The Sphinx's Lair

12:13 AM

@bobble STREAM A river bed is called a stream, and 'tis also a ddef, cuz the end of a river bed's end is, questionably (hence the question mark) a streambed.

@Deusovi does this look legal?^^

Deusovi

no

that's not how definitions work

and you haven't split the clue up into two parts

Anonymus 25- Reinstate Monica

Oh, ok

Deusovi

which is the most basic rule of cryptics

you should learn how cryptic clues work; get some more practice with splitting them up and parsing

bobble

1:32 AM

@Anonymus25-ReinstateMonica no, and listen to Deus - you really need to learn how cryptic clues work, because only by knowing the rules can you learn to apply them.

Graylocke

"A river bed" | "end" could be BOTTOM. Since both of those are definitions...

bobble

I'm unsure how either of those would work...

Graylocke

Yeah... It's not great... it was more an illustration of division. But river bottom could refer to a river bed. and the end of the bag of crisps is the bottom of the bag. But I agree that it is weak :) It was more as an example of dividing the clue into two pieces.

bobble

It's certainty a legal division of the clue, I'll give you that

Graylocke

I think both are weak definitions, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it as a (what was it Deus called it?) "liberal" version of a cryptic clue. :P

But I didn't expect it to be correct :)

Sphinx

1:56 AM

0

Q: Common word to be discovered

I am a four letter word. Part of me, when scrambled, is never straight. Another part of me, read backwards, represents time. A part of me, scrambled, divides people and another part of me is used by many people. Who am I?

Prince North Læraðr

GROUND ddef?

I don't think so, the two ddefs are too closely related

Perhaps an &lit?

A+(RIVER)+D

is ANILED a word?

bobble

I am distressed by how many unintended ddef guesses there have been

Prince North Læraðr

or specific RIVER+D

Actually I'm very positive it's an &lit, and the parsing is A+(RIVER)+D

@bobble So, are you saying it is a ddef? :P

bobble

I refuse to confirm or deny anything

Prince North Læraðr

It's either an &lit or ddef

bobble

2:07 AM

But it is not a ddef of STREAM, BOTTOM, or GROUND

Prince North Læraðr

Unless RIVER is an anagrind

bobble

what if it's a hidden word O_o

Prince North Læraðr

Oh i meant what if RIVER is an indicator, not an anagrind :P

Maybe it's A RIVER | BED'S END, which means the ? would also make sense

matt

@bobble ~~"verb"~~

bobble

leaving for dinner, will ping in DnD room when I'm back

Prince North Læraðr

2:11 AM

ok

Sphinx

2:48 AM

0

Q: Removing my characters does not change my meaning

I start with nothing. If you remove 1, 2 or 3 of my characters then my meaning does not change. What word am I?

word wordplay

Sphinx

4:56 AM

0

Q: I'm [suffix] to [prefix] it, [infix] it's [whole]

I'm [suffix] to [prefix] it, [infix] it's [whole]. The above sentence, when the affix gaps are filled, will be a logical statement. What is the statement?

riddle affix-riddle

2

Q: Stop BorgBot before it's too late!

There was a deafening metallic thunk as the rogue AI locked the door of the PuzzlingCorp server room, trapping the engineers inside. A countdown appeared on the computer screen... and began counting down. "You have only a few precious minutes before I uncover the nuclear codes and destroy the wor...

enigmatic-puzzle story grid-deduction

bobble

@Sciborg, do you want to add to the list of unintended ddef guesses? :P

Sciborg

Why, I would love to :P

hmm

bobble

(reminder that I will not confirm or deny whether it is actually a ddef)

Sciborg

i'm tempted to think that "a river" and "bed's end" are the two parts

but i can't think of any wordplay that would make sense

how about AMAZON (a river, bed's end = where beds go to be sold) :p

Prince North Læraðr

Ha!

bobble

5:02 AM

you have added to the list!

and yeah, not the answer

Sciborg

i figured not, it just made me laugh

bobble

planned hint for tomorrow (assuming it doesn't fall by then) will be noting the reason why there's a question mark

Graylocke

@Sciborg Even better.. Amazon do a BED SEND! ho ho ho

Sciborg

:P

wait a minute!! SPRING (a river = def, bed's end = springs)

that can't be it

bobble

it's not

Sciborg

5:09 AM

add it to the ddef pile? :p

bobble

yep!

Graylocke

but it does join bobble's list of non ddefs

Sciborg

alternatively maybe "bed's end" is trying to clue something like waking up?

hm

it's tricky because "bed" can mean, like, twenty different things

Prince North Læraðr

Yes. different things

;P

Sciborg

so ddef? :p

bobble

5:13 AM

CCCC hint 0: The def(s) should exactly match the answer - trust me, it'll make sense. Or at least I've found multiple dictionaries which agree with me.

felt like it needed saying, considering all the ddefs

Sciborg

the defs should exactly match the answer. hm.

Prince North Læraðr

Maybe like an ottoman?

Sciborg

oooh, that's an interesting idea

any six-letter words related to furniture?

Prince North Læraðr

idk

glider?

Sciborg

glider? huh?

Prince North Læraðr

5:16 AM

Rocking chair, nvm

Gtg

gn!

Sciborg

ah, seeya :)

bobble

'night!

Sciborg

okay, i just got an insane idea

bobble

how insane

Sciborg

if you parse it where the apostrophe is the halfway mark, then "a river bed" = "STREAM" and "send" = "STREAM" :p

bobble

5:18 AM

... I don't think you can play with punctuation to that extent

Sciborg

but it kinda vaguely makes sense and i love it

bobble

I'll give you that if makes more sense than 25's guess at STREAM

Anonymus 25- Reinstate Monica

@Sciborg I like your BorgBot puzzle! I'm working on the Nurikabe, but currently having 2*2 box problems

Sciborg

:p

if i make enough crazy guesses one will be right, i'm sure of it

bobble

Aug 23 '20 at 23:11, by bobble

Can you insert extra spaces in cryptic clues? E.g. "to get her" in surface -> "together" in wordplay

Aug 23 '20 at 23:27, by Deusovi

No.

Aug 23 '20 at 23:30, by bobble

drat

Anonymus 25- Reinstate Monica

5:20 AM

@Sciborg Trust me, that is the most annoying rule in Nurikabe ever

bobble

... how is it annoying?

you're not supposed to guess randomly

Anonymus 25- Reinstate Monica

Back to the drawing board :(

bobble

it's a very useful rule for deductions

Anonymus 25- Reinstate Monica

@bobble But every deduction I make, it just gets stuck in one big loop of connectivity and boxes

bobble

@Sciborg there is a limited number of 6-letter words, so if you guess all of them one will be correct

Sciborg

5:21 AM

i can stop guessing, i was just making some goofy attempts at it

bobble

i'm finding it funny, don't stop if you're having fun

Sciborg

it's a very good C4 :D

bobble

@Anonymus25-ReinstateMonica either you're making incorrect deductions, or the puzzle is unsolvable in some way that is a hint

Anonymus 25- Reinstate Monica

Quoting bobble: "Deductions are being made"

Sciborg

at the time i thought it was very funny that the only reason one engineer didn't want to die was because they had to catch up on Agents of SHIELD :p

Anonymus 25- Reinstate Monica

5:25 AM

@Sciborg I never watched agents of SHIELD

Is it good?

bobble

@Sciborg you do realize SHIELD is finished?

Sciborg

it's great, it's bobble's favorite show actually

don't judge Engineer, they haven't gotten through all the episodes yet :P

Anonymus 25- Reinstate Monica

XD

@bobble Currently doing "HOW DO I BREAK THIS STUPID BOX" logic

bobble

can you please stop pinging me?

i'm still a bit touchy from yesterday when you DM'ed me without permission, to tell me things that were in that context hurtful

Sid

The starred one(and not the pinned one) is the current C4, isn't it?

Sciborg

5:31 AM

The "river bed's end" is the current C4 :)

bobble

yep, the river one is mine and the current one

@Sciborg bed

Sciborg

sleepytime tea kicking in, sorry :p

bobble

current list of wrong ddef guesses: STREAM, BOTTOM, GROUND, AMAZON

Sid

I have a sketchy answer for the C4 but it is based on an abbreviation that I don't know if it is acceptable.

Sciborg

Go for it

Sid

5:34 AM

A + R + REST? (Def - End. Bed = Rest. River = R??)

bobble

Correct

Sciborg

What

bobble

River = R was common, I thought

Sciborg

but.... but.... what??

Sid

It might be. I haven't done cryptic clues in almost a year now

Sciborg

5:34 AM

arrest = end?

bobble

well, your turn now!

Sid

I have no idea what is commonly accepted and what isn't, hehe

bobble

merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arrest

def 2a

Ankoganit

River=R is pretty common

Sciborg

bed's = rest?

bobble

5:35 AM

bed = rest

's = is

Sid

@Sciborg bed = rest

Graylocke

Nope - I give approval for that bobble... very tricksy :)

Ankoganit

Indeed

Sciborg

i'm very baffled but it was very clever

bobble

approval for what?

Ankoganit

5:36 AM

I didn't think to split bed's end at all

Clever

Graylocke

@bobble lol - that your clue is correct and clever... You don't really need it, it was a compliment.

bobble

@Ankoganit so you were parsing that as D?

Ankoganit

Yep!

Sciborg

a very tricksy clue :D

bobble

Creation process, if anyone cares: Original plan was to do "can" = ARREST. The easiest wordplay I could see was A + R + REST. I decided to just go with "a" = A, since for complicated clues I want at least one part to be easy. Now I had "Can a <R + REST>". Scroll through a list of abbreviations for R, landed on "river". Now I had "Can a river <REST>". Scroll through a list of synonyms for "rest", saw "bed" and went "ooh, a river bed".

But "Can a river bed" doesn't make sense! Drat. Scroll through a list of synonyms for "arrest" for replacement def, landed on "end", and boom. Clue!

ABcDexter

5:48 AM

Howdy amigos

Sciborg

Hello :)

bobble

Do you think my C4 was bad because of all the ddefs?

Sciborg

Not at all - I thought it was great, i just never would have gotten the abbreviation and the parsing of the apostrophe until it was pointed out :p

bobble

For future reference, one of my faults as a cryptic clue setter is I overuse 's as a splitter

Sciborg

deus defeated BorgBot, by the way, much faster than i expected. i was hoping the realization that you have to parse the nurikabe as binary would take a bit longer :p

but then again, it's deus

bobble

5:55 AM

he has to get rid of any possible cyborg upstarts who might eventually challenge him for the Reigning Robot position

3

ABcDexter

XD

Sciborg

of course! the only explanation

BorgBot 2.0 will have to be much tougher

maybe next time a Tetrikabe that you have to parse as assembly code or something

Anonymus 25- Reinstate Monica

Deus does it again!

And here's me just solving the Nurikabe

I just finished it

bobble

@Sciborg If needed I can construct a Tetrikabe for you

Anonymus 25- Reinstate Monica

:(

Sciborg

5:59 AM

i mean, i was half-joking, but i'm totally down to collaborate on a giant Bobble-Borg team-up puzzle :D

msh210

@bobble nice C4

bobble

thanks!

Anonymus 25- Reinstate Monica

And so Sid takes the C4

bobble

Yes, we know

Sciborg

not gonna lie, bobble, when you made a comment earlier about how a Nurikabe could be deliberately unsolvable in a way that gives a clue, i kinda dig that idea. i might use that

adding to the giant Backburner of Future Borg Puzzles

bobble

6:03 AM

I'm not sure how that would work, though. You have to do the idea heavy lifting

Sciborg

it would be extremely tough, yeah. but maybe you could have it where the edges are solvable with logical deductions but there's a big gap in the middle that can't be filled and somehow gives a clue

bobble

ooh, got an idea. will DM you

Sciborg

:D

Deusovi

@Sciborg W1/B0 immediately told me i'd need to read it as binary - the only thing that slowed me down was that i was trying to read vertically for a while (since 5 bits is often used for A=1,...,Z=26)

Sciborg

Ahh, that makes sense. I tried to put the horizontal numbers to clue reading horizontally :) was just very impressed how quick you made the connection

bobble

6:07 AM

Maybe you could've had a slightly harder clue for that

Someone rants about how things are "black and white, good and evil, so binary" etc.

Sciborg

probably, yeah. i couldn't think of anything tougher that wouldn't seem really stretchy and unfair like "how were we supposed to know"

i probably could have had the computer give some kind of ominous speech about black and white :p

bobble

THE WORLD IS FULL OF GOOD AND EVIL, BLACK (beep boop) AND WHITE (boop beep), 0s AND (booooooop) 1s, THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND

Sciborg

exactly xD

bobble

'night!

Anonymus 25- Reinstate Monica

XD

Sciborg

6:09 AM

good night!

Anonymus 25- Reinstate Monica

Gn/Gm!

Sid

CCCC: Scored a goal, got a job; Settled. (6)

Graylocke

@Sciborg When everyone knows that it's all about gray. >.>

Puzzling Meta

10:21 AM

0

Q: Can my puzzle be improved? Sandbox is dead, so I post here

Or is it already good enough? You're a computer security expert (i.e a hacker who doesn't break law). Your neighbour is infamous professor MacGoofy himself. He specializes in designing programming languages and programming languages that he designs are frequently controversial for his strange des...

discussion sandbox

oAlt

11:12 AM

@BeastlyGerbil i appreciate that you're combining your entries into one listing, but i think the format there should be followed for any of those entries to show up in the highest-voted/most-viewed list, if ever :0

Lukas Rotter

11:28 AM

@oAlt The bot will "understand" the format which BeastlyGerbil chose and will take all of them into consideration for the stats, if that's what you mean.

Beastly Gerbil

@oAlt don't worry, already cleared it up with Lukas and it should still work

Oh same time :P

Anonymus 25- Reinstate Monica

11:57 AM

@Sid FINISH ddef Score goal is finish, got a job is finished, settled is finished

Lukas Rotter

12:11 PM

I think that would have to be FINISHED to match the tenses

Ankoganit

why is 'got a job' finished?

I don't see how that works

Lukas Rotter

I dunno maybe a subtle commentary that you yourself are "finished" (doomed) once you get into the job life.

but it's most likely not the intended solution anyway

Anonymus 25- Reinstate Monica

1:24 PM

@LukasRotter Yeah, it becomes a tdef (triple definition)

Is there such thing anyways?

oAlt

@LukasRotter oh, that works? Interesting (and @BeastlyGerbil , noted :0 )

@Anonymus25-ReinstateMonica yeah although triple def clues are rare

Lukas Rotter

Yeah, the bot just takes the answer, searches for all linked (non-duplicate) questions within it, and then evaluates those for the stats. The "suggested" format was just kept there from previous installments, which is still useful because it encourages some sort of standardized format so not everyone goes crazy with the formatting :P

Transcript for