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12:25 AM
Contact continues but currently seems like it could do with a few more people...
 
Yeah, I'm getting ton of clues, but I'm getting none of them.
 
Having more people won't exactly help that particular problem.
But it may help the game move along a bit more.
 
Yeah, I can't pass if nobody contacts
 
 
4 hours later…
4:41 AM
@ffao how come you're back on 99 upvotes on 29-1=30?
 
Somebody undid an upvote probably
 
5:09 AM
I don't know, that answer is so awesome, why would anyone undo an upvote
 
Fixed :P
 
@ffao I mean it is the 28th best answer of all time!
 
6:10 AM
looks like it's back to 101 after the bump to the front page
 
Sid
Um, guys here is a CC I am stuck on.
Beginner of Athens (5)
Apparently the answer is ALPHA.
Which I don't seem to get from the clue.
 
I solved the numbrix btw
 
Could be a ddef.
 
@Sid sounds like a cryptic def
 
beginning of athens, in greek? seems weird
 
Sid
6:15 AM
Oh, duh.
 
or beginning of greek alphabet
 
Sid
Cryptic def, yeah.
 
So basically one needs to interpret that as "beginning letter in Greek"
 
I think it's both: Athens provides the A and the reference to Greek.
 
Oh, so it's an &lit!
That makes more sense
 
Sid
6:19 AM
For it to be an &lit, where is the wordplay beside the "A"?
 
You need to pretend A=alpha
 
"beginning of something" can mean its first letter and "something in Athens" can mean it's in Greek.
 
Sid
Ah..
Duh.
 
(You'll see that more often in "the French" or "Rousseau's cat" or "Nancy's a ..." or "Nice street".)
 
Hey, is anybody here familiar with puzzlescript?
 
6:27 AM
@Sid Here's the 15^2 page (look at 5d)
(and here's where the clue first appeared)
 
7:08 AM
Numbrix solution is up @Sconibulus
Can you confirm it's correct?
 
7:29 AM
numbrix?
 
@MOehm "Nancy's a..." giving what?
 
This user is starting to @rub me the wrong way: puzzling.stackexchange.com/users/37767/draftnba
 
Looks like an interesting profile puzzle, I'm going to attempt it :p
 
they'll post it soon, then you can attempt it
 
which user now?
 
7:35 AM
I don't know
 
@Rubio un / une: The indefinite article (that is, the equivalent to "a") used in Nancy.
 
@Rubio probably a French article, since Nancy is a city in France
 
Oh. I knew Nice, but not Nancy. thanks.
 
 
2 hours later…
10:01 AM
0
Q: Find the missing number :

Mansi ManhasFind the missing number in the following table. Answer Options are: 25 27 32 30

 
10:32 AM
Well this is the point where I start to use tools and I think I've got the C4, but o_O I'd never have gotten it without tools so... hm.
 
10:52 AM
Don't worry about it, I'm sure it's fine
 
 
1 hour later…
12:00 PM
@Sp3000 The clue's been there for something like four days. I think using tools is fine at this point.
@Wen1now Try @TheGreatEscaper?
 
Well in that case: INTRIGUE ("carry on" = love affair) = (UNTIE)* (untie "knots") restraining RIG ("dress")
 
INTRIGUE is the correct answer! Well done.
("carry on" = "engage in an affair", though, rather than turning into a noun.)
It's a rather old-fashioned sense of "intrigue", of course.
 
Ah right, I couldn't quite tell if it was a noun or verb in this context
But trust Gareth to come up with a clue with two "engage in a love affair" where I know the individual words/phrases but... not as love affairs :P
(having said that though I feel like the board game expansion "Dominion Intrigue" just made a lot more sense)
 
@_@
Well good job Gareth
 
CCCC: Sweet treat from evening of puzzles held by annoying one in Greek island (5, 7)
On a side note, thanks to Gareth I learnt that there's quite a lot of types of corsets, apparently
 
12:12 PM
@Sp3000 Glad to be of service. I expect there are a number of sites on the internet that can help with your future research on this topic.
 
lol
 
Well, at least that's how the Andy Warhol contact clue came about :P
 
I don't even know where to start with this cc
 
12:42 PM
I'd start with the island.
 
Do you think Greek Island is the def?
There are like a billion of them D:
 
Well, not necessarily Greek. There are many other islands that start with SAINT or SANTA, St. Thomas for example. They would fit the enumeration.
 
Ahhh
 
(I know already which island. :) But I haven't got anything to keep up the chain at the moment.)
 
Sneaky
 
12:52 PM
There are, of course, many Greek islands, but as far as I know not many that have names with two words.
 
True
 
The last level on this is mean
 
Sid
How is carry on=intrigue?
 
@MOehm Two words that fit 5, 7 is where I am struggling...
 
1:09 PM
The island could also be part of the wordplay. In that case, it's probably a well-known island with ashorter name.
 
Sid
Today's Guardian Cryptics has a clue: Bishop, say, tries fruit (7)
 
My first thought was Crete, which could make a word like CREME ...TE, which doesn't sound too bad for a sweet or a sweet treat.
 
Sid
The answer is apparently MANGOES. I don't understand the clue at all
 
@Sid The bishop is a chess piece or a chess MAN. It's a definition by example, hence the "say". The tries and GOES are nouns as in "Have a try/go."
 
Sid
But Fruit=Mangoes? Plural?
 
1:12 PM
Apples are fruit, aren't they?
 
I think the plural of fruit is fruit
 
Sid
bah. I had it wrong all these years, after all.
Plural of fruit=fruit. TIL.
 
although you can say fruits, if you're talking about different categories of fruit
 
In the case where you have many types of fruits, it can be fruits. It depends what you're talking about, apparently
 
@MOehm There's Saint Vincent
 
1:14 PM
it's like person vs people
err, people vs peopls
usually you say people, but if you're talking about multiple distinct categories, you use peoples
i.e. The Free Peoples of Middle Earth
English is fucking weird
 
Sid
Lol, true.
 
@n_palum Yes, but how are you going to fit in the sweet treat, the evening of puzzles, the annoying one and Greek?
 
@n_palum Saint Maarten maybe, also many Greek Islands begin with Agios
 
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
fyi it's Sint Maarten, slightly confusing :P
(and there's also Saint Martin?)
 
1:22 PM
There is
 
Oh, I can see an anagram of SMARTIE (but not Smarties) in Saint Maarten. Unfortunately, the island is Dutch and its name is Sint Maarten, so (4, 7).
 
two halves of the same Island I think, one being Dutch and one being... I want to say French?
 
So maybe it is sweet treat
 
I ended up landing there on the way to Anguila
 
So we need evening of puzzles, annoying one in Greek Island
 
1:23 PM
Yes, that's where the Netherlands and France have a common land border.
 
o_O
 
one in greek... enas?
 
(this is a geography lesson for me)
 
is annoying an anagrind?
 
It can be
 
1:25 PM
'annoying one in greek' sounds almost mythological, probably for Hermes or Pan
 
@Sconibulus The plural of "person" is "people". The plural of "people" is "peoples". The singular noun "people" (meaning a population with shared ethnicity, or something of the kind) is derived from the plural noun "people".
 
^ that makes more sense to me
 
but 'one in greek' could easily be just a translation
 
neo?
 
Hmm I do like the idea of getting Pan or Hermes from that
 
1:26 PM
@GarethMcCaughan yeah, that's true, but it doesn't help explain how fruit works that well
 
@Sid To "carry on" with someone is to have an affair with them. To "intrigue" with someone can also have that meaning.
@Sconibulus I'm not quite sure why the explanation of person/people/peoples needs to have anything to do with fruit.
 
Sid
as in verb?
 
Verb in both cases, yes.
 
Fish can be a singular count noun, and its usual plural is also fish. Fruit as a singular count noun has the plural of fruits.
However, both fish and fruit more commonly appear as noncount nouns, which do not have plurals.
When do you use the plural count noun fruits? You use fruits to refer to different species of fruit. However, fruits as a plural count noun as in these sentences is much less frequent than fruit as a noncount noun.
 
I think the plural of fruit-as-count-noun can also be "fruit". The question "How many fruit did you get?" when someone has just been shopping doesn't seem an ill-formed one.
 
1:37 PM
ah, but it would be "how much fruit".
 
Both statements are accurate, how much and how many are both fine. Although, many implies types whereas much implies amount.
 
i have never hearth how many fruit, it sounds wrong for some reason
heard
 
Sid
isn't much for uncountable nouns while many for countable nouns? Or am I just mistaken?
 
yes, thats what i thought
 
Hullo.
 
1:45 PM
hello TGE!
 
Hullo Gareth!
 
Sid
Good Evening TGE!
 
Hiya Sid!
 
Sid
Your game is too hard
 
baHahahAhahahaah that thing
 
1:46 PM
@thecoder16 yes, "how many fruit" is unusual but it's not (I think) impossible. "Go and buy some apples and pears. I need at least six." ... "So, how many fruit did you get?"
 
Its at least a few years old
 
It's pretty good, though. Difficult, but rewarding.
 
and of course it's carefully crafted to look like it's a few decades old.
 
@GarethMcCaughan i don't think that works. many implies quantity. fruit itself is already plural.
 
That's mostly PuzzleScript @GarethMcCaughan :P
 
1:48 PM
@thecoder16 "Fruit" is both singular and plural.
 
Sid
Now that I think about it, a decade back is 2007. Huh, it doesn't feel that way.
 
I think it'd be "How much fruit did you get" not how many
 
In any case, I don't see how you get from "fruit is already plural" to "you can't ask how many fruit". "Berries" is plural but you can ask "how many berries?".
 
@GarethMcCaughan Yeah, the game engine he used doesn't really allow super fancy graphics haha
 
@GarethMcCaughan Berries is the plural, the singular is berry
 
1:49 PM
To me, "how much fruit" is answered in kilos or litres or something (a small basketful, enough for a pavlova, enough to last us a couple of days) whereas "how many fruit" is answered with a number (six, but one of them's rather small).
 
here i am on the third level, and i've managed to blockade myself into a box
now i can't do anything lmao
 
@n_palum What did I say that gave the impression that I am not aware that "berries" is the plural of "berry"?
@thecoder16 Yes you can, you can press Z.
 
Eh.. how much could be answered with both imo, how many fruit sounds weird to me
 
@thecoder16 The undo button works wonders
 
well i meant game wise
ii'm trying not to undo :P
 
1:50 PM
@GarethMcCaughan I don't see how you get from "fruit is already plural" to "you can't ask how many fruit". "Berries" is plural but you can ask "how many berries?".
 
@thecoder16 Succumb to the need of it, I'm sure you'll need to.
 
You will not be able to do it without undoing.
 
giggles
 
challenge accepted
 
fruit can be singular and plural, but berries cannot
 
1:50 PM
besides that first attempt, of course :P
 
@n_palum What did I say that gave the impression that I had forgotten writing that?
 
@Deusovi I have, after I had already solved all the puzzles though.
 
Sid
Right, now I need to concentrate on level 5..
 
I feel like it'd be easy to slip up, even after knowing the solutions.
 
Idk just the wording :P I wasn't meaning to imply you weren't aware, I am very aware of your word expertise
 
1:52 PM
@Deusovi my brain works in mysterious ways.
 
No ones made progress on the knights kuromasu??
I might have to give it a serious crack this weekend :P
 
arguing with gareth about words is like trying to cut diamond with a wooden saw. if you cut anywhere deep, it will be into your own skin.
6
 
I've tried, but I get to spots where I have to guess pretty quickly
 
Lmao @thecoder16
 
it's true.
 
2:05 PM
I never disagreed with ya :P
I probably won't get into any solving action until after I'm done with my grid thingo
 
@Sp3000 The CCCC is CRE(PE S(UZE)T)TE - pUzZlEs ("evening", i.e even letters of puzzles) in PEST, all in CRETE
 
Very nice!
 
Nice
 
Didn't know the "evening" device, but that was easy to explain.
So let's continue with the Greek island theme:
CCCC: Steal back most of new Greek island (6)
 
2:32 PM
@MOehm Not sure how that's a 5, 7 answer...
 
@dcfyj Crepe Suzette, the sweet treat, is 5, 7, or have I miscounted?
 
Sid
Answer is CREPE SUZETTE
 
@dcfyj CREPE SUZETTE?
 
@MOehm Ah, that wasn't particularly easy for me to read, that makes more sense.
 
Yes, I should have gone easy on the parentheses. Sorry about that.
 
2:34 PM
No, I think it's fine.
 
I read it as the inner parts needed to be removed
 
That's typically notated with lowercase or a minus sign (or both).
 
@MOehm Is it BOR(rob back) + NE(w) + O -> BORNEO(island def)
 
Where does O come from?
 
Sid
How did you get O?
 
2:40 PM
Greek letter Omicron :p
 
Uhh that doesn't sound right
 
Not sure. That's the closest I got of it.
 
It kinda fits
 
But, would like to get a confirmation from M Oehm on that.
 
I think it's BOR+NEO(most of NEOS, Greek for new)
 
Sid
2:43 PM
That makes more sense
 
Yeah. I tried that and got νέος (this) in translation
So, that's right. @Ankoganit Since you made it work. Go for the next CC
 
I like most of neos
 
@Techidiot Um okay but I need a minute or two
 
@MOehm is probably still around to confirm, maybe
 
Figured out the Knight Move!
 
2:49 PM
Hm so should I wait for @MOehm?
Ok doesn't look like he's around
I think I'll go ahead
CCCC: Say, are turn-backs an illegal act? (9)
 
@Sconibulus Congratulations!
 
3:21 PM
Nice @Sconibulus !
 
@Ankoganit Yes, that's it.
(Sorry about the delay, I've posted the clue from the office and I am now at home.)
 
Welcome home
 
3:46 PM
0
Q: West face East face

TSLFThe 2 x 2 x 1 die with new configuration was created from 2 dice (w/ opposite faces total 7) that were glued together on one of their faces. If this long die is rolled twice, the sum of non-repeated results can be equal to 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,20,11,12,13,14,15 or 16. What are the glued faces of the 2 ...

 
 
2 hours later…
6:08 PM
@Deusovi Lots of stuff on sale for Steam summer sale if you're still looking for stuff
 
Summer sale started?
 
Mhmm
 
6:29 PM
It may be 30 degrees over here but Britain will always find a way to rain.... At least it was warm rain for once...
 
Has to process it's Celsius there
 
Celsius > F
K > all
 
Why can't the world settle for one set of measurements, one language, one alphabet....
Whats 30 celcius in fahrenheit? like 90?
 
@BeastlyGerbil Culture, History, etc etc
 
No idea. I am fine with one system of units, but I'd want different languages over one
 
6:35 PM
make things easier...
I have no idea how big a yard is
 
A yard is a little smaller than a meter
 
@BeastlyGerbil 0.9144m
 
metRE :P
 
Personally I think the imperial measuring system is stupid, but it's what they use in the US...
 
Yeah dc they do re not er for a lot of things
also 86 degrees
 
6:36 PM
metric is better
 
@n_palum duh, I'm from Canada I know they do that
It's from the French
 
You're Canadian?
 
yeah -re verbs like etre
 
@Deusovi youtube.com/watch?v=TfjvvCpe80A - I can't even imagine what a live game would be like
 
@n_palum I don't live there anymore, but yes
 
6:38 PM
Ooo
Cold eh
 
rockies where cool
 
?
 
@n_palum Live Spyfall games are interesting.
I've played a few. I'm awful at it.
 
My goal is to do that asap
 
But everyone already knows you're the spy...
 
6:41 PM
Well..
 
@dcfyj a message didn't send. I wrote before hand 'I went to canada once. Great place'
 
I thought all Canadian verbs ended in -eh.
 
Regardless "rockies where cool" makes no sense.
 
Oh hey, Gareth's here!
 
Rocky mountains
 
6:42 PM
@dcfyj perhaps "where" was meant to be "were"
 
@GarethMcCaughan pretty sure @GentlePurpleRain would disagree with you (like I do).
 
@dcfyj that's true
 
actually, I disagree with me too. (I am large, I contain multitudes.)
 
bloody hell chat is being slow today....
 
@BeastlyGerbil I know what the rockies are >.<
 
6:43 PM
lol
 
Do.. the rockies stretch to Canada?
 
I think yeah
 
@BeastlyGerbil do you mean the chat UI is responding slowly, or not much conversation is happening?
 
@GarethMcCaughan I'm confused with how to interpret this
 
@n_palum The rockies start in Canada and go all the way to South America (although they change name along the way)
 
6:44 PM
I think I can help: "rockies where cool" seems an appropriate response to nothing that has been posted in chat thus far
 
@GarethMcCaughan Pretty sure the former
 
The Rocky Mountains, commonly known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States. Within the North American Cordillera, the Rockies are somewhat distinct from the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada which all lie further to the west. The Rocky Mountains were initially formed from 80 million to 55 million years ago during the Laramide orogeny, in which a number of plates began...
 
I mean (1) I don't actually think that Canadian verbs end in -eh and was just making a flippant joke and (2) it amuses me to quote Walt Whitman.
 
I do (winks)
 
Rockies stretch all the way into South America?
 
6:47 PM
Sorry guys I'm having trouble with chat. It keeps glitching, not sending message and taking ages to load anything... Posted on meta about it
 
Calling Andes Rockies?
 
@Avantgarde As I said, they change name
 
That's what I think
 
@Forklift It's the same mountain range
 
What's the changed name?
 
6:47 PM
Don't remember
 
I don't think it holds up because they are on and caused by diferfent faults, yeah?
 
The world's longest above-ground mountain range is the Andes, about 7,000 km (4,300 mi) long. The range stretches from north to south through seven countries in South America, along the west coast of the continent: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Aconcagua is the highest peak, at about 6,962 m (22,841 ft). This list does not include submarine mountain ranges. If submarine mountains are included, the longest is the global mid-ocean ridge system which extends for about 65,000 km (40,000 mi). == Formation == Mountain chains are typically formed by the process of...
 
Andes are in South America?
 
They have different positions on that list
@n_palum yes
 
Andes != Rockies
 
6:51 PM
@dcfyj I think you are mistaken that they are the same mountain system. I am confident they are not. They sit on different tectonic plate intersections and would not have a geographic relation to each other. Though they seem to follow a line they have no relation to each other
 
You could make a puzzle of this
 
might be too obscure. You'd have to knowledge tag it and hint pretty well
 
You could do a vigenere from ANDES -> ROCKY
 
lol, thanks for the compliment, but I assure you I could not!
 
RBZGG?
 
6:57 PM
see, this is why I tend to pass right over "cipher" tagged puzzles
 
Heh cool key
 
@Forklift *starts to cry*
 
it's not personal. I'm just dumb
 
Lukas! :D
We missed you!
 
Oh, hey!
 
7:02 PM
@LukasRotter HE LIVES!
 
Rotter's back!
Your goal of giving away all your rep is complete! :P
 
it appears a celebrity is among us
 
Yes indeed
 
(checks profile) hmmm... alright then
 
7:05 PM
Hi everyone. Seems like I couldn't resist P.SE longer than a few months :D
 
Hi Lukas
 
I'm glad you're back!
 
@forklift they made this for instance before deleting account
@LukasRotter has it really been only a few months? Feels like forever! :)
 
wow, that's quite the puzzle.
 
Were you unable to resist the allure of hybrid grids?
 
7:10 PM
it was the herpes riddle, certainly
the timing is too close to be a coincidence
 
7:22 PM
@LukasRotter any more puzzles coming?
 
Patience, BG. Maybe he doesn't want to make any more for right now, or at all.
But if he does, I don't think asking will make him make them faster.
 
How can you ask me to wait for one of the best puzzle makers around? :P
 
@BeastlyGerbil Well, I have a few ideas for puzzles. If I'm happy with the end result the first one will probably be posted next week. (assuming weekends are still as dead as they were before :P)
*weekends
 
(Yeah, that hasn't changed unfortunately.)
 
LOL, I forgot about the editing feature in chat
 
7:27 PM
oh dear :P
 
@LukasRotter you should play (and beat) this game :P
(For whatever reason me + typing = fail, lately)
 
Hm... I completed my 250th close vote around 30 mins ago and I still haven't received a reviewer badge. Should I be worried?
 
@BeastlyGerbil Yes, absolutely. Start panicking immediately.
 
My first came within 1 minute of me completing my 250th
 
(I think badges update every hour or something? I dunno. Maybe it's just a weird SE thing.)
 
7:32 PM
oh ok then
 
oh, BG, were you going to complete your answer?
 
Was just doing so :P
It might take a while... the previous shape I made is now a bit messed up so going to reprint to add images
 
cool beans :)
 
should we also post a com wiki?
My and turtle have both solved half :P
 
Out of curiosity, did the name mean anything to you?
 
7:35 PM
what name?
Jormungard?
 
I thought you said you had the slitherlink done yesterday, just didn't get it formatted to post?
 
Yeah
I solved the slitherink first but my mum made me go to bed :(
3
 
yeah, it was supposed to be a little clue that it was 3d :)
Yeah, so you don't need to Community Wiki, you didn't really steal the work
 
I suppose...
 
I mean, if you want to you can
 
7:37 PM
I guess I have evidence... I'd still feel bad though
 
whatever floats your boat
 
Yeah, I don't think there's anything wrong with not doing CW.
 
I'll provide a brief answer with the correct solution, a disclaimer saying I solved it first just didn't write up and a link to turtles answer
Then I won't feel like I'm stealing :)
Give me an hour or so, I need to make that icosahedron looks like a nice 3d shape instead of a squashed sphere :P
 
but they basically are a squashed sphere
 
true, but the shape shouldn't be concave like mine was :P
Great puzzle btw. you combined 3 dimensions and two grid deductions in one. If there were question bounties you'd have one from me :)
and what does a manga series have to do with hinting d btw?
 
7:51 PM
Jormungand(spelling varies) is a snake that encircled the world in Norse Myth
 
that sounds like Ouroboros to me
 
wiki has it as jormungandr
 
Incidentally, one of Loki's children
 
Jormungand (ヨルムンガンド, Yorumungando) is a manga series by Keitarou Takahashi, which was serialized in Monthly Sunday Gene-X magazine and published in North America by Viz Media. An anime television series produced by White Fox was broadcast between April and June 2012. A second season titled Jormungand: Perfect Order aired from October to December 2012. Both seasons have been licensed by Funimation in North America and Manga Entertainment in the United Kingdom for the first season. == Plot == The series follows Koko Hekmatyar, a young arms dealer who sells weapons under HCLI, an internatio...
 
7:52 PM
Yeah, as I said, spelling varies rather wildly
sometimes i instead of j, sometimes accents in various places, sometimes an r at the end, sometimes an ir, and sometimes nothing
 
Ourobouros isn't Norse
 
Ourobouros is just a circle snake with the tail in the mouth I think
Jormungand is an Ouroboros, but not all Ouroboroses are Jormungand
 
Oh, a hoop snake?
 
8:08 PM
@dcfyj I don't understand how the laser level works
 

 Ogres Are Like Onions

To solve @TheGreatEscaper's puzzle game: puzzlescript.net/play...
 
yeah
 
okay done the pictures for the shape. just need to write up the answer now
 
8:43 PM
imgur isn't working
oh scratch that
 
8:54 PM
okay @Sconibulus my answer is complete
 
9:24 PM
0
Q: Bus Driver Bob's Dilema

Clangorous ChimeraIt was icy and cold morning in Michigan when Mr. Busdriver Bob arrived to work. When he got into his bus he remembered Mr. Boss having told him yesterday to first pick up some students 5 miles north. Despite having lost his compass and having a poor sense of direction, Bob deduced his bus was fac...

 
Night all! (i tried to improve the 3d model btw)
 

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