The Sphinx's Lair

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Jafe

1:19 AM

@msh210 observational humour, perhaps

the c4 confuses me because both ends of the clue sound like wordplay

2 hours later…

Prince North Læraðr

2:51 AM

Yeah

Perhaps the def is WESTERN

Or maybe WESTERN ASIAN

Like JAPANESE (though that’s only 8 letters)

Oh that’s East Asian

Actually im thinking “Western Asian Leader” is the def

Unless it’s “as depicted in official cover”?

Jafe

maybe it's the name of a western

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is not quite the right number of letters

Ankoganit

3:07 AM

@Jafe this is right

it's OCCIDENTAL, ACCIDENT with A falling down in O_L

@oAlt ^

Jafe

oh so not the name of a western but rather a synonym for "western"

probably should have thought of that

Ankoganit

uh yeah that's what I meant to say lol

but your comment is what caused me to separate Western

Jafe

right

Ankoganit

now I notice north was already considering western being the def

brain's not braining

oAlt

3:26 AM

@Ankoganit yep!

Ankoganit

CCCC: I have strong doubts about this South Asian president (4)

oAlt

3:44 AM

@Ankoganit as if = Asif

Ankoganit

@oAlt yep

oAlt

4:15 AM

CCCC: Constant change and wrath making forces withdraw from extravagance (6)

Prince North Læraðr

4:33 AM

@Ankoganit YeH LOL I was just too tired to try and figure it out

3 hours later…

Stiv

8:02 AM

@oAlt LUXURY = (-f)LUX + (-f)URY

(Back after a week camping with minimal signal...)

oAlt

@Stiv That's correct :)

Stiv

8:46 AM

CCCC: Italian defender playing in goal after more than one beer is back with gold Olympic medal, in first place! (7,9)

oAlt

I want to answer but I must resist... I've got a backlog needing to be worked on...

Stevo

9:31 AM

italian defenders off the top of my head with nine letters, chiellini, no?

msh210

9:54 AM

@oAlt I want to answer but I must resist, due to inability.

Stevo

I want to answer but I must resist... I've got 0 clues in my backlog to work on and 0 finished clues and an inability to solve

2 hours later…

msh210

11:57 AM

Vincent LaGuardia Gambini is an Italian defender, and his first names are 7,9. I'm pretty darn sure this is not the answer, though.

Jafe

"after more than one beer" could be a pretty creative anagrind...

msh210

I was guessing "after more than one beer is back" = SELA or S( )REGAL

or SAPI etc

Jafe

makes sense

oAlt

@Stiv Alessio Romagnoli = ales is< (or O_ m_) ingoal*

msh210

ah nice

Sphinx

12:43 PM

Q: 16 of them stay the same, some of the rest are "questionable"

What do I call these? Arranged in order: | | | | | | | | | | | 8↑ 7↑ 9↑ 13↑ 14↑ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ 6↑ 2↑ ´ 5↑ ...

enigmatic-puzzle

Puzzling — BOUNTY!

1:04 PM

Q: A seriously confuse recipe - or is it?

Mix one teaspoon of the first ingredient with one of the second ingredient in a bowl. In another bowl, repeat the operation, adding one more teaspoon of the second ingredient. Repeat again until you run out of bowls. Pour the mixtures in separate plates and arrange by order of weight. ...

mathematics enigmatic-puzzle

Sphinx

1:23 PM

Q: Flashlight and 6 batteries

In front of you are 6 batteries and a flashlight. You know that 4 out of the 6 batteries are fully charged, and 2 out of the 6 batteries are empty, but you don't know which ones are charged and which are empty. The flashlight requires 3 fully charged batteries to turn on. You need to develop a me...

logical-deduction optimization strategy

Stiv

1:54 PM

@oAlt Exactly right :)

oAlt

2:12 PM

CCCC: Italian capital in board game with settlements being developed: gold and zinc pieces making a return (9)

Stiv

2:37 PM

@oAlt CATANZARO (Italian capital) = CATAN (board game with settlements being developed) + (OR + A_ Z_)<

oAlt

3:08 PM

@Stiv that's right!

2 hours later…

Stiv

4:47 PM

CCCC: Kind of navigation aid yours truly takes on a trek regularly (13)

1 hour later…

msh210

6:16 PM

a trek regularly = A PILGRIMAGE. yours truly = ME. yours truly takes on a trek regularly = MAPILGRIMAGEE, a kind of navigation aid produced by il Grimagee.

2 hours later…

msh210

8:29 PM

@Stiv compass I on a t_e_

nice clue, took a long time to think that the definition might be "kind"

Stiv

@msh210 Yes! Well done, and thanks :)

msh210

CCCC: In Italy, a runner bugs the carabinieri (6)

Sphinx

Q: I am the time of day when darkness fades away, A new beginning starts, and night's shadows stray. What am I?

Solve the riddle I don't know what else. Just solve it that's simple right?

riddle

Prince North Læraðr

@msh210 Is the carabinieri like the Mafia or smthing

msh210

yeah, something

Prince North Læraðr

8:42 PM

Ah it seems like they're the military police of italy

I wonder if the definition is POLICE

Looks like my bounty will be going to waste :'(

msh210

@PrinceNorthLæraðr In Soviet Russia, the police wonder if the definition is you.

Prince North Læraðr

HAHA

OH okay I think I'm getting somewhere

I've been trying to figure out what "bugs" is doing, and I think it's a homophone indicator

Which leads me to think the wordplay is either ITA(A)LY+runner?? or ITA(RUNNER)LY homophone?

Would CARABINIERI --> MILITARY POLICE --> MP a possibility? Or is that too indirect?

msh210

9:06 PM

@PrinceNorthLæraðr An MP is a member of the police force that polices the military. The carabinieri is a police force (not specific to policing the military) that is military in nature. I don't think it'd be fair to clue "MP" by "carabinieri". Just mho.

Prince North Læraðr

Oh I see, thank you

Oh wait LICE is a type of bug and runner can be something that's linking

Po (river)

The Po ( POH, Italian: [ˈpɔ]) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either 652 km (405 mi) or 682 km (424 mi), if the Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of the Po are formed by a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face of Monviso. The Po then extends along the 45th parallel north before ending at a delta projecting into the Adriatic Sea near Venice. It is characterized by its large discharge (several rivers over...

@msh210 PO (river) +LICE?

msh210

@PrinceNorthLæraðr yes indeed; well done

Prince North Læraðr

Oh wow

msh210

(runner in the sense of something that runs, in this case a river)

Prince North Læraðr

Ohhhh

That makes a lot more sense

msh210

9:11 PM