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12:02 AM
@Rubio Well, there's also the restriction imposed by the sentence itself. There is a possible situation where "I" am doing the verb, "you" are the noun, so "you" should do the homophone-verb.
That's what (I hope!) makes the solution unique.
 
Hm
An invalid example for a couple reasons, but - LEAD. "I do it" works. "You are it" works. "You should do it" with "led" as a homophone, pretending here that the verb tense was correct [it's clearly not] - if it was, would the sentence restriction preclude this? I mean - is this a semantic restriction, beyond the syntactic one?
 
Yes, it's a semantic restriction.
If you lead lead, should the lead led? (if that's parseable)
 
Well phooey. Ok. Glad I asked; that differs from the understanding I had previously :)
Thanks.
 
So I just looked through a list of common homophones
There is only one there that fits everything well, which I believe is the answer
 
12:19 AM
@Volatility I hope you're thinking of the same one as I am :-)
 
@Randal'Thor I implore the great Sphinx to hear me: may this victim be a sacrifice to your greatness! ;-)
 
Going to post an answer?
@IAmInPLS Wow, plenty of downvoted answers to your GPS question.
 
Should I? Or should I just comment on Deusovi's answer?
 
@Volatility There have been plenty of partial answers already, and nobody's got anywhere with #4. I'd say go for it.
It'll leave me with the dilemma of which answer to accept, but so be it.
 
@Randal'Thor that's what I wanted to avoid
Maybe I'll do both, and you can accept Deusovi's answer once he updates?
(lol, too many homophones!)
 
12:31 AM
Sometimes with multi-part puzzles, I accept the answer that solved whichever part was last to be solved (and therefore presumably most difficult).
But don't worry about me - I've dealt with acceptance dilemmas before. Go ahead and post your answer. You deserve to get some rep out of it if you've got #4 right after all this time.
 
Alright then
 
Has anyone solved the CCCC yet?
 
@Randal'Thor It is not
 
Nope.
 
12:44 AM
@TrojanByAccident Well, Will is here now, so this is your chance to bug him for hints ;-)
 
1:02 AM
I know the answer to the CCCC but I can't figure out how exactly it derives. Do I need to know the exact path for it to count as my solution?
 
Tell us! It's driving me nuts.
 
ERGONOMIC [def] designed well; ergo[accordingly] + on[to rely on] mic[acoustics]
But I'm not sure "to rely" counts as a reversal indicator.
 
Note the question mark
(to rely is not reversal or anagramming)
 
No mic = to rely on acoustics!
Haha, nice!
ERGONOMIC [def] designed well; ergo[accordingly] + NO MIC [to rely on acoustics]
 
you got it!
 
1:06 AM
that's great
 
Gèez.
 
What's the CCCC stand for? Cryptic Crossword Clue Chain?
 
may I gently suggest it would have been improved slightly by ending "relying on acoustics" rather than "to rely on acoustics"?
(because I think "no mic" is closer to meaning that than to meaning "to rely ...")
Silenus, I think it stands for various 4-word subsets of {cryptic,crossword,clue,chat,chain}.
 
@GarethMcCaughan thanks. I guess I throw one out now?
 
@GarethMcCaughan I think there's a Chat in there somewhere
 
1:09 AM
Nov 15 '16 at 6:00, by Alconja
(PS: I've named the game "Cryptic Clue Chat Chains")
 
Ignore my last. I hate chatting on a phone
 
@ChrisCudmore Phone calls too?
 
@Silenus yup, now you make the next one
 
It keeps acting under the principal of most surprise
Oh he'll yeah. Smartphones are cappy for phone calls
 
He will indeed "yeah".
:-P
 
1:11 AM
DYAC
 
@GarethMcCaughan I agree. Infinitives imply a verb.
 
1:25 AM
@GarethMcCaughan Of course you may. (Constructive) feedback is always welcome. That & @Chris's comment are helpful, thank you. :)
 
CCCC: Spooner's hurtin' and earnestly asks for something to eat (5, 3, 4)
 
@Will We should compile a CCCC lessons learned blog piece. It'd be helpful.
 
@ChrisCudmore, uh oh... is "NO SPOONERISMS" a lesson I will learn?
 
Those are perfectly legit.
 
Cool
 
1:39 AM
But, "hurtin' " implies country music. And that's a no-no.
Oh. So close! Ache and Beg -> SHAKE AND BAKE.
But not a spoonerism
 
@ChrisCudmore almost; just watch the verb agreement ;-)
 
BACON AND EGGS?
 
sounds convincing to me
 
@WILL ding ding!
 
I was just ramping up to Bacon
 
1:43 AM
Oh no
 
@Chris, you were so close!
 
Achin.
 
We're gonna get another one which won't be solved for ages
 
Jim
Shake and bake sounds perfect
 
I knew that was significant, and then I ignored it.
 
1:44 AM
Nah I've got an easy one
CCCC: Better than a lake in the North (8)
 
hey, it genuinely is easy
 
SUPERIOR (ddef)
 
usually when someone says that it's followed by a clue that doesn't get solved for days
 
SUPERIOR
 
lol
 
1:45 AM
:/
 
(thanks Deusovi for saving me from having to make a new CCCC)
 
Jim
I was typing that @Deusovi
 
CCCC: Much less large with friends united (3, 5)
yeah, figured several other people had it too
just wanted to post this clue
 
united is merge, I believe
friends is a synonym indicator
so 5 is MERGE
 
L + ET AL + ONE
 
1:50 AM
?
or, I guess that works
@Will construction?
 
How does the def work?
 
large => L
with friends => et al
united => one

Let alone = "much less"
 
I don't get how "let alone" is "much less"
oh
 
We're not going outside, much less to the store
We're not going outside, let alone to the store
 
1:52 AM
Nevermind me, I'm just slow ;-)
 
Is @Will going to post another DDDD CCCC?
(devilishly difficult, dire, diabolical)
 
That should be a new thing
officially here in chat
Someday, I'm going to make a CCCC where the answer is 'CCCC'
 
damn, thought that was gonna take longer
 
Because I've just created a cryptic clue of my own. So if @Will is planning an easy one, I'll wait to see if I can solve it.
 
1:58 AM
I intentionally made "united" and "much less large" look definition-y
 
4 seasons has potential...
 
I've got three ready
@Deusovi lol
 
CCCC: Fun chessboards inherently have some white squares? (6)
 
I've got to build a bank.
 
Got it
 
1:59 AM
wow
 
all caps, MD5 hash is: 776cf2e73d052c80709ccff8f0b7ab97
 
Yup
 
@Deusovi Wait, what?
 
1:59 AM
you've got it
 
Why not just post the answer?
 
Because I thought you wanted to get it
(and I currently don't have a clue prepared)
 
Mind posting the construction in a MD5, as well? ;)
 
Aw, that's nice of you :-)
I'd better give it a good try then.
"Fun" is an anagram indicator, I think?
Chessboard -> checkered?
Argh.
 
Could be. But that would make chessboard the fodder
 
2:01 AM
no, the opposite of checkered
 
"checkered" has an opposite?
 
Plain, solid
 
Monochromatic.
 
I've got a fairly easy clue ready, so I can reveal now
 
@Deusovi my reverse-hasher reports that as an incorrect hash. Are you sure you spelled the word right?
 
2:03 AM
The question mark means it should be pure wordplay.
 
You okay with that, Rand?
 
Ah, nvm
 
@Deusovi Sure!
 
_UNCHES_ (hidden word, crossword term for white squares included in only one word)
 
oh I had that! just didn't know it was a word
 
2:04 AM
Wow.
 
I also didn't know that was a word
 
I didn't know that was a word.
 
Oh wow. Obscure!
 
CCCC: Mention connection to power (4)
 
2:05 AM
I'm thinking NOTE, with "mention" as the def, but not sure how the letterplay works.
 
Inherently had me looking for hidden words too.
 
mention and connection both have 'note' backwards in the same letter spots :P
 
Got it
 
Don't think it's useful, though
 
c18d611725765244a925ea2b7aa66a49
 
2:07 AM
arg
why must you do this
 
yep!
 
PLUG double def?
 
that's it!
 
yeah, just got it too
 
ah damn just got it
 
2:08 AM
:D
 
Wait, shouldn't a double def have some sort of special indicator?
 
Nope.
 
Like a ! or something?
Darn.
 
That's for &lits.
 
who gets it? scon, or chris?
 
2:09 AM
And even then, they're not necessary
 
I was specifically excluding the idea of a double def.
 
I don't have anything prepared
 
then scon, I guess
 
I have one that I'm not entirely sure isn't unfair
 
oh no
 
2:10 AM
here comes a DDDDCCCC
 
Unfair? There's fun in the air!
 
I'm going to build a bank over the weekend
 
CCCC: Desirable qualities at the Halfway House of Ill Repute? (3,4)
 
@Sconibulus *CCCC:
 
missed my window
 
2:13 AM
I got it
 
0
Q: Alphametic puzzle for year 2017

P.-S. ParkIn east Asia 2017 is the year of a rooster. $$ABCD=\left(A \times CA^A + \frac{C}{D} \right) \times D$$

 
Actually, never mind, it's broken and terrible
 
What was the intended solution?
 
I dropped a letter because I'm a dumdum
 
@Sconibulus Too late, already solved
Oh
lol
 
2:17 AM
I was thinking HOT PURE, but I dropped an E somehow
 
HOT PURE???
 
because I suck at everything this week
 
How is 'HOT PURE' desirable qualities?
 
well...
it's two of them
 
it's... not really a phrase though
 
2:18 AM
no it is not
 
oops
 
@Deusovi what did you have in mind?
 
sorry, I am bad at these apparently
 
@Volatility Huh? I didn't have anything in mind
 
2:19 AM
Keep trying.
 
Your "I got it" was probably confusing to people who didn't see pre-edit
 
oh, alright
 
@Deusovi Oh, sorry, misinterpreted your "I got it" comment
 
yeah, I edited to add "CCCC"
 
I actually saw the edit, but thought it was some chat funniness that got Scon's edit through or something
 
2:21 AM
@Volatility same
 
The thing about cryptics is that they are hard, and require lots of practice
Like calculus, you won't get good at it without working lots of problems.
 
Yeah. Honestly, if they didn't pop up on PSE so frequently I probably would've tried a couple crosswords, gotten frustrated, and never tried them again.
 
You're welcome! :P
 
CCCC: Master and I, we're stars! (6)
 
It took me a year with the newspaper before I could complete a puzzle.
 
2:23 AM
stars is def I think
 
Or dd
 
or that
 
or &lit
 
Can't tell if &lit or just excited
 
I can't get GOLLUM out of my head
 
2:25 AM
DOBBY!
 
You guys are all speaking some sort of code.
 
@ChrisCudmore That's 5
 
dd, &lit, ... what is this?
 
dd: double definition
 
2:26 AM
@Randal'Thor dd = double definition
ninja'd
 
&lit: "and literally so", a clue type where the whole clue is both def and wordplay
 
Dd - double def
 
eg "Terribly evil! (4)" = VILE*
or "Russia, rearranged without last remnants of Nikolai and Alexandra! (4) = USSR*(-i,a)
 
@Deusovi That's actually a really nice clue.
 
It's not mine. It's from an MIT Mystery Hunt puzzle
 
2:28 AM
@Deusovi can you give an example of dd?
 
but yeah, it's pretty good
@TrojanByAccident ...My clue above?
"Mention connection to power (4)"
PLUG: mention
PLUG: connection to power
 
ah
right
lol
 
or "Bike was blue (5)" for MOPED
 
The letters of STAR are contained in MASTER ... coincidence?
 
893 total "lol"'s in this room
150 from me
 
2:31 AM
151
 
But I don't see an anagram hint
 
I'm just throwing ideas around.
 
omg
I have it
 
Yeah, see what sticks
 
wait nvm
but just noticed
Master = anagrammed ME + STAR
me = I
 
2:34 AM
that'd be an indirect anagram, plus no indicator
 
1 min ago, by Rand al'Thor
I'm just throwing ideas around.
 
2:50 AM
I get the feeling it's SIR + I + US
 
yeah, you've got it
 
Nice!
 
@Sp3000 nice
 
I thought it was an &lit at first, but looking back, those don't seem to have the two halves
 
lol
@Sp3 got one?
 
2:54 AM
Thinking of one but not immediately. If someone else wants to go, feel free.
 
Argh. I was thinking that because "stars" was plural, it wouldn't be just the name of a single star.
 
Yeah, that's a bit unfair.
 
Sirius is a binary :)
 
Huh, really? Cool!
 
I actually checked to make sure right before I posted it
actually, a three-er but I forgot the word
I don't think it's trinary
 
2:57 AM
@Sconibulus Objection withdrawn, your honour.
 
triple, trinary, and ternary are all acceptable according to Wikipedia
 
@Sp3000 I have one, but I don't want to break the chain.
 
@Randal'Thor same
 
Just post a really easy one :-P
 
CCCC: Boring commercial for spirit (5)
 
3:00 AM
*commercial?
(wow, I almost made the same typo when typing the correction)
 
What happens when you clue in a hurry :P
 
lol
@Sp3000 DRYAD
 
you were supposed to give that one to Rand :P
 
:P
 
3:02 AM
@TrojanByAccident Nice!
 
Well anyone but me is fine! (And nice)
 
That is good
 
@Deusovi Well, TBA had one prepared too.
Fear not, my day will come.
 
CCCC: I say it? The first alphabets lost originality. *laughs* (3)
 
lol
 
3:04 AM
"The first alphabets lost originality" -> ALO
but that's probably not a word
 
no it's Lost Originality Laughs = LOL
 
I think will got it
 
yep
 
@Will correct
 
"alphabets" was unnecessary, though
 
3:05 AM
@Deusovi maybe
 
Alphabets was unnecessary
 
^
 
it was padding, though, and still more or less worked in the clue
 
>it was padding, though
 
CCCC: A singer has spirit? (8)
 
3:06 AM
D:
 
@Will That's a long result to pack into only 4 words
 
could be ddef
 
that's what I was thinking too
 
Yep, me too.
 
It's probably A+word = word, like A+MUSING
 
3:07 AM
Any singers whose names can also refer to alcohol?
 
well, there's a list of singer-related words
BARITONE
MINSTREL
MELODIST
SONGBIRD
VOCALIST
MUSICIAN
SONGSTER
@Will Is it - DISQUIET? A singer is not usually very quiet, and 'spirit' can clue 'disquiet'?
 
nope
 
that wouldn't make sense
 
ah, darn
 
@TrojanByAccident Wait, that avatar ... did you use to be called Saiid or something?
 
3:14 AM
Yeah, that's their old username
 
@Randal'Thor -.-
 
I keep seeing that avatar in the userlist, and your avatar as a giant hat. Only just made the connection.
 
8-letter synonyms of "spirited":
FEARLESS
ANIMATED
VIGOROUS
Are any of these also names of singers?
 
Rappers, maybe
 
3:20 AM
@Will MADONNAS ("a singer has" -> Madonna's; spirit).
I guess this is wrong :-P
 
Indeed it is. Funny though.
 
Ugh, I can't wait all night for a CCCC. I'll save it in a text file and go to bed.
Goodnight all :-)
 
Night!
 
Awww, but you've gotten the closest so far. Good night!
 
1
Q: I might change three times - What am I?

VahnThis is my first post. I hope this will entertain you guys. Here we go. When I am in first phase, I am as dark as the space. When I am in my second phase, I am as red as the sun. When I am in my third place, I am becoming old and disappear into nothingness. What am I?

 
3:38 AM
@Will what is it with you and these DDDDCCCC's?
 
Hey everyone who signed up for TSPI, you should be added now. (@Volatility, I remember you were one...)
 
Will's real name is Derrick.
 
???
 
Yeah, I'm in now, thanks!
 
Derrick Macnutt.
Derrick Somerset Macnutt.
 
3:41 AM
(it pleases me that when you search Google for "Ximenes" he comes up as the first search result, ahead of the actual inquisitor)
 
Ah, I only knew the pseudonym.
 
:)
Sure, so I leave for a couple hours to go to a birthday party, and someone solves Will's last one, and I arrive just in time to see him set a new one. Gahhh!
 
Murphy's law, Rubio
 
@Deusovi I don't believe I am
 
Check your email that you signed up with (and your spam folder there too)
 
3:55 AM
nvm got it
 
 
2 hours later…
5:44 AM
0
Q: How many downvotes are required to delete a question?

Amruth AMy question was deleted deleted question for having many downvotes even though question was not bad and also "ORIGNAL" . If down votes are only the count for "delete" ,why not others question with more downvotes are not deleted.. Also I feel many copied puzzle also get upvoted , but my riddle ...

 
@PuzzlingMeta Interesting question, let's try experimenting on this question! :P
(gif animated by Internet anagram server's online tool)
 
 
1 hour later…
7:21 AM
wow the helium thing was popular...
 
hi
anyone has any idea about "When words speak!"
3 elders seems to be ght to me, they are in all three height weight and right, and OP says to count from right
 

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