The Sphinx's Lair

oAlt

1:44 AM

@TakingNotes Perhaps incapacitate someone in a mad dash (9)

oAlt

2:45 AM

Hmm, I'm still not seeing how this C4 works... I don't have any good candidates for the answer

juicifer

3:04 AM

CCCC hints: 1. this clue is a ddef 2. one of the definitions refers to a name

(but still not elizabeth :P)

Jafe

6:25 AM

murder man?

msh210

6:44 AM

Maybe one of the definitions is "murder" in the sense of "one who murds". If only murd were a word.

Jafe

7:34 AM

or a man who's more murd than other men

@Jafe btw the answer to this was GUNS ddef, as in "trained arm muscles" and literally as "deadly weapons"

wow, apparently when you respond to your own message it also pings yourself

msh210

@Jafe ah nice

I hadn't figured that out.

@Jafe I've been assuming the break between def and def is immediately before or immediately after "man". Do you see any other possibility?

Jafe

yeah i tend to agree... my #1 theory is still it's a man somehow associated with a famous murder whose name means "in a mad dash"... there are plenty of surnames that end -ING but i haven't been able to find a good candidate

msh210

@msh210 I mean "murder ma" = MATRICIDE or PARRICIDE and "n in a mad dash?" = ñ, but… nah.

@Jafe Yeah, my other theory being a word for "murder" ("very difficult", "very difficult thing", "flock of birds", "killing", etc) that also somehow refers to a specific person in a mad dash. But I can't find any such…

Jafe

@msh210 hah, that would be quite a construction

msh210

hi there @Mithical

@Jafe or a mad dash?

Jafe

7:50 AM

is there a specific -cide word for murdering a man specifically

hmmm

apparently "viricide" means both "murder man" (as in husband) and "stuff that destroys viruses"

which clearly has nothing to do with the answer but still interesting

msh210

Androcide

Androcide refers to the systematic killing of men, boys, or males in general. Worldwide, males constitute 79% of non-conflict homicides and the majority of direct conflict deaths. == Lexicology == Androcide is a coordinate term of femicide and a hyponym of gendercide. The etymological root of the hybrid word is derived from a combination of the Greek prefix andro meaning "man" or boy, with the Latin suffix cide, meaning killing. == People == In the proactive scenario of human societies, androcide may be a deliberate goal, perhaps to degrade the offensive capabilities of an adversary. In a more...

Jafe

aha, using the greek word there... i assumed it would be just homicide since homo = man

Mithical

@msh210 \o

Jafe

kind of have to assume the definition referring to a name is the one that contains the "man", though

msh210

yeah, I think it must

Jafe

7:56 AM

unless it's like Fox Murder, the partner of Dana Scurry

msh210

@Mithical how's things? you still in the service? (sorry, I lose track of time, dunno how long it's been)

Mithical

I am, yes

msh210

oh, much success. how's it going?

Mithical

Another six months ago three weeks or so

msh210

@Mithical ah, started counting the days, eh? I guess that answers how it's going :-)

Mithical

7:59 AM

It's going okay. About as much as can be expected ;)

(I'm currently waiting on some military bureaucracy without great cell service.)

msh210

Not sure how to parse that, but I'm guessing you're the one without the great service.

Jafe

i assume the US military has better cell service since everyone's always thanking them for it

2

oAlt

8:15 AM

Some military bureaucracy returning with greatly-durable gemstone (4)

Jafe

_rub y_< heheh

oAlt

Yeah haha

Stiv

8:52 AM

12

Q: The Beekeepers Puzzle

Trying to contact the moderator; Hi, I don't know how to contact a moderator so I'm using this option. I would like to request the temporary removal of this question. Why? I'm using this puzzle in my companies decemberpuzzle and everyone can read the answer here. It can be published again on janu...

visual

@GarethMcCaughan Any chance you can address the OP of the puzzle above, please? They've tagged me in a comment, requesting their puzzle be temporarily archived for a month so they can use it in a company puzzle event of some kind. As a result they've modified their post with the request as well, and it all has the potential to get very messy... Thanks!

@Jafe I've been considering the possibility of words like SCARECROW ('murder man', using 'murder' as in a 'murder of crows') but am struggling to find compatibility with the other half of the clue.

msh210

Other 9-letter murder men are KEVORKIAN and BERKOWITZ. But again, neither is clued by "in a mad dash".

humn

9:17 AM

Too good to relegate Troll:

Styx ~ Grand Illusion (Live)

►

msh210

@humn Maybe you should post such links as [Styx - Grand Illusion - live](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U2E-In0DDg) instead of just https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U2E-In0DDg so there's no space-taking preview.

Gareth McCaughan

@Stiv Looks like Rubio's on the case, but I'll weigh in too.

humn

I take advice.

Sphinx

0

Q: PSE Advent Calendar 2022 (Day 8): Dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!

This puzzle is part of the Puzzling Stack Exchange Advent Calendar 2022. The accepted answer to this question will be awarded a bounty worth 50 reputation.< Previous Door Next Door > It was Christmas Eve, and Alice and Bob sat in their armchairs by the fire, determined to stay awake long enough t...

enigmatic-puzzle wordplay story seasonal

Stiv

9:37 AM

@GarethMcCaughan Perfect, thanks! :)

JoostVanPoppel

9:53 AM

Hi, just joining chat about the beekeepers puzzle. First of all; sorry, I didn't mean to "sabotage" the post earlier. It's just that we have a copyrighted booklet that contains my puzzle and I want it to TEMPORARILY get archived. And reinstated on January 12th 2023....

msh210

@JoostVanPoppel who owns the puzzle's copyright?

JoostVanPoppel

our company, why?

msh210

do you own the company, @JoostVanPoppel?

JoostVanPoppel

no

msh210

@GarethMcCaughan cleanup on aisle B (keeper) ^

JoostVanPoppel

9:54 AM

lol, there are 22k people working here

if only i was the owner ;-)

msh210

@JoostVanPoppel because if you don't own the copyright, and the company didn't give you permission to post the puzzle online, then, yes, it should be removed, at least in theory. (I don't think the moderators usually do that unless the copyright holder complains. but in this case maybe they will, since anyway you want it removed. I don't know.) Did the company give you permission to post the puzzle online?

Gareth McCaughan

I'm betting that Joost made the puzzle, on his own time, in which case the copyright is his and not his employer's.

JoostVanPoppel

again, i don't want it removed. just unfindable for some weeks ;-)

what is the difference if the copyright is mine or the companies?

msh210

you have the right to post it online if you own the copyright.

Gareth McCaughan

(Presumably submitting it for publication in the newsletter-or-whatever involves giving them the right to use it, which as it happens they already had because of the terms on which things are submitted to PSE.)

It occurs to me that we might actually have a case of two conflicting PSE policies. On the one hand, once something is posted it doesn't go away. On the other hand, we do have a policy of not accepting questions that come from ongoing competitions. The policy around that never considered the possibility that the question might be posted before the competition by the person organizing it.

msh210

9:59 AM

@GarethMcCaughan he said its his company's copyright. Even if he created the puzzle on his own time, he can transfer ownership to whomever he wants.

(IANAL.)

Gareth McCaughan

That policy is intended to protect people who make competitions from unscrupulous would-be-winners who copy the question and post it on PSE in order to cheat, rather than from competition-makers who want to recycle their old PSE questions, and I kinda feel that it shouldn't apply in this case.

Jafe

is it at all likely anyone would come looking for the answer at PSE anyway?

Gareth McCaughan

@msh210 oh, that's true, he did. But I suspect he's wrong about that, and even if he isn't the puzzle was still posted here first by the (then) copyright holder, and the PSE terms of use say that posting things here puts a Creative Commons licence on what you post. Transferring the copyright after that doesn't undo that licensing.

msh210

@GarethMcCaughan true… assuming it was his copyright

@GarethMcCaughan that's reasonable

Gareth McCaughan

Of course, if e.g. the puzzle was made by someone else and Joost filched it from some internal process and passed it off here as his own, then indeed he never owned the copyright and we would have to remove it (and he ought to be in trouble for misusing his company's intellectual property, though in practice I doubt anyone there would care). But that all seems pretty unlikely.

JoostVanPoppel

10:09 AM

A lot of discussion but I would still want to know if it is technically possible to temporarily archive it and re-instate it on 12 January. That will help me and the question/answer will still be available from then (01-12) on...

msh210

lol, talk is more fun

JoostVanPoppel

true ;-) Where are you guys located?

msh210

I'm pretty sure the people currently in the chat represent Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America, at least

Personally, I'm in Israel. You, @JoostVanPoppel?

JoostVanPoppel

Netherlands! My brother-in-law is also from Israel.

msh210

Meaning, he lives here? or he used to?

JoostVanPoppel

10:16 AM

He lived in Brussels (Belgium), Poland and Israel. They lived in a Kibbutz he told me

Now in the Netherlands

msh210

ah

JoostVanPoppel

Kind request; Can you please make a final decision if you want to leave the puzzle published yes or no? If not, can you please explain which steps I can take, to make it unpublished asap due to copyright? Who do I contact? I read this article; is that the way to go? https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/387746/instructions-for-reporting-copyright-infringement-have-accidentally-been-remov.
I just asked my colleagues and they think it should be removed

msh210

^ @GarethMcCaughan I think that's for you.

@JoostVanPoppel Kibbutzim aren't what they used to be. Kibbutz means "commune" and they really used to be communes: everyone ate together, the kids were raised collectively, moneys were pooled, etc. Some of that still exists (typically there's some collectively owned factory or farm) but most of it is gone.

JoostVanPoppel

I still know someone (old neighbour) living in Israel in a Kibbutz. They visit my hometown now and then

msh210

@JoostVanPoppel There's a kibbutz near where I live. It has a high school. Here in Israel, high-schoolers have focuses of study. That school has beekeeping as one of its possibilities, since the kibbutz has bees. :-)

JoostVanPoppel

10:29 AM

just for fun, the image of the puzzle. woud love to get a reply on chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/message/62530559#62530559

Jafe

looks good

JoostVanPoppel

10:51 AM

Sorry for the repost - but this is urgent since people are already on the phone with us regarding this puzzle;
Kind request; Can you please make a final decision if you want to leave the puzzle published yes or no? If not, can you please explain which steps I can take, to make it unpublished asap due to copyright? Who do I contact? I read this article; is that the way to go? meta.stackoverflow.com/….
I just asked my colleagues and they think it should be removed

Gareth McCaughan

@JoostVanPoppel I have already explained that our policy says that puzzles here should not be unpublished. Could you please explain what you mean by "people are already on the phone with us" -- e.g., are you saying that someone has read the booklet, discovered that the puzzle is on PSE, and phoned up about it? (If so, I regret to say that I frankly don't believe you.) If it is your intention to get your company to claim that you did not hold the copyright to the puzzle [... continues]

JoostVanPoppel

it's actually true. I can forward you one of the emails that I received this morning about this issue. Who do I contact for legal issues via phone or mail? I would like to get it resolved asap.

Gareth McCaughan

[continued ...] when you published it on PSE, then please let me know that immediately; I would rather unpublish the puzzle than get into a legal fight but I would consider it a confession of deliberate wrongdoing on your part. (And I would also consider it dishonest and rude of you to try to embroil us in legal action because you chose to do something you weren't allowde to.)

I am supposed to be working right now -- I have a meeting in three minutes. I am going to delete the puzzle. I am extremely irked at your behaviour.

msh210

justly imho

Gareth McCaughan

Apologies to @Chengarda who I think is losing a pile of rep on account of this mess.

AncientSwordRage

10:57 AM

@JoostVanPoppel I'm the (possibly one of,) resident Brit

Gareth McCaughan

AFK for a while now.

JoostVanPoppel

11:22 AM

@GarethMcCaughan Hi Gareth, thank you for removing the puzzle. I'm sorry for the inconvenience and the next time when I post a puzzle I will bare in mind that puzzles can not archived or removed. It was not at all my intention to cause any irritation. Have a good day and keep up the good work @ PSE

Gareth McCaughan

1:48 PM

@JoostVanPoppel Dude, you threatened to cause legal trouble if we didn't respond on a timescale of minutes. That is not compatible with being honestly "sorry for the inconvenience", and while you may not have intended, as such, to cause irritation, you clearly didn't care whether or not you did.

Also, you have told us (I don't know whether truly or not) that you posted a puzzle on PSE, representing it as your own, when in fact someone else held its copyright. That's (1) not permitted and (2) probably actually illegal.

@JoostVanPoppel Could you kindly confirm the copyright status of the other puzzles you have posted on PSE?

JoostVanPoppel

2:21 PM

@GarethMcCaughan The puzzles I posted (Arcade: Pacman/A Message to you only) are free to use / Creative Commons

Gareth McCaughan

2:37 PM

Do you hold the copyright to them?

And are they your original creations?

Also, who created the now-deleted beekeeper puzzle?

(and, if the answer is that you did, why did you not hold the copyright to it when you posted it here?)

sorry, should have pinged @JoostVanPoppel

Sphinx

2:58 PM

1

Q: The small things in life ("Sun ~Road")

Try to make sense of the puzzle below and then replace the two question marks. |AP|ÉH|PE|ÉH|TD|ES|JV|WP|WH|RF|LB| |PD|MK|WB|HK|PD|AC|LD|MB|NB| |IL|MP|MC|HL|??|PL|CG|CW|OR|

knowledge enigmatic-puzzle

msh210

9:01 PM

This C4 is getting on my nerves.

TakingNotes

10:44 PM

SLAUGHTER seems like a strong candidate as it's a synonym for murder and there are a fair amount of people with it as a surname, but I can't definitively tie any of them to a mad dash.

nvm - apparently this guy en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enos_Slaughter played an infamous "Mad Dash" in an old World Series game!

juicifer

@TakingNotes yep, there you go!

in fact en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Dash redirects to the play in question

TakingNotes

11:04 PM

Oh, phew! I was worried we weren't gonna be able to get this one for ages haha

CCCC: Right right right right right? (7)