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Sphinx
Sphinx
01:25
0
Q: PSE Advent Calendar 2024 (Day 13): ‘Tis the Season for... Diamonds?

JafeThis puzzle is part of the Puzzling Stack Exchange Advent Calendar 2024. The accepted answer to this question will be awarded a bounty worth 150 reputation.< Previous Door Next Door > ‘Tis the season for... Diamonds? Wait a minute, that can’t be right. What are we supposed to be looking at? After...

cryptic-crosswords seasonal
 
2 hours later…
oAlt
oAlt
02:56
Are zebras regularly black or white? Yes
PolygonPotpourri
PolygonPotpourri
Are chess pieces regularly black or white? Yes to that, too.
juicifer
juicifer
what's black and white and red all over? a chessboxing match
PolygonPotpourri
PolygonPotpourri
What's black and white and read all over? The New York Times' newslettter, most likely.
oAlt
oAlt
@juicifer I hope red is the skin and not blood
juicifer
juicifer
03:11
whatever helps you sleep at night
PolygonPotpourri
PolygonPotpourri
Venn diagram: (Chess players) (Tetris players) (Scrabble players)
(intersection): 'They may 'take an L' without losing'
oAlt
oAlt
I'm assuming the L for the chess player is the knight move
PolygonPotpourri
PolygonPotpourri
@oAlt Yup!
Chess & Tetris: They strategically move pieces into advantageous positions
Chess & Scrabble: 'E4' is a space on the board to them
Tetris & Scrabble: They have moments where an I is crucial
PolygonPotpourri
PolygonPotpourri
04:22
What is the longest word? Evidently, it's the word from our sponsor, NordVPN!
oAlt
oAlt
04:44
skips
 
2 hours later…
Jafe
Jafe
06:38
managed to make my yin-yang sudoku work... it was mission: possible after all
Stevo
Stevo
ooh great job
 
1 hour later…
Stiv
Stiv
07:59
CCCC: Neck so painful after onset of bowel motions (7)
Jafe
Jafe
08:29
b_ + eckons*
conjures up an image
 
2 hours later…
Stiv
Stiv
10:10
@Jafe Yep!
Disclaimer: Any similarity to events in the lives of any person real or fictional is entirely incidental. But man, my neck is sore today...
Jafe
Jafe
CCCC: How much screen time does Mitch get in A Streetcar Named Desire? Right... That's not great (4,4,7)
 
1 hour later…
Stiv
Stiv
11:47
Personally, I'd say that 27m23s is actually very reasonable... He needs to stop moaning so much.
oAlt
oAlt
Wha
Jafe
Jafe
that is specific
but yeah, the same site says anthony hopkins had 24:52 in silence of the lambs and he was in the leading actor category
Stiv
Stiv
So you question the accuracy of the source
Jafe
Jafe
no that sounds right, just meant to say you had a fair point
Stiv
Stiv
Aha, got it
(Not the CCCC, just your statement)
oAlt
oAlt
12:00
@Stiv if only :p
 
1 hour later…
oAlt
oAlt
13:07
Surely "not great" or "that's not great" is the definition here?
PolygonPotpourri
PolygonPotpourri
13:19
I'm constantly misusing homophones and getting tripped up buy them in text messages. One time, I put 'too' for 'to'. This is only happening recently. Am I doomed? Will I be cursed with improper grammar for the rest of time?
(The 'buy' was intentional.)
oAlt
oAlt
Am eye doomed, you mean
PolygonPotpourri
PolygonPotpourri
13:33
@oAlt I don't not think that that wasn't what I meant.
Daniel S
Daniel S
13:53
@Jafe LESS THAN STELLA + R
:-)
PolygonPotpourri
PolygonPotpourri
@DanielS Stellar find, there.
oAlt
oAlt
@DanielS wow thank you
Same comment as PolygonPotpourri
Jafe
Jafe
correct!
Daniel S
Daniel S
14:26
CCCC: Lay some time in the hometown of MLB rookie Shields. (4, 2, 5, 6, 4)
@Jafe Woke up too late to be first on your Advent Calendar Crossword, but nevertheless really enjoyed it.
Jafe
Jafe
glad to hear it!
juicifer
juicifer
@DanielS once in royal david's city
Jafe
Jafe
wait, what's the def? lay?
i see, lay (meaning 5)
TIL
Daniel S
Daniel S
14:42
@juicifer That’s it!
juicifer
juicifer
14:53
CCCC: Greetings from Vietnam while local celebration has not yet finished (7)
Jafe
Jafe
'nam + as Te(-t)
juicifer
juicifer
yep
Jafe
Jafe
CCCC: Not all of Vietnam (nor Indonesia) backs arms dealer in expensive suit (4,3)
i had a couple of clues in the queue but monkey see vietnam, monkey do vietnam
Daniel S
Daniel S
@Jafe IRON MAN<
reverse hidden
Jafe
Jafe
yup!
Daniel S
Daniel S
15:11
CCCC: Censor intern and member to my eyes once a strain. (1, 3, 5, 5)
oAlt
oAlt
16:03
One that fits the enumeration is "I Saw Three Ships" but I'm not seeing the wordplay
PolygonPotpourri
PolygonPotpourri
Oh, censorSHIP, internSHIP, and memberSHIP, to my eyes is 'I saw', and there are three of them!
[a strain] is the definition, because strain could mean a tune.
oAlt
oAlt
Oh wow, nice find
juicifer
juicifer
yeah, geez
(cc: @DanielS)
oAlt
oAlt
It kinda feels incomplete though, because the wordplay feels like it should be suggesting "with ships" or "had ships"
Or "with three ships", ofc
Daniel S
Daniel S
16:46
@PolygonPotpourri Indeed so!
Daniel S
Daniel S
16:58
@oAlt I intended for the wordplay to be interpreted as “I saw three -ships”.
 
2 hours later…
oAlt
oAlt
18:30
Yeah I can see the direction for that. I just wonder if it would have been more accurate to say something like "Censor intern and member had these to my eyes once", but ultimately it's not a big deal
Daniel S
Daniel S
18:42
Terminology query: what term do people use for a cryptic clue when it is not part of a crossword? I've heard us of the word "flat", but don't know how common this is.

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