The Sphinx's Lair

oAlt

1:13 AM

@juicifer Rufus (the Hawk) reversed after nabbing L (large) = sulfur (yellow crystal)?

juicifer

@oAlt yep!

oAlt

1:31 AM

CCCC: Detailed art, one variation (6)

Jafe

ornate*

oAlt

@Jafe yep. wasn't the best def in hindsight

Jafe

1:47 AM

CCCC: Seven minus one is like six (4)

TakingNotes

(-s)EVEN = EVEN (like six)

Jafe

that's right

Aug 10 at 4:38, by Prince North Læraðr

I was gonna do "Short even number (5)" for S+EVEN to be cheeky, but it was just too easy

shamelessly derived from that because there's nothing wrong with easy

one clue left for my jumbo, it's coming out today

tags: [cryptic-crosswords] [geography]

huge shockers both, i know

TakingNotes

CCCC: Desire beer containing very muted fruit flavour (9)

Prince North Læraðr

@Jafe Hahahaha

@Jafe why can't you wait two days after my final is done so at least I have a chance to try and crack it xD (just joking :P)

Jafe

hehe

Prince North Læraðr

2:06 AM

Speaking of finals, I think I'm going to turn out okay for chemistry which is a relief. I need to score above an 86% to get an A though - a little nerve-wrecking though considering each question can be worth between 5-10 points

Ankoganit

@TakingNotes PINE (desire)+A(PP)LE= fruit flavor

Jafe

ahh pp for very muted, nice

Prince North Læraðr

Oooh that's a good one

oAlt

2:34 AM

@PrinceNorthLæraðr That's great, and good luck on the exam/s

Sphinx

2:55 AM

0

Q: I can't hear you

Solve on Penpa+ Across 3. Honda vehicle unaffected after U turn (5) 8. Nick who sang "Into My Arms" and "Surrender" (4) 9. Broadcast contains no salmon (3) 10. Send home "specialist" after mistaking left for right (5) 12. Friend from church, endlessly dumb (4) 13. Charles from old action convent...

oAlt

oh here we go

oh that's a large grid

TakingNotes

3:29 AM

@Ankoganit you got it!

juicifer

@Sphinx aye aye, captain!

5

Ankoganit

CCCC: Extremely harmful chemical — am I to use some of that? (10)

Jafe

_cal am I to us_

that's a clever indicator

Ankoganit

@Jafe yep!

(and thanks)

Jafe

CCCC: Kingdom, grow heartless two days after my final, 50% done (7)

oAlt

3:59 AM

never mind, I got tired lol

@Jafe g(-ro)w (-m)y (-do)ne DD = Gwynedd. That's a mouthful

Jafe

4:25 AM

correct

oAlt

CCCC: Rare van prepared from a part of Spain (7)

Jafe

navarre*, continuing the mediaeval kingdom theme

oAlt

Hahahah, I didn't realize I continued the theme

@Jafe But yeah that's correct

Jafe

4:49 AM

CCCC: Condition that's like Mr Olympia, and what he wins (8,7)

Prince North Læraðr

@oAlt thanks @_@

oAlt

5:01 AM

@Jafe muscular atrophy = muscular + a trophy

Prince North Læraðr

heh

I was thinking it was an anagram of MR OLYMPIA and trying to see if it was like MYOPIA something

Jafe

@oAlt correct

oAlt

5:26 AM

CCCC: What can treat asthma in Hungarians regularly involves beer (7)

(Don't try this at home)

msh210

@oAlt in H....r.... involves ale = inhaler

oAlt

@msh210 yep!

Ankoganit

7:15 AM

Can anyone help me understand this clue from today's Atlantic mini crossword? "Fixture that might be scratched by a Van", the answer is (rot13) png gerr.

It should be a "straight" (non-cryptic) clue

I'm guessing I'm missing some trickery that has to do with the capitalised Van

Wait nvm, I figured it out, it's a reference to this

Sphinx

8:52 AM

0

Q: solve the riddle for the code

in a cryptic hall that secrets lie a code is hidden give it a try four digits from a cryptic tale twist your toughs let logic prevail a clock ticks thrice at down and two the second hand whispers a clue just for you the first and the last a mirror they make the middle two a sum to forsake on the ...

riddle lateral-thinking mastermind

msh210

9:11 AM

CCCC: Lovelorn production is short run for West End theater (7)

Jafe

NOVELLO(-r)*, a west end theatre

actually managed to guess the anagram before googling even though afaik i haven't heard of it before

msh210

@Jafe yes indeed

@Jafe it's named after some actor, I believe, so maybe you've heard of him even if not of the theater; in any event, well done

If only that theater had had a short run of a play called Lovelorn, it coulda been an &lit ("Lovelorn production is short run here", or something). Personally, I think that that's reason enough to stage such a play.

Sphinx

9:31 AM

0

Q: What did the king sing?

The king stood atop a hill Watching as his daughter fell He wished to see her once more Wondered when he'll do so. "I will." he thought to himself. As he growled, mourning "I am..." he said, panting. As his general completed his sentence. As the king mourned, the general plead: "Please, your Maje...

story

msh210

@Jafe nice clue

Jafe

thanks

i like the use of 'run' from cricket scoring for the theatre surface btw

msh210

thanks, though I was thinking of baseball. :-)

Jafe

ah i see

msh210

'Merica!

3

Jafe

9:39 AM

i know next to nothing about cricket but o for duck, c for caught and r for run are crossword staples :P

didn't occur to me they use it in baseball, makes sense

msh210

I think baseball terms are as fair to use. K for strike out, R for run, H for hit, E for error… there are probably more I'm not thinking of

Jafe

i mean if cricket is okay surely baseball is as well

msh210

BB for walk, I guess. That'd be a nice tricky one to use. makes a mental note

Jafe

CCCC: Whiten sands, introducing a little lye (6)

msh210

b(l_)each

Jafe

9:42 AM

well that was fast

and correct

msh210

whiten – the definition gave it away

CCCC: An edible ball / circle / sphere (6)

TakingNotes

10:03 AM

ORANGE (an edible ball) = O (circle) + RANGE (sphere)

msh210

yes indeed

Sphinx

0

Q: The minimal Anti-Sudoku

Suppose we succumb to the urge to fill in a normal Sudoku grid as badly as we possibly can. That is, we strive to enter the digits from 1 to 9 nine times each such that no row, column or box contains any number exactly once. Let's call such an atrocity an Anti-Sudoku. Can you find the (lexicograp...

logical-deduction grid-deduction

oAlt

@TakingNotes wow, nice find

I was completely lost on that one

TakingNotes

CCCC: An elegant number (11)

msh210

@Sphinx I have a strange feeling that rot13(gurer qbrf abg rkvfg nal fhpu svyy, ohg qb abg xabj ubj gb tb nobhg cebivat gung).

Stiv

10:19 AM

@msh210 My money's on this but I don't have the time to be rigorous about it...

msh210

@Stiv Then my strange feeling was wrong. :-)

Stiv

I think that satisfies all the rules at least...

msh210

yeah, seems to

Stiv

(That isn't me 'laying the beachtowel on the deckchair' by the way. More than happy for someone else to consider that possibility and post it as an answer themselves before I get a chance to investigate it further.)

oAlt

@TakingNotes an + aesthetic

TakingNotes

10:30 AM

@oAlt you got it!

oAlt

10:44 AM

CCCC: Desired result without biases (9)

msh210

11:21 AM

@Sphinx @Jafe 39D is part of the theme, right? :-)

msh210

11:34 AM

@oAlt objective ddef

oAlt

@msh210 objectively correct

msh210

no objections, then?

CCCC: Pope, leader of faith, operated with his body in agreement with his mind (7)

oAlt

None :)

Jafe

hehe

msh210

I like 3 Down, by the way. Alas, I got the wordplay, made it 91 in my head, and couldn't figure out why the definition fit.

Jafe

11:41 AM

well i've definitely messed up roman numerals in a crossword before (think i thought IXXX was 29 or something) so now i double-check every time :P

oAlt

@msh210 Pope Francis = f(aith) ran (operated) cis (cisgender, with his body in agreement with his mind)

Jafe

hah that's clever

msh210

(And 47 Down is really neat.)

@oAlt yes indeed

oAlt

CCCC: Seize prophet found outside search (9)

Jafe

thanks

Ankoganit

11:46 AM

really neat crossword @jafe ! Impressive number of &lits in a themed crossword

Jafe

thanks, glad you liked it!

oAlt

Oh my gosh, how did I not realize 3 across

Jafe

i had another rapper in mind btw, although obviously yours works as well

Ankoganit

oh lol, should've tried googling [name] rapper

I'll add that one as an alternative

also am I missing something in 27 down? can't figure out what clues the correct removal

oh

nvm I'm dumb

Jafe

apparently SE now refreshes edits immediately, no more 'click to refresh' button

and yeah you got it, n ybg bs qhpg = qhpg zvahf gur svany yrggre

Ankoganit

11:57 AM

yeah makes sense, I was overthinking it

Jafe

theme idea came from rot13(Gur Ebbxvr) which i recently started watching... they make that place look good :P

(the scenery, i mean... as a cop show the crime also looks very real)

Ankoganit

I suppose that's how 20 across made it in

Jafe

for the record 42a is not a theme clue!

3

Ankoganit

xD

msh210

12:12 PM

@oAlt seer found outside quest = sequester

Ankoganit

ah, neat

oAlt

@msh210 That's right!

msh210

CCCC: Hide excitement about one's rear end (7)

Apparently, that's the third C4 I've posted containing the phrase "rear end". Dunno why I'm so fond of that phrase. ,':-(

Jafe

you can't hide your excitement about it

msh210

like the poynter sisters

… which I just googled, and apparently it's the pointer sisters. Weird that I'd remember it with a y.

juicifer

12:49 PM

Apr 21, 2022 at 14:40, by juicifer

CCCC: One in hurry: "Taking walk? Nonsense!" (7)

(not to say that you couldn't also use it ofc)

msh210

@juicifer nice

juicifer

1:02 PM

@msh210 l(_e)ather

oAlt

1:26 PM

Ahhh

msh210

@juicifer aye

juicifer

CCCC: Compound interest rate found by calculator with unusual "butane macro" (7 9)

oAlt

1:56 PM

I'm pretty sure I have the answer but I'm having trouble parsing one of the units...

Stiv

@juicifer If one can argue that Idi Amin was a particularly calculating individual then this compound could be I.R. + IDI + UMCARBONATE*...

@oAlt - is that the same unit you're wondering about?

oAlt

@Stiv Frick it, I'll come forward as well. I think it's calcium carbonate, calc = calculator, but interest rate is R from what I remember, not I...

Stiv

Ha, interesting. I couldn't see past IR for interest rate so figured it had to be Iridium somehow. You've started at the other end of the non-anagram part and reached a different obstacle!

oAlt

To be honest there's a small chance I'm misremembering, and if I were asked how to abbreviate that (or how I would want to, rather) I would also say IR

Ankoganit

I think in school I was taught I stands for the total interest amount and R is for the percentage rate

juicifer

2:09 PM

@oAlt this is the solution I intended

Ankoganit

I can see someone calling the amount of interest you earn the "interest rate" though

Even though it's not strictly accurate, it's probably common usage

juicifer

I found i = interest or interest rate in a few different dictionaries and "interest rate" seemed to give the better surface

@Ankoganit this does ring true though, so maybe I should've just used "interest"

Ankoganit

I think interest rate would be acceptable as well, in regular conversation people usually don't make the distinction

oAlt

Just found i = interest in Collins, though still no "rate"

Ankoganit

(also it doesn't bode well for my past and future clues if we start to get super pendantic about these things)

juicifer

2:13 PM

wiktionary gives "interest rate" (although with some other adjectives thrown in for good measure)

oAlt

Oh wow how did I not see that... went on that page earlier too

CCCC: Spanish island among others with business (5)

Jafe

biz in ia. = ibiza

juicifer

ah yep just got there

oAlt

@Jafe correct!

Sphinx

2:48 PM

0

Q: Writing a Puzzle Book: Enigmatic Puzzles

I'm starting to test out puzzles for my second puzzle book (link to the first). They're all word puzzles based on ones you might see during Harvard's CS50x puzzle day. Try out this new puzzle I'm testing and let me know what you think. Happy to share hints if you ask:

word enigmatic-puzzle puzzle-creation

bobble

3:09 PM

Questions for here must have a specific question to answer. For example: "What is the answer to this puzzle?", or "Can this puzzle be solved?", or "How do I change this puzzle to achieve X goal?" (where X is specific, not just "better"), or "How do I create a puzzle with Y quality?" (were Y is specific, not just "good"). Here, I see at least three questions: "What is the solution?", "Can this be improved?" and "general feedback". Both of the latter two are too broad and nonspecific for our format, which does not do discussions. — bobble 1 min ago

I've deleted my comment, sorry

Sphinx

6:08 PM

0

Q: Can TrackMania puzzles be abstracted into conrete, interesting puzzles?

I recently got back into the older TrackMania games, which have a gamemode called Puzzle. In this mode, players are given a limited amount of blocks (consisting of roads, ramps, etc.) to finish a track. A track consits of a start, a finish, and multiple checkpoints, each of which the player has t...

puzzle-creation graph-theory

Sphinx

7:47 PM

0

Q: I creep in the shadows

I creep in the shadows both day an night causing hearts to skip with a sudden might i am what makes you jump and shout usually when the light flicker in and out

riddle

Prince North Læraðr

7:57 PM

I'm going to try and make a cryptic crossword, any tips?

AncientSwordRage

@PrinceNorthLæraðr make lots of copies

Prince North Læraðr

wdym by copies?

AncientSwordRage

@PrinceNorthLæraðr so when I've made one in the past, I've done it iteratively

msh210

making copies

Prince North Læraðr

@AncientSwordRage huh

AncientSwordRage

8:07 PM

So if I change the grid to put a word in 6 down, I'll change it to do the equivalent rotated change

But I might not have a good word that fits the new empty slot

So I can go back to the old version

Sphinx

11:43 PM

0

Q: Cutting a 27×27 square into incomparable rectangles

How can I cut a 27×27 square into 8 incomparable rectangles? A rectangle with width w and height x is incomparable with a rectangle of width y and height z iff $w<y\land x>z$ or $w>y\land x<z$. (Assume $\text{width}\le\text{height}$.) All rectangles must have integer side lengths. The book Fracta...

mathematics geometry dissection

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