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12:11 AM
@Emrakul As a Lojban enthusiast, I suspect you'll be interested to know that SFF has just received an answer from the founder of the Language Creation Society, in their official capacity as LCS spokesperson, providing us with all the filings (yes, all of them) in the Paramount vs Axanar legal case about the Klingon language.
That answer is going to get bountied up to the nines.
 
1:05 AM
Greetings, @ChrisCudmore
 
Does this mean we're doing cccc in Klingon now?
Greetings.
 
That can't make them any more difficult to solve.... :)
 
@Rubio It might, actually, as language definitions change
 
I'm going to define RICKLE§S as meaning "Not exhibiting allergic reaction " and claim the win.
 
wow you got it
 
1:10 AM
I don't know how that § got in thete
 
can't tell if @Will is joking or not
> Where the wild things came from, for pranksters? (6)
Any of you crossword heads got a lead on this?
 
He would have given it to me when I mentioned it earlier. He even made a joke about it.
 
It's going to be something related to books or literature.
 
@ChrisCudmore indeed.
2 hours ago, by Will
False. "Rickless" means that Rick Astley did, in fact, run around and desert you.
As seen 20 messages above :P
 
That's true, I did joke about it, but to be fair RICKLE§S is an entirely different word.
 
1:16 AM
R1⊂≮£€$$
 
I think I have the answer. Is it RÍÇKŁÊŠS?
 
I note that "trolling" is also 8 letters long...
 
GMTA, @TheGreatEscaper :-D
 
1:18 AM
Google Me This Acronym?
 
@Randal'Thor it's ,-1(|<l355
@Alconja Get My Tushy Aroused
 
If anyone wants a fun and easy cryptic clue to pass the time until Will's is solved, you can have this one for free:
> Great, formerly incarcerated tree spirit (9)
 
Guys, I've got it
RICKROLL
per this Google Search
 
@Randal'Thor Is "incarcerated" a synonym of CELL?
 
I wouldn't have said so. Incarcerated is imprisoned, and cell is more the prison itself.
 
1:27 AM
@Will this is my final guess. If it's not the answer, consider yourself a cryptic god.
҉҉҉҉҉҉҂҉҉҉҉҉҉҉҉҂҉҉҉҉҉҉҉҉҂҉҉҉҉҉҉҈҈҈҈҈҉҂҉҉҉҉҉҉҂҉҉҉҉҉ ԆΐϾḴ╚₠ᵴﯓ ҉҉҉҉҉҉҂҉҉҉҉҉҉҉҉҂҉҉҉҉҉҉҉҉҂҉҉҉҉҉҉҈҈҈҈҈҉҂҉҉҉҉҉҉҂҉҉҉҉҉
 
R̡̛̝̪͉̞̣̩͉͉̤̈̑̇̅̋̎̐͘͝Ỉ͇͕͕͇̠͎̘̞̝̟̄̋͗͆̈́͌̽̏̇Ć̛̛̺̝̰̞̱̱̥͓̜͕̄͂̈́͊̕͘̕K̞̠̟͉̜̭̓͒̇͐̆̈̽̕͠͝‌​̟̻̠̲L̢̛͖͕̼͈̭̠̥̪͋̂͌̔̐͆̐͆̕͜É͕̤͖̹̰̖̬͖͎̘̈́̓̆̀͆́͌͝͝S̯̱͍͓͔͍͇͙̬̋͌̑̓̋̂̄̌̔̕ͅŚ̛͔͍̻̽͒́͊͛̈͐̕‌​̙̯̣̝̲͎̙
 
I've been waiting for the Zalgo
 
My final guess is RICKROLL, as per the search above
R̢̡̢̢̛̲͙̟͚̞̱͈̳͔̟͚̟̥̮̮̟̗̠̤̟̻̦̮̮̓̽̈́͌̈́̅̀́̈́̒͌̀̈̓̄̈́̆͛̍̄̇̿̇̒́̈́̕̕͜͜͝Ĭ̊͌̊̈́͛͌̆͐̎̇͌̔͒͛̇̚͝‌​̨̨̙̯̺̙͍̜̳̪͇̠͇͓͎̖̲̖͙̣̥̣͓̯̘͉͖͕̤̽̑͛̅̇͐̎̅́̓̕̕͜Ç̛̻͇͉̝͉̣̟̔̋͊̈́͆̽͛̆̅̾̂̆̒̎̍͑͂̀̐̊͂̈̇̿̇̒͗̽͠‌​̟͇̖̝̣͈͈͙̺̫͇͙̱̼͖̳͈̣̻̭͜ͅĶ̡̨̰̟̝̳̫̹̤͓̘̫̘̥̖̪̥̣̩̤̻͖̭̰̥̦̣͂̃͐̍̆̒̃͋͒̀̏͋̍̑͆̉͛̅̊́̌̓͗͂͘͘̕͝͠͝‌​̝̺R̢̛͙̝̲͚̻̝̜͙͖͔̘̟̮̺͉͕͉̮͇̤̜͙̫̫͔͕̲͇͛̈́́͑̋̐̎̉́̀͂̄̃̓͆̑̒̋̐̒̒́̚͘̚͝͠͝͠ͅƠ̈̑̈́̓̽͛̿̓͊͗̿̏̀̾̚͠‌​̨̡̡̛̲̘̝̙̼͓̱̬͙̱̥̥͕̤̩͚͔̗̱̤͔̙̘̰̦͓̐̑̓̋̐͌̒͒͆͐͋͘ͅĻ̲̗̖̝̥̪̀̾͆̇̏̈́̿̌̀̎̂̆͒̀̍̐͗̔̒́͑͆̉̅̈̍̅͆̃͘‌​̢̧̧̱̮͙̞̞̦̼̹̯̮͉͍̳̼̠̪͉̠ͅͅĻ̧̧̛͙̜̱̰̝̠̜̙̝͙̣̰̙̹̗̪̮̠͈̰͙̲͎̒̌̏̾́̈́̐͆̾͋̈́͊̎͐̄̄̃͛̈͐̋͑̇̾͋̎̚͜͝͝‌​̢̩͈
 
Let's ... not go too far with this.
 
@Randal'Thor and @TrojanByAccident this is just ridiculous now :P
 
1:33 AM
I know I started it, but enough's enough.
 
@TheGreatEscaper Indeed
 
Hang on, 'The Carpenters' is a song by Rick Astley?
 
But it's carpenter (singular), and lower case (which if I understand correctly means it can't be referring to a proper noun)
 
Correct, "carpenter" does not refer to a proper noun.
y'all were close and now you're not
 
Back to ant.
 
1:37 AM
Does punctuation matter in cryptic clues?
 
Not usually.
 
For instance, in this puzzle, was it OK to have a comma between "rosemary" and "first" even though "rosemary, first" was meant to be interpreted as R? Or is that considered dodgy?
 
Pretty sure that's fine
 
That's fine
 
Good, good.
 
1:39 AM
Could perhaps be I.E.?
Antiexxx
 
Could just "reaction" be the def?
 
But then 'had no allergic' becomes a really dodgy phrase
 
@ChrisCudmore IE is "that is"; "perhaps" might be EG (although "perhaps" would already be used with "The carpenter, perhaps" if it clues ANT)
 
apparently I need to add a tag to the CCCC
 
@Will Grrr.
 
1:44 AM
@Randal'Thor Eggers
 
Ok, by this time I've solved a couple of cross letters.
Don't make me brute force all 8 letter words!
 
@Will Blimey, that's obscure.
Thanks!
 
@ChrisCudmore Ugh fine. Let's say you've solved two of the three imaginary cross letters: -I---E--
 
@Randal'Thor next one is QUEST
 
@Volatility How the heck.
I'm so cryp at craptic clues :-(
 
1:54 AM
def: "Crusade", hidden in ("of the") campbellesQUE SToryteller
 
Ugh. I was looking for an &lit solution, because of the exclamation mark :-/
 
I mean... you could have gotten it that way
maybe
with some luck
 
No, the word I'm thinking of right now isn't quite "luck".
:-P
When I went AFK earlier today, I was fully expecting that library puzzle to be all done and dusted when I got back.
But it's no surprise that it isn't, given how hard the clues are getting!
 
Gonna go watch TV. I may be around on mobile.
 
Have fun :-)
I'm signing off too. It's late.
 
2:01 AM
aw man
I got those independently
just hadn't saved my edit
i'm through #15
 
@Rubio #15 is easy.
Brb, editing again.
 
just started looking at it :)
 
Done.
Phew, now I can sleep easy.
I solved the Aymara one too - my 500th (non-deleted) answer on the site.
It was Aymara. I had to.
 
The fish thing?
I saw your answer.
 
@Will can you give us the md5, or A1Z26?
 
2:11 AM
lol. I love that i'm still getting sporadic upvotes on puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/46016/…
 
2:25 AM
@Rubio I love the answer with the DIY particle accelerator
 
yeah that one's pretty loltastic.
 
Check this one stackoverflow.com/a/154939/18907. It's been giving me 30 rep a week for 7 and a half years
 
@Gareth @Will @Rubio @Beastly (ooh, there are lots of 10k-ers now) Delete votes on this?
 
@ChrisCudmore I ... I kind of feel like you just told everyone in this chat room to piss off. :)
@Randal'Thor (VTD)
 
user61230
@Randal'Thor Fascinating. I'm quite adamantly opposed to legal award on the basis of language as intellectual property, for reasons that should be obvious.
 
user61230
2:35 AM
I'm definitely going to be watching this closely.
 
@ChrisCudmore Well - ok - except maybe Beastly Gerbil. cuz, like, he's not human, he's a gerbil.
 
user61230
The issue may overlap trademark law, though. It would be unfortunate, but reasonable, for the court to award damages to Paramount based on the use of "Klingon."
 
@Volatility Your python program is failing to give a solution for a 9x9 number slope, after over 9 million tries
@Emrakul The name, maybe, but not the language, I don't believe
 
user61230
Yeah, that's what I mean. There's (very) tenuous legal precedent in place for treating languages as the collective "property" of the speakers, even if constructed.
 
user61230
But Klingon was a trademark before it was a language.
 
Jim
2:43 AM
It's been so long I've forgotten how to solve CCCCs
 
@Jim Don't worry, @Will's just really obscure
 
@Rubio Nah, just saying that it's funny what has traction.
 
Jim
I believe that but I can't even tell my brain how they work
 
Puzzling is a bit different though, once a question is answered and accepted, the question tends to die.
But, a good universe theory for star trek or Harry Potter could generate rep for years
 
@Randal'Thor, the QUEST clue is an &lit because Joseph Campbell said that every good story involves a quest. It's a hidden word AND an &lit.
 
Jim
2:49 AM
On the CCCC. PERHAPS didn't have a RASH. PERHAPS - RASH = PEP
That's the thought I have to offer
Where an allergic reaction is a rash
 
Nice. Then "the carpenter" would be the definition.
Now we need had no in there.
 
PEPTIDES
 
No. Ignore that.
 
Nope. Doesn't work. We've run out of wordplay.
 
2:53 AM
ik
 
Unless "The" is the def.
 
seems unlikely
 
Jim
Yeah that's the problem I had
 
"Artlcle"is only 7
and not much you're going to get that from anyway
 
And if so, @WILL will be banned from cccc
 
2:55 AM
@TrojanByAccident I did warn you in the readme
 
Anyone that wants to can take a look through this search-by-mask
 
(and that's the reason I posted an 8x8 instead of a 9x9 puzzle)
 
@Volatility probably, somewhere
 
why did you decide on an I and an E in those spots?
 
Jim
Is there a synonym for pep that's 8 letters to describe carpenter or can pep be the wordplay by reduction?
 
2:57 AM
1 hour ago, by Will
@ChrisCudmore Ugh fine. Let's say you've solved two of the three imaginary cross letters: -I---E--
unless that was for something else
Actually, disregard me. I'm pretty sure that was for something else
 
Jim
Is what I suggested legal?
 
@Volatility lol, currently at 9,277,000 tries
 
Jim
Where pep the word could be used as the definition or wordplay after reduction?
 
@TrojanByAccident how long have you kept it running?
 
I'm not sure what you mean, @Jim.
 
Jim
2:59 AM
So
did not have
RASH
Perhaps did not have RASH
 
@Volatility Well, it was running for most of the night, then I closed my computer, then it's been running for a good 8 hours now
 
Jim
PERHAPS = PE P
 
I see
 
Jim
Pep is still a word
 
@TrojanByAccident no, that was the CCCC hint
 
Jim
3:00 AM
Cheer, spirit etc
 
@ChrisCudmore Ah, okay. It's relevant than
 
oh
 
Hive, sneeze
Tear
 
You mean using clues to form PEP, meaning to then use a synonym of PEP in a charade? No, you can't do that
 
Can we get TOLER any kind of way, for TOLER+ANT = had no allergic reaction? Although they aren't quite synonyms.
 
3:02 AM
They'd be impossible to solve with that much indirection
 
well -
 
Jim
@Rubio okay. Can pep be the definition?
 
No, the definition (by definition [HA!]) has to be a straight definition without wordplay
 
Jim
@Rubio okay
 
3:04 AM
Generally, the def could be a regular crossword clue.
 
i mean, it can be a play on words, but it can't be from wordplay
so - if we take the hint as true, then this doesn't start or end with either ANT or BEE
 
@Rubio, what is the hint you're referring to? I can't seem to find it above.
 
@TrojanByAccident this.
 
I starred it.
 
@ChrisCudmore thanks
 
3:07 AM
@Rubio why would I lie like that oh my word
 
Oh. hi. :)
 
I claimed I would have a couple of cross letters by now.
 
It wasn't exactly certain it applied to this CCCC, but I guess it is now :)
 
Got it: HIVELESS HIVE [the carpenter, perhaps] LESS [had no]; [def] had no allergic reaction
 
3:11 AM
"carpenter hive" is a thing?
That's kinda gross. :)
 
Well, carpenter bees make hives, so presumably you could call a hive made by carpenter bees, a carpenter
 
@Silenus Good job.
 
@Rubio carpenter bee hive
ninja'd :P
 
No, I mean, I get what it's supposed to be
but I don't know that it's fair
 
HIVELESS is right but that reasoning is wrong
 
3:12 AM
Rats, again!
 
Hey guys, it would be great if some of you could check out Language Design on Area 51 :-)
 
Carpenter bees do not actually make hives (they're solitary bees!)
 
Ah, so they're hiveless
 
eh. ddef?
 
Very esoteric! @Will you must be a melittologist...
 
3:15 AM
 
@Rubio Not at all, we've got 6 votes so far :)
 
 
Jim
Has @Will been brutal or what?
I haven't been around enough
 
Oh, just every time :)
I don't know how he comes up with these
They're killer.
Killer bees.
Ok I'll shut up now.
 
Jim
Fire ants?
 
3:17 AM
@Rubio That's beeutiful
 
Jim
Carbonless even?
 
@Silenus You're up. Have fun following that.
 
I came up with this one when I was taking some of my precious Diphenhydramine HCl :)
You, know, wishing the hives would just not.
 
I'm going to remove the -I---E-- hint from the star board unless someone strenuously objects.
 
Jim
@will perhaps covered in a rash?
 
3:20 AM
covered in... hives... ?
 
CCCC: The humor of Lovecraft's fantastic horror! (5)
 
Jim
I really wish I didn't miss whatever this new thing is
 
@Jim ?
 
Jim
Sorry meant "bee" thing
Then I realized t was solved while I was researching
 
ICHOR
 
3:24 AM
@Rubio, that was fast!
 
See, I DON'T SUCK. :)
*shakes fist at Will*
 
I figured I'd give an &lit about literature.
 
hehe
 
Jim
I was staring at Arkham Horror while Rubio solved a love craft cccc
 
CCCC: Truly, first victim declared liable. (8)
 
3:35 AM
You just gave me an idea for a CC good job :)
 
@Will Haven't you been banned from CCCC's?
 
4:00 AM
So, like, let's just turn CCCC into a fun game of "keep away from Will" :)
 
@Rubio :)
 
4:26 AM
Okay, I just thought of this and couldn't resist:
Oops, gotta sort out a plurality issue first.
 
@TheGreatEscaper Very interesting idea, 10/10
 
:P
'Forcibly move my first cryptic clues (6)'
 
wow
 
4:46 AM
For all those interested, I've updated my Number Slope grid generator to prettify the output (and make it completely pseudo-random): github.com/AbsVolatility/number-slope
 
That reminds me, @TrojanByAccident will we be seeing your puzzle anytime soon?
 
@TheGreatEscaper After I solve it, yes
 
5:25 AM
0
Q: Time for another Add-A-Gram!

wildBillMunsonAn Add-A-Gram takes a word, adds a letter, and then shuffles the letters to make a new word (I guess you can call this an Add-A-Gram's Add-A-Grammar). In this game, I will define an Add-A-Gram chain, and a solution should contain the complete list of words in the chain. For example, if I provide...

 
5:37 AM
0
Q: No one is gonna help you!

stack readerHere is a puzzle for you. I hope you got a good brain for this one ain't easy. One wrong move and you are done for. These dogs and other 4 legged creatures aren't gonna lick your wounds. In the land of the rodents, the nightmare has just begun. But the police is not gonna help you. ...

 
 
1 hour later…
6:42 AM
@TheGreatEscaper Where's your big puzzle?
 
I delayed it from yesterday, not wanting to rush the end
I thought that I might have left it till after MIT puzzle hunt
but I only have 4 more things to design
So it's possible that it might be up today
 
6:54 AM
2 things left.
 
7:14 AM
1
Q: Another another Add-A-Gram

Mike QThis is based on the Add-A-Gram puzzles by wildBillMunson. You need to find a chain of words, such that each next word is an anagram of the previous word plus an additional letter. Example: a doctor inside a rejection inside an elector; the solution is "vet", "veto", "voter". Here is the chain...

 
@TheGreatEscaper Hope so...
 
I'm making the final images for upload now :)
 
7:38 AM
I keep getting excited when I see '1 question with new activity'. :D Then I see it's just an edit. :P
 
man
i was going to bed, too
what happened to "after MIT" ?
:)
 
I might actually have a chance, if everyone is off doing the MIT puzzle hunt
Or maybe someone will do it as a warm-up :P
 
I'm writing it up right now, bobo!
Ehhhhhhhh whatever @Rubio :P
 
I know what it feels like to just want to let the world see ;)
If it helps . . .
less than an hour after posting my latest puzzle, I already regretted two of the decisions I made in the last moments of finishing it
A little more time, a little more thought, and it would have been a stronger puzzle
 
I think this one has been put off enough :P
 
8:00 AM
1
Q: Add-A-Gram marathon!

stack readerThis is based on the Add-A-Gram puzzles by wildBillMunson. You need to find a chain of words, such that each next word is an anagram of the previous word plus an additional letter. a Tasty bone in British gratitude in a Roasted fashion in great in secret in a Stone in peculiar in a rank in far ...

 
:D
(@Rubio, @Boboquack, @anyoneelsewhocares :P )
 
nice
i'll look when i'm done with this add-a-gram
 
0
Q: WITLESS - A Puzzling Journey

TheGreatEscaperIMPORTANT! READ ME: The only 'puzzle' parts of this are the links, titled 'Set X', 'Inscription X', or 'Constellation X'. Everything else is flavortext, apart from this readme section, although the flavortext does tell you that the meaning of the inscriptions is not supposed to be deduced until...

 
.... which is right now.
 
Sid
@Rubio You are too fast. :P
 
8:15 AM
I got hung up on secret. I still don't think that's valid, but I can't find anything else that works.
 
Sid
And @TheGreatEscaper I actually don't quite understand what to do with that puzzle..
 
Set 1? Don't look ahead.
 
Sid
Yeah
 
Okay. Just think about it for a bit. Try to notice stuff. And don't overcomplicate.
(and definitely don't look at any of the other links!)
Different people will find different sets easier to understand, but they should definitely be attempted in the order I've put them in.
*solved in the order I've put them in.
 
I may be dense, but I am with @Sid here - it's unclear how to know what the objective is, and there's no way to know before moving on if you have an understanding or not.
I see patterns, I guess? I don't know if they're relevant because we're not asked (yet) to complete a pattern and see if we're right.
 
8:20 AM
These are grid-deduction puzzles.
Oops I forgot to put that in the readme.
 
Sid
Yes, but they need to have an objective. I am not sure, if it is to find the odd one out or to continue the pattern or anything else.
 
I mean - I assumed that - but what is there to deduce? There's nothing to do
It's just - here's some patterns. (Ok, that's nice. Moving on.)
 
No, this is not a pattern puzzle.
 
No self-check step to see if you actually found something that lets you do something.
 
@Deusovi understood the objective from the teasers I posted in this chat :P
 
8:23 AM
Ah. So, each grid stands alone
and you have to solve each grid using some rules
 
Sid
@TheGreatEscaper That's because Deusovi is a genius!
 
@Rubio, correct.
Here's the relevant part of the edit: 'These are plain grid-deduction puzzles, apart from the fact you must work out the mechanics yourself. Once you know the meanings, they are simply pen-paper puzzles in the vein of Japanese puzzles such as Sudoku, Hashi, Nurikabe, Slitherlink, etc'
Like I said, solve time GREATLY varies.
 
Ok so here's the thing
It's a question more than a critique
 
How do we know if we're solving them, without looking ahead to see what we're supposed to glean from them?
I think I see how Set 1 works, but I have no idea if I'm actually right
 
8:26 AM
Does each puzzle have a unique solution?
I know it sounds really silly
 
I don't know. Are you asking: here's an empty grid, here's N icons, place them in the grid uniquely following the rules and constraints?
 
But 'you'll know it's right'.
No puzzles arrive in a solved state.
I should probably add that into the readme.
I think the first step is to consider that right now you're asking 'what do we even have to do?'
And that question is a good one :P
In a sudoku, you have empty spaces to fill.
In a slitherlink, you have a loop to draw.
In hashi, you have bridges to draw.
In nurikabe, you have a wall to make.
In Akari, you have lights to place.
So, the first thing to think about, is:
In 'WITLESS', what do you even have to do?
 
ohh I might be onto something
 
Well, yeah, that's pretty key. I didn't understand that at all then.
is chat broken?
whoa. that was weird. I couldn't hit the chat server for a couple minutes.
 
yeah I think I've got it
 
8:33 AM
@Will Set 1? Nice :)
@Rubio my server died for a few minutes a while ago.
But it wasn't at the same time as you.
 
I guess set 2 will confirm with absolute certainty whether I'm doing the right thing?
 
...maybe :P from the way you've said it, then you've solved set 1.
 
oh yikes the first one in set 2 is...
hmm
 
I'll misquote an old zen koan:
'The rules aren't changing. The mind is changing.'
 
oh!
 
8:38 AM
:D
It sounds like you're speeding ahead of the others... not sure whether to be happy or worried :P
 
meh I'm gonna go watch a show I recorded then head to sleep
so my progress (or quite possibly lack thereof) is inconsequential :)
 
i seem to be most of the way through set 2
 
unless of course I can't sleep which is an event with a fair probability of occurrence
 
i'm not sure if I did the last of set 1 correctly because I got a result that didn't feel right
 
I've finished sets 1 and 2, haven't looked at 3 because I'm trying to figure out how to import images into Adobe Draw for the ipad
 
8:40 AM
Save image
On the right hand side of adobe draw, there should be some layer stuff
Press the + to add a layer
And say that you want to add an image layer
 
Thanks!
 
And give it access to your photos
 
bah. @Deusovi is on the case. I might as well quit now ;)
 
No worries! @Deusovi
@Rubio awwww! I did design this puzzle to be a solving experience. As soon as an answer goes up, the temptation to throw that experience away will only grow :P
Things only really start picking up at set 5, anyhow.
 
hey @Deusovi
 
8:45 AM
oh. i fixed set1 #5, derp.
How's that?
 
@IAmInPLS Hey!
 
@Deusovi What happened to the riddle "two have four but four have six"? (If your great mind remembers it, ofc)
 
Aww, came late to the party, it looks like
 
Not that late :)
 
done with set 3 & now I'm really off
this is fun though!
 
8:54 AM
Plagiarism. Plagiarism happened.
 
@Deusovi Ah, damn. It came from reddit, right? By chance, do you know the answer?
 
No, I don't - sorry!
 
I don't think the answer to that riddle is anywhere
Reddit is lost. The OP of the reddit post didn't have the answer.
 
@Will Is it just me or is set 3 not unique?
Lot of freedom seems to be available in that one
 
It's unique. I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but I know it's unique
 
8:59 AM
It should be... unless I'm missing something.
 
Which one in set 3, Rubio?
 

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