx

5:11 AM

1

Q: Friday's the most cryptic day of the week

Across 1. War paint for alien entering from space station's entrance (9) 6. An island country's capital, Praia, devastated after the loss of republic's leader (4) 10. Search "engine oil" at first… Got it! (5) 11. A price resettled for each spring roll wrapping (4,5) 12. Points towards leader's ...

cryptic-crosswords

oAlt

there it is. I know what 1d is, and... that's it. we're having lunch and I still don't have my laptop with me, so yea, I'm not gonna be the early (well, on-time) bird this time..

and 28d

ok who knows how many more clues I'm gonna get while eating, I'll stop right there and let Deus do the magic

jafe

5:26 AM

still breakfast time here

hah, hadn't even noticed the green cigar before, thought it was part of the background at first

Deusovi

ha, 26-across is amazing

great "wait a second..." moment

Sid

5:48 AM

26A, lolll

What a genius clue

jafe

thanks hehe

Deusovi

~~Looking forward to the metapuzzle involving all 52 grids at the end of the year!~~

jafe

heheh

oAlt

6:03 AM

ahahaha

Always Confused

8:26 AM

@jafe Its okay

Always Confused

8:47 AM

@BeastlyGerbil What software(s) you used to apply the coat/shirt ?

Beastly Gerbil

9:04 AM

I use an app called sketchbook :) it’s basically a not quite as good photoshop :P

jafe

9:23 AM

is Rand al'Thor called a "king" in the books (or here on SE, perhaps)? if the def includes "following" it seems like a reasonable bet to look at words enging with -ING

jafe

9:33 AM

and by that mean "if the def includes 'fitting'..."

hexomino

10:10 AM

@jafe I think Rand al'Thor is a King in the books at some point.

msh210

10:27 AM

17 hours ago, by msh210

@Sid I don't think he'd define by example without something indicating it's an example.

So maybe "a name…" can be KING, but not "Rand…".

jafe

yeah

msh210

The most promising things I've found for "Rand…" are NULI and TOMAS. If that helps you. It didn't me.

jafe

CAR'A'CARN seems unlikely to be part of a 13-letter english word

Gareth McCaughan

11:13 AM

I liked 26a in jafe's puzzle but also 33a, which also has a nice bit of misdirection (though not as nice as 26a, which is indeed remarkable) and a really great surface.

CCCC hint (strengthens earlier hint): "Rand al'Thor" is in fact the definition; my apologies to those who find it too loose.

Alconja

12:06 PM

@GarethMcCaughan I think I've got the C4 with: "Fitting the pattern of other clues" = THEMATIC, "I follow" = grammatically borderline 'goes after' indicator, M(y earlier) A(nswer) (with) "a name" = IAN (for) (def: Rand al'Thor) => MATHEMATICIAN

oAlt

12:28 PM

:00000

jafe

12:52 PM

i think it's actually A+N for "a name"

and the I is from "I follow"

so THEMATIC+I follow M_+A with A+N

@GarethMcCaughan thanks! i debated whether "former" is needed because the answer isn't a current president... wouldn't have worked with the surface, though

Alconja

@jafe that definitely fixes my concerns. Nice spotting.

msh210

@msh210 so much for that

hexomino

1:12 PM

@Alconja Oh nice

Gareth McCaughan

1:22 PM

@Alconja @jafe Yup! "Follow" is actually less borderline than it looks even in jafe's parsing, because its subject is plural: the two things <fitting the pattern of other clues> and <I> follow MA. In case it's not clear, "my earlier" means "the earlier of MY's letters" and indeed the A is from "answer". (And yes, AN at the end is "a name".)

Once again, my apologies to those who think it's grossly improper to use "Rand al'Thor" as a definition-by-example of MATHEMATICIAN. I'm not too fond of it myself, but when doing something highly constrained (like making a third clue ending in "Rand al'Thor") I permit myself a little more latitude :-).

(I'm fairly Ximenean, but less so than e.g. Deusovi. As I think I've said in the past when, alas, people have expected greater propriety than I've exhibited in a C4.)

Sphinx

2

Q: See me once, see me twice #13

Long time no see! Here is a fresh one for my "See me once" series: See me once, a pending action is ripe Say me twice, must I now help you wipe? See me once, used in an auxiliary way See me twice, my death is still mentioned today If you are not familiar with my See me once rid...

riddle

0

Q: A dubious sequence

I created this puzzle. Observe the following sequence carefully. $$\text{men, xomt, asem, nub, chesbet, teht, hat}$$ Now answer this question : Why did I run around crazy for after this? What's my problem? Hint 1:

logical-deduction word-sequence

msh210

@GarethMcCaughan Fair enough. But you coulda added a qualifier at the end without much harm.

But with some, I agree.

Alconja

I guess I go next even though my parsing was slightly off?

Gareth McCaughan

I would say so, yes: you got the basic idea of it, including THEMATIC which I thought was the hardest thing to spot.

(And also the first ingredient when I was making the clue, of course.)

(Probably I should just have put a "?" at the end of the clue; that might have sufficed to indicate that I was doing something slightly iffy, and would have been fine surface-wise.)

msh210

1:37 PM

@GarethMcCaughan Water under the bridge. It was basically fine as was. And the hint obviously helped.

Gareth McCaughan

Well, yeah, but a clue that needs a hint is arguably a bad clue, at least when it needs it because everyone's thinking "So-and-so is a better clue-writer than to do that" about something the writer did, in fact, do :-).

msh210

(Incidentally, the phrase "water under the bridge" invariably reminds me of Poohsticks.)

@GarethMcCaughan :-)

Gareth McCaughan

And the fact that something was basically fine is perfectly compatible with thinking about how it could have been a bit better.

I don't think "water under the bridge" has made me think of Poohsticks in the past, but it probably will in the future.

Alconja

Apologies for those hoping for fourth clue about Rand, but...

CCCC: Pattern ending early. A long time without leads to sadness and anger? (8)

Gareth McCaughan

Some nice parsing ambiguities there.

(By which I don't mean I've solved it or anything, just that there are a bunch of things in the clue that could work in multiple ways.)

Always Confused

2:08 PM

@BeastlyGerbil Thank you

msh210

2:30 PM

@Alconja nice segue :-)

Always Confused

" A long time without leads to sadness and anger? (8)" ... GOOD FOOD?

Sphinx

2

Q: Cryptic Friends and Family: The Shining

This puzzle is a cryptic family reunion, but we've invited some close friends that are not actually family. The answer to this puzzle is a theme and a list of fourteen words or proper names or phrases; ten of them are related to the theme, the other four are close, but not actually on theme. Each...

knowledge cryptic-clues

Always Confused

"Pattern Ending Early" ... is this PEE? :P A long time without Bathroom may lead to anger and sadness.

Bathroom has 8 letters

msh210

2:52 PM

@AlwaysConfused puzzling.stackexchange.com/q/45984

Always Confused

@msh210 Thank you, I saw that post earlier. I thought it is sort of abbreviation subtype

bye for now

Sphinx

3:28 PM

0

Q: What kind of Room am I?

I am a kind of Room But people cannot stay inside me. People can put some of us inside them. For the rest of us, we don't recommend to put me in you. I am not a washroom, yet I have lot of water. Who am I?

riddle wordplay

Sphinx

4:15 PM

1

Q: "phone" into "cord"? (word ladder)

Here's a classic word-ladder for y'all. Can you transform "phone" into "cord", using only single-letter alterations? Rules Each step can either add a letter, remove a letter, or change a letter. Each step must be a word that is generally recognized as belonging to English and that 'most peopl...

word-ladder

0

Q: Another phonetic Vowelburger™ Riddle

You can find the other Vowelburger™ Riddles here I ordered 5 Vowelburgers™ with buns and meat only at the linguistic restaurant - help me identifing each one from the description on the menu! $$ \def\S#1#2{\Space{#1}{20px}{#2px}}\def\P#1{\V{#1em}}\def\V#1{\S{#1}{9}} \def\T{\textbf{Meat}}\def\...

word wordplay pattern language english

Sphinx

5:27 PM

0

Q: My first attempt at a Vowelburger™ puzzle

You can find the other Vowelburger™ Riddles here I ordered 9 Vowelburgers™ with buns and meat at the linguistic restaurant - help me identify each one from the description on the menu! $$ \def\S#1#2{\Space{#1}{20px}{#2px}}\def\P#1{\V{#1em}}\def\V#1{\S{#1}{9}} \def\T{\textbf{Meat}}\def\NT{\tex...

word wordplay language english

Sphinx

5:51 PM

1

Q: Find the hidden logic

I created this puzzle. What is so special about this number sequence? What is the logic behind this sequence? $$103072, 123172, 123173, 123174, 123175, 123176, 123177, 123178, 123179, 103081, 103082, 103083, 103085, 123187, 123189, 123190, 103092, 103093, 103094, 123195, 103097, 123198, 123105, 1...

number-sequence

0

Q: Diophantine equation with advanced techniques

How can you solve the Diophantine equation xˆ2-xy+yˆ2=2019 without testing a lot of numbers? I want to see how number theory is used to solve this problem.

mathematics diophantine

Sphinx

6:38 PM

0

Q: Rubik's M Slice Using Thumb

I've been cubing for a couple of years now, so I'm quite familiar with all the various finger tricks and different ways to move faces and slices. Most of the ones I came up with when I started were natural and intuitive and fell inline with the accepted standard. I have ditched a few in favor of ...

rubiks-cube speedsolving

Avi

11:50 PM

Let's hope we don't see any BowelVurger puzzles :(

also, vOWELBurger has ELBOW/BOWEL/BELOW* in it, and an URGE/URGER :O

Puzzle type five pulverized below solicitor (11) - V + BELOW* + URGER

Gotta watch out for those solicitors, I hear they're not very friendly to the casual puzzler :(

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