The Sphinx's Lair

GentlePurpleRain

22:22

@Will Potential CCCC solution (not too confident): NUTMEAT. The definition is the whole thing (&lit), and the wordplay is to anagram (as indicated by "perhaps") "tan minute" into iNUTMEATn, and then take the kernel (inside) to get NUTMEAT.

Will

Right answer, incomplete reasoning. :)

Note which letters are unused.

GentlePurpleRain

I see that it could be "in nutmeat" (or "nutmeat in"), but I don't see how that helps with the indicators.

If "kernel" doesn't indicate taking the middle, what does it indicate?

Rubio

the kernel of a nut is called NUTMEAT, so it is "in nutmeat, kernel"

perhaps tan minute (iNUTMEATn*); kernel (def)

GentlePurpleRain

Huh?

Will

^

GentlePurpleRain

22:29

Isn't it an &lit?

Will

Yes.

Rubio

hm

Will

/prepared for groans

GentlePurpleRain

So how is "kernel" involved in the wordplay? I don't get it.

Rubio

it's not. or, it's not a &lit.

or we're both deeply confused. :)

Will

22:30

It is, and it is.

And you are.

Rubio

Ok then :)

then I'm not sure why GPR's initial answer is wrong.

GentlePurpleRain

^

Rubio

I only offered mine as a crappier explanation given you said the first one wasn't it. I'm now quite confundled.

GentlePurpleRain

As am I.

Will

Look at where the letters in TAN ended up.

GentlePurpleRain

22:37

Beginning and end of NUTMEAT. So?

Will

and the rest is

GentlePurpleRain

UTME

Will

and here are the groans

GentlePurpleRain

???

@Rubio, do you follow?

Rubio

not in the slightest

GentlePurpleRain

22:43

@Will, you might have to spell it out, unfortunately...

Rubio

hm

Will

So it turns out my attempt to make a comma significant to the wordplay did not work at all.

Deusovi

oh god

@GentlePurpleRain M IN UTE

Rubio

perhaps tan minute -> UTME in NAT ... somehow ...

but still not getting kernel?

I'm lost. @Deusovi please to explain :)

oh

GOD.

Deusovi

M in UTE is the "kernel" of TAN* (ie it's placed in the center)

Rubio

22:46

I just just got that

Deusovi

full clue parse should be "anagram of TAN (with) (M in UTE) placed in the center"

GentlePurpleRain

That is not kosher.

Rubio

indeed is ok

Deusovi

Yeahhh. Most of it's fine, but MINUTE --> M in UTE isn't

Rubio

MinUTE, i'm pretty sure is not.

hehe

Deusovi

22:47

Like I said, INDEED is questionable, but typically allowed because "indeed" comes from "in deed"

Will

Here's another one of the same variety:

Minion wearing knockout getup (6)

GentlePurpleRain

kimono

Deusovi

K(I(M)ON)O

GentlePurpleRain

Easy when you know the gimmick.

Deusovi

I'd maybe accept that as part of a variety cryptic. But definitely not a regular one.

Matt

22:50

I'm interested to see your opinion on the final clue of the latest meta

GentlePurpleRain

CCCC: Criminals take sanctuary, having at muses. (12)

Rubio

Finesse contest starts with "Go ahead?" (5)

(the meta)

I hope it's not BLUFF

GentlePurpleRain

Can someone fix the stars for me? I'm on mobile.

Deusovi

Sure.

Matt

It isn't bluff

Deusovi

22:51

oh, Rubio got it

Rubio

good. I was bluffing there ;)

Deusovi

Hm, I can't think of anything immediately.

Matt

I won't spoil it, but I do have to put my phone down

Will

GRACE?

Rubio

poor phone. do be sure to give it a proper burial. maybe say a few words.

damn.

Deusovi

22:56

yeah, definitely GRACE

Rubio

that's gotta be it

Deusovi

G_ + RACE

Rubio

may I put that in my answer, with due credit?

Will

Go ahead. ;)

Matt

Is the quotation section kosher?

Rubio

22:58

Totally

Deusovi

Ehhhhhh. I don't know.

I wouldn't use it.

Rubio

why wouldn't it be?

Deusovi

Why would it be?

Rubio

ahead instead of head?

Deusovi

yeah, using "ahead" as "head"

Matt

23:00

Glad you agree haha

Deusovi

it's... questionable

Rubio

Meh. I guess that is dodgy. But I was looking at it cluing G, so I guess it was effective if not proper. hehe

Matt

I mean, there was no oh god moment haha

Rubio

lol. true that.

Matt

The green light clue is what I asked the lit question about

Deusovi

23:02

Yeah, I don't think that would be valid.

There's no def there.

Rubio

So with the "Yo dawg", I really wanted the contest to be one of the epicrapbattlesofhistory.com

Matt

With go ahead responding to unfinished business

Deusovi

If you managed to fit "response to" in there, then that'd be fine, but in this case it'd mess up the wordplay

Matt

Right

The yo dawg is from the xhibit meme from pimp my ride

Deusovi

Hm... I was going to make another variety cryptic, but I can't think of a good way to implement the current rebus theme.

TheGreatEscaper

23:19

Hang on, the fortnightly theme doesn't have to apply to the WHOLE puzzle does it?

Deusovi

Nah.

TheGreatEscaper

As in, it's alright to have a puzzle in which only one section is rebuses

Alright, cool

Gareth McCaughan

23:34

If anyone has been meaning to upvote/accept something of mine and not bothering, doing it in the next 25 minutes will enable me to be an Epic Visual Necromancer. (This is not a request for any rep I wouldn't have got at all otherwise. The Epic badge can wait for another occasion if need be.)

wow, that was quick (or maybe it had nothing to do with my comment above) :-). Actually, it looks like today I'm a Nice Epic Visual Necromancer.

3

Deusovi

You're welcome

Rubio

Nice. Grats @GarethMcCaughan!

Gareth McCaughan

(though it hasn't actually given me Epic yet; I assume it takes a little while before one part of the system knows what another is doing)

Rubio

heh. Whoops @BeastlyGerbil thanks for the metacryptic correction :)

Gareth McCaughan

aha, now I'm officially Epic. (One of only three on Puzzling; no prizes for guessing at least one of the others. The corresponding gold badge is Legendary and I think it'll be a while before even Rand gets that one.)

Deusovi

23:49

Congrats!

For some reason, I don't repcap much.

Gareth McCaughan

@Deusovi Just glancing at your profile, it doesn't look as if you do so much less than I do. You can't be too far from getting Epic, surely?

Deusovi

Oh huh, I'm at 48/50.

Gareth McCaughan

aha!

Alconja

And here's me on 11/50

Gareth McCaughan

It's much harder to get lots of rep from good questions than from good answers

and that makes sense on most of Stack Exchange where the answers are (kinda, mostly) the valuable thing

Deusovi

23:55

Most of my rep comes from answers, even though my questions have a lot more work put into them. :/

Gareth McCaughan

but it's bonkers on Puzzling where, in effect, the setters are providing entertainment for the solvers

Alconja

:) doesn't help that I'm not a very frequent poster (of questions or answers) in general

Gareth McCaughan

and the solvers get rewarded

so here am I with a ton more rep than Alconja despite contributing maybe 10% what he does to the overall excellence of the site. Sorry, Alconja.

Alconja

Yeah, my highest voted answer is 12 words long.

595 worth of rep

Gareth McCaughan

wow!

and such a crappy question to get all that rep for answering, too :-)

wasn't there at some point a bit of a movement to squelch questions that were "merely" jokes rather than puzzles that happen to be funny?

Alconja

23:58

Yeah. I remember a discussion that came up around the same time as I answered that one.

Deusovi

Speaking of high score-to-content ratios, this is my favorite answer on Math.SE:

719

A: Construct a function which is continuous in $[1,5]$ but not differentiable at $2, 3, 4$

$$\ \ \ \ \mathsf{W}\ \ \ \ $$

Alconja

(probably not the only one)

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