The Sphinx's Lair

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Ryan M

01:10

I don't think that can be correct, because that would be the state of North Carolina, which the clue specifies is not the intended meaning.

msh210

02:04

@RyanM no, "North Carolina" there would refer to the university, not the state. But anyway, @juicifer, that was not my intended answer. Though it's a good one. Sorry for the inadvertent Schrödinger.

C4 hint: You may fare better ignoring sports.

oAlt

02:16

@msh210 thanks for the clarification, I was wondering too about what you meant

@msh210 (also just saw this)

oAlt

02:51

@juicifer Relatives in big lacrosse school joined Claypool (6)

Jafe

hehe

if they ever make deadpool 4 they should include an alternative-universe team of claymation deadpools from france named les claypools

Jafe

03:13

still confused about the c4 but i think the sixth letter is S

could it be that "in play" just clues a synonym and whatever the carolina part is it's separate

e.g. in snooker if a ball is in play it's "on"

hmm actually that might be rubbish... think any ball still on the table is in play but only the ball you're supposed to hit next is on

PolygonPotpourri

@msh210 Judging by your response, probably not, but North and Carolina are both feasible names to give to one’s daughter.

Jafe

kanye's daughter is North but not sure how good of an example he is of reasonable naming considering his other kids are Saint, Chicago and Psalm

PolygonPotpourri

@Jafe I also consider ‘Haiku’ and ‘Do’ to be reasonable names, so I guess I think that otherwise strange names are normal.

Jafe

03:30

hey, i started calling myself "jafe" in like the second grade... finnish does not use the letter F apart from weird loanwords like tofu

Do and Haiku seem like good names for Busta Rhymes's next kid, Do Haiku Rhymes

oAlt

Do haiku rhymes? It usually don't

PolygonPotpourri

Do Haiku Rhymes? Weird way to phrase that question, but not necessarily.

oAlt

You know what they say... Great alike think minds

PolygonPotpourri

You know what they say… / Great alike think minds, right? But / differ rarely fools.

Ryan M

04:01

@msh210 so it may refer to things that refer to the state, but not to the state directly?

msh210

04:14

@RyanM It may refer to something named for the state, or to a metonym.

@Jafe finnish doesn't use the letter F, that's true… but Finnish does

Jafe

wasn't expecting capital punishment

Ryan M

@Jafe how is "Jafe" pronounced?

Jafe

in english? /'dʒæfi/, rhymes with taffy

finnish is /'jɑfe/

looking into the various USS North Carolinas again... although unsure how the gameplay part would be relevant there

msh210

04:31

You may also want to reread the most recent hint. Perhaps aloud.

juicifer

is it houses ddef, because of this?

@msh210 (and this)

msh210

05:31

@juicifer yes!

@juicifer and yes!

oAlt

05:52

@juicifer nice find!

1 hour later…

Jafe

06:59

who knew the decisive hint would be "please read hint"

Sphinx

07:58

Q: PSE Advent Calendar 2024 (Day 4): "Where should Declan go?" - a GCHQ word association puzzle (Christmas edition)

This puzzle is part of the Puzzling Stack Exchange Advent Calendar 2024. The accepted answer to this question will be awarded a bounty worth 50 reputation.< Previous Door Next Door > There's a great new Advent calendar on the market which you can customise to conceal a loved one's name behind the...

PolygonPotpourri

08:55

@Jafe Really? Thought it was Jafe like 'safe'.

msh210

09:13

@PolygonPotpourri see "About"

PolygonPotpourri

@msh210 I see...

2 hours later…

oAlt

10:53

> declan: to dispossess (someone/something) of clans.

(made-up ofc, apologies to anyone actually named Declan and to the Declan from which Stiv first heard that name :p)

Stiv

11:41

My Declan exposure would be Donnelly and Rice...

Sphinx

12:28

Q: What was the last capture in this game of monochromatic chess?

Here is a new retrograde analysis puzzle - but this one is not about an ordinary game of chess! Instead, Black and White set out to play a game of monochromatic chess. In this variant, the pieces may only move between squares of the same checkerboard colour (while also adhering to the usual movem...

chess retrograde-analysis

oAlt

13:03

Ahh

juicifer

13:55

CCCC: Putting down and picking up Azerbaijani children, perhaps (10)

Jafe

a man's gotta have hobbies, i guess

Daniel S

14:09

@juicifer EUTHANASIA = "youth in Asia"

juicifer

@DanielS precisely

Daniel S

CCCC Scam involving art materials! (8)

1 hour later…

oAlt

15:38

"pens" for art materials seems convenient

msh's previous clue mentioned pens as well, but not sure if that's relevant

oAlt

15:53

Either way, I'm glad I can't get this immediately as otherwise I would have already been distracted from my duties

Jafe

16:04

i'm thinking art materials could be the letters a, r, t

Sphinx

16:35

Q: A grid made of "building blocks"

There are six colors used in this puzzle as you can see - black, green, orange, red, white and yellow. I tried to make them colorblind-friendly and hopefully everyone can see which color is which (especially when zooming in). The answer to this puzzle is a suitable word. What do I call this puzz...

word enigmatic-puzzle visual

msh210

16:51

@DanielS con involving media = comedian

&lit of course

nice clue

Stiv

That's nice

Daniel S

17:06

@msh210 Correct!

msh210

CCCC: Drive you into the Atlantic? (5)

juicifer

hmm

oAlt

@msh210 agreed

6 hours later…

Sphinx

22:57

Q: Strange Unsolved Cipher on Youtube from 2014

I recently came across a strange YouTube channel from 2014 called Arcus Grid, containing a puzzle which has seemingly never been solved. It's been posted to Reddit a couple of times, but nobody has ever really gotten anywhere with it. I haven't had any luck decoding it, or even identifying what k...