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1:24 AM
this CCCC might be too much on the DDDD side oops
 
2:08 AM
yeah I'm a bit stuck on this one
lots of ideas, none panning out
 
2:27 AM
0
Q: Mother and Daughter

Bernardo Recamán SantosA mother (not yet a centenarian) and her daughter (who happens to share her mother's birthday) are both a prime number of years old. Moreover, in their lifetimes they have both been a prime number of years old at least a dozen other times. How old are they?

 
Same boat as Rubio for the 4D
@Sphinx sounds like annoying brute-force
 
Yup. Though having done the brute force the answer isn't at all surprising, and maybe it "should" have been an obvious guess.
 
2:43 AM
In retrospect the programming version of the CCCC definitely would've been way more fair than the dick joke version. (Yes, that's a hint. Probably not a helpful one.)
It was half-baked and the definition stood out too much. I didn't like it.
 
 
2 hours later…
4:33 AM
I'm leaving soon so before I forget, I'll leave you with: A1Z26 = 71
 
What's this for?
Oh, for the 4c answer?
 
4:57 AM
a hash would be both harder to reverse and less ambiguous
though I guess A1Z26 can't be dictionary attacked, which is better
 
Yes, someone used a hash here once and someone ran right off to a site with an MD5 database.
in typical Will style, you'll probably know you're right with a combination of the A1Z26 and a ton of groans
 
... someone actually ran to a site with an MD5 database? that was a hypothetical D:
 
0
Q: The Wizards Riddle

AddisonI made a short riddle this morning and thought I'd share it here. My job is my name, But I have no brain, I stand all alone, Yet no legs I own. Enjoy.

 
5:13 AM
Yes, that did happen. I did an MD5 hash, and someone went to a database.
 
5:23 AM
@Rubio do you have some sort of check for answered unaccepted questions?
 
So an MD5 hash is sort of a one way function?
 
0
Q: Can a group of professors determine their average salary witouth learning any information about

Ovi A group of at least 5 jealous professors are locked in a room. There is nothing else in the room but pencils and one tiny scrap of paper per person. The professors want to determine their average (mean, not median) salary so that each one can gloat or griece over their personal situation compa...

 
@Wen1now Yup. That's exactly the point of a hash. It's often used in cryptography.
 
" no professor can discover any fact about the salary of anyone but herself?"... erm, seeing as the end goal is figuring out the sum of all salaries, good luck with that
 
5:39 AM
@ffao maybe some of the professors pay the university to be there :P
 
@boboquack not anything automated, I watch questions I think are answered and if no Accept pops up in a few days I send a reminder. Unless it's @Randal'Thor's question as those can go unAccepted for months on end - I have given up tracking those.
 
how propense is @Will to doing indirect anagrams?
 
I don't do indirect anagrams. ;)
 
bah. I wanted to say LIST* in BED giving BILSTED, but if "order" is not an anagrind then I don't know how to swap those two letters
 
If it's not an anagram what is it?
I.e., how do you get from LIST to ILST without anagramming
 
5:55 AM
Alphabetical order
 
/queue groans :)
 
sorry
I'm actually laughing
it's like I want to get mad at you, but I can't
 
Ew
I still like BANGLAY even if it was a typo :)
 
tangentially related to this clue, I noticed that there is an item of clerical clothing called a CASSOCK. I do not want to elaborate further on what I thought when I saw that.
4
 
The idea was "sorted list" when it was a mere seedling, but that has very little to do with wood and ended up as a word salad clue.
 
6:01 AM
Hah. That would have worked nicely for Gareth's earlier naughty-surface adventures
 
@ffao Wow. There's a blatantly obvious clue waiting to happen there.
 
Sid
...No.
 
@Deu I am still baffled by how nicely your 2G1C clue worked out
 
I'm not saying it should be done, just that it could.
Not my clue, unfortunately.
 
Sid
6:04 AM
2G1C clue?
 
it shocked me too, to be honest
 
Cleric covering sausage smuggled in ... oh nevermind
 
Sid
Ah, remember that.
(And I did Google that. Couldn't sleep that night out of utter disgust)
 
I TOLD YOU NOT TO
 
Pro tip - when the suggestion not to do something is in bold all caps, it might be best to trust it.
 
6:06 AM
^
 
Sid
I couldn't help. Sorry. :P
 
Apologize your own psyche, not Deus. Hehe
There are things that Cannot Be Unseen.
 
I told you not to do something and told you exactly why you should not do it. There is literally no benefit to doing it. And you think "hm, I'll go ahead and do it! no way it can be a bad idea!". :P
 
Some are harmless but never leave you - like the FedEx arrow or the arrow-going-from-A-to-Z in the Amazon logo.
 
removed just in case anyone else gets tempted. I don't want you all to be mentally scarred
 
6:08 AM
And some make you just wish mental bleach was a thing.
 
Sid
@Deusovi well, it wasn't exactly that. I thought you were bluffing. :P
 
I wouldn't lie about that kind of thing, especially not in bold all-caps.
 
CCCC: Tip: back off from glances, they say (4)
 
Sid
(How was COCK=LIST in Will's clue?)
 
LIST: to tilt to one side; especially, of a boat or ship
 
Sid
6:32 AM
(And how was ADOPTED=constituent in ff' s clue?)
 
PEAK
 
if Gareth doesn't get ADOPTED, I'm not getting it either
 
Peek[s] {hom}
 
yeah
 
How come tip = peek?
 
6:36 AM
tip=PEAK
 
Oh, PEAK is the answer
 
Sid
Mountain tip=peak
 
For some reason I thought peak was the answer
 
CCCC: Two girls around a Sega Terminator retro video game. (6)
CCCC is Cryptic Clue Chat Chains! See Deusovi's Cryptic Clue Guide and GPR's Archive & Statistics of past clues. Latest clue is ⤵ there! Join the fun!
2
Interesting background on Bethesda's later games, which apparently were largely based on a world modeling technique they made for their DOS PC game Terminator: Future Shock back in 1995 - notably, their Elder Scrolls and Fallout games
 
oh, great
girl which can be almost anything, paired with video games, of which there are thousands
 
6:50 AM
What can girl be?
 
G, synonyms of girl like GAL, LASS or MISS or girl names like ERICA and NADIA
not an exhaustive list, but that is a lot
 
Oh, girl names as well...
 
so Rubio, can you list all video games that come to your mind? Particularly ones having 6 letters, thank you
especially ones that match "Two girls around a Sega Terminator retro video game. (6)"
 
Crysis, rayman , pacman , hitman , deus ex, skyrim, GTA III, Diablo, Far Cry, Contra, Tekken, Doom3D, The Run, Driver, tetris, madden, jetman, Dig Dig, NBA Jam, ...
 
Does sega seem useful do you? I can't see what I can get from that except 'sega terminator' -> a
 
7:00 AM
Possibly relevant: segaretro.org/The_Terminator
 
Sega doesn't seem useful to me, neither does that page
But I may be having a case of solver blindness
I'll stop trying for now
 
Sid
I am too shocked right now to even think of an answer
 
shocked?
 
You guys are obviously younger than me
@Rubio GALAGA (GAL + G = two girls, around A + segA)
 
:)
 
Sid
7:11 AM
I can't believe someone just barged into my room without knocking and began advertising himself.
 
eerr....
My very first thought upon seeing that was galaga
but I didn't see the ending A
solver blindness u.u
 
and you even said "GAL" for a girl
 
:)
 
I don't know any video games :(
 
I was trying so hard not to laugh out loud :)
 
7:13 AM
hahaha, this was such a bad case of having the answer in your face the whole time
 
Sid
(And I was standing there half-naked listening to some guy advertising himself..)
 
advertising himself huh
that sounds wrong on a number of levels.
 
you can tell Sid is new to university when he is surprised that people don't knock on doors
 
Sid
Huh.. Apparently this is a global phenomenon.
 
What kind of advertising? O_o
 
7:18 AM
Hey - you never finished your story. Did you yell at the advertiser to get out?
 
Sid
And this is the second time it has happened. The first time, the door was open because I was just leaving for class when some guy came in and forcibly gave me his number saying he could teach me PHP...
@Wen1now I was about to. But, he probably sensed it and left as abruptly as he came, leaving his card and something else on the table..
 
@Sid something else?
 
One veteran once barged into my room and kept asking me why I didn't want to join the Athletics club
 
The double full stop makes it much more intriguing
Cya, I'm going now
 
funniest part is later we actually became friends and I reminded him of that, after which he laughed at himself realizing how useless it was to even try
 
Sid
7:23 AM
@boboquack Looks like something institute providing some training. I like the free lunch and refreshments thing they have written.
 
@ffao why, are you not athletic?
 
7:42 AM
@boboquack not at all. Yet he kept saying stuff like "Huh, so all you want to do is be a nobody who gets a diploma and leaves? Aren't you interested in GROWING as a PERSON? Don't you want to do EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES?"
 
@boboquack how is that even a puzzle?
 
@Rubio MCN's one?
 
yeah. heh
I'm going to post an incomplete dot-to-dot drawing next as a "What is it??" riddle
2
I'm actually sincerely hoping you're wrong. For "having soldiers and different animal species" - as chess really only has horses, and they're not even called that
 
1
Q: Number of pairs of adjacent cells that have distinct colors.

DanEach cell of $\;8\times8\;$ table is colored either black or white such that every column has equal number of black cells and no two rows have equal number of black cells. Find the maximum possible number of pairs of adjacent cells that have distinct colors. The cells are adjacent if they sha...

2
Q: Game of might or it might not be?

Mea Culpa NayHere are two linked puzzles ! First one is a riddle: I am played in black and white though probably not a game of might Half of the field gets loaded at start with equal forces on either part It represents a war with pieces having soldiers and different animal species Who am I ? Second one...

 
problem is I've only found one other candidate, and the Part II doesn't make (complete) sense for it
 
7:50 AM
@Rubio yeah, part two gave the game away for me
 
8:01 AM
Posted my take on it :)
 
@Rubio ah, nice
I actually made my own shogi set a couple of years back
And don't forget - even though we may perceive ourselves as being above animals sometimes, we are animals too!
 
Sid
@ffao athletics help people "grow" as a person? The only thing I have seen them do is give injuries to people..
 
@boboquack Sophistry! (hehe)
 
Sid
@Alconja C4 is pending...
 
*there's a shifting and shimmering in the shadows ...*
 
8:10 AM
We need an eldritch appeaser - one who pressures the c4er to make a c4 before...
 
@Wen1now TheGreatEscaper wants to know something, get him before he's gone!
 
When does school finish for you?
 
for me?
like, the term?
 
yeah
 
just ended
and Wen1now, go see TheGreatEscaper on the other place we talk NOW, before he's busy with something else. It's about something you wanted
 
8:16 AM
Yeah, I was reading through the old messages
 
@Rubio well, it might not be, it seems :P
 
Ok I'm going to go get some coloring books.
 
Have some mindful colouring
 
8:33 AM
Sorry all. Swooped in to solve the CC, but didn't have time to actually compose a new one...
CCCC: Spontaneous energy going into improvement after failure (4-4)
...and now I'm off again
 
9:13 AM
@Rubio unAccepted? Well, it's not good to raise novices to Accepted too quickly: next thing you know, they want to be Amyrlin Seat before they're even Aes Sedai.
 
FWIW I still don't think I understand (or, more accurately, I don't agree with) cock -> list. Surely cock (v.) is transitive -- you cock your hat or whatever -- and list (v.) is intransitive -- a ship lists?
 
FREE FORM
F+RE(E)FORM
 
Nice.
ping @Alconja ^^
 
And now I am off again. Will post new CCCC when I wake up
 
10:02 AM
0
Q: In Eternal Lines To Time

Hugh Meyers The start or end of China Sea With time can show a place to be To sunrise: hunger satisfied. Join Olaf II, a man who died Place first again and wings are mine! Now hush, and I'll enjoy my wine. Please explain these curious couplets.

 
 
4 hours later…
2:14 PM
@Sphinx Five separate people upvoted that?
 
It's not that bad
 
Ehhhh.
 
Sure, the answer is really obvious, but part 1 doesn't have any glaring issues. On the other hand... I don't really see the purpose of part 2.
 
I disagree. There is a glaring issue with part 1.
The attempt to rhyme species with pieces :P
 
2:33 PM
shudders slightly
 
Huh, I didn't realize that Reese's made PCs.
 
(fyi for those afraid to click a link with auto-playing audio, it's the "Ash Ketchum vs Charles Darwin" Epic Rap Battle)
 
as soon as you posted that link I knew what it was
 
Hah :P
 
@Rubio That is of course correct. Well done.
 
2:55 PM
in Contact, 55 secs ago, by GentlePurpleRain
Defending: C
 
3:28 PM
CCCC: Work tail off and get tips regularly in reducing vandalism? (6, 8)
 
4:24 PM
I think this is pretty well written. I've found like 10 different ways of parsing it and none of them have worked out.
 
Only 10?
:)
 
4:44 PM
1
Q: When friends fall out

postmortes"It's such a shame when friends fall out." Daphne sighed and folded the newspaper neatly into quarters. "Darling, why are you yelping?" "Your chihuahua keeps nibbling my toes!" Nora waved a hand ineffectually as a black-and-tan shape darted out of the shadows towards her feet. "Ouch!" "She prob...

 
@Sphinx Well, this is annoying. The crossword is easy enough but I'm entirely failing to find these three explanatory words of equal length...
 
Possibly related to 5 & 8 down. I haven't solved 9 across or 3 down yet, so I'm unsure how that would fit in.
 
could be, but I'm guessing these three words are not actual clue solutions.
(without any actual evidence; it's just that that's usually how it is with this sort of thing)
 
I know there's Rin Tin Tin, a dog, so that's possibly related to the story
@Gareth Wait, why is Damage = Martin?
 
that's mar
martin is name
 
4:57 PM
Oh I see, it omits the last letters
maybe MARRIN is a name?
 
"The shaded cells all contain the same three letter word"
 
Oh right. Tin = Preserve or Metal. I now see that I completely misunderstood the question.
 
Anyway, I'm AFK for the next half-hour or so at least. Probably someone else will have figured it out by the time I look again...
 
5:17 PM
0
Q: Continue sequence

Anton ShchyrovSon asked such a task. Continue the number sequence 5, 7, 8, 12, 11.... The son is in the second grade. They studied the operations of addition, subtraction and multiplication

 
6:03 PM
(C4 edit: added trailing "?")
 
6:23 PM
oh, great
 
Good, the classic ? indicator, which indicates an extra degree of maybe-ness.
 
6:35 PM
@Rubio It's usual to separate words' letter-counts with commas in a cryptic clue enumeration. Would you like to comment on whether there's a particular reason why you've used a space instead?
 
i've seen both. sometimes I get sloppy. So there is no particular reason, no.
clue now 100% more commatose.
 
I'm more scared about this comma indicator
well, good, means I don't spend time I should be working today thinking about 4Cs
I do that way too much already
 
I would argue it's ∞% more commatose, since it went from 0 commas to 1.
 
I was waiting for that
 
Glad to oblige... :)
You do realize that part of what makes a good puzzler is being a pedant, right?
 
6:42 PM
of course.
My followup comment was going to be something about "yeah, cuz that's the only thing wrong with that sentence" - given that commatose isn't a word. But ffao's intervening commentary threw me off. :)
I've now typed "comm" way too much. It's feeling like a Contact game.
 
Don't you mean "commantery"?
 
7:01 PM
Sorry for ruining your carefully crafted plan
 
Since the lair of the Sphinx went so well, let's try talking in alliterations only now.
 
such silliness seems suspiciously self serving.
 
stupid suggestion, sorry
 
^ same
 
Simpler schemes support sustainability
So silence sounds superior
 
7:12 PM
Ah, I detect that there may be a letter that you favor
 
Little lost lambs lack linguistics
 
What warring words
 
Pfffft, plebeians prioritizing postalveolars
 
Scoff! Sesquipedalian scumbag!
 
Now, now, no nasty name-calling needed!
 
7:19 PM
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo
 
@GentlePurpleRain MAKE me mind my manners, mod!
 
Constraints cause quite concise conversation...
@feelinferrety Ferret feels foursome's full force: Flee!
 
Really? Requesting ruthless reactions regarding rambunctious remarks really resembles remarkable recklessness.
Rapid remonstrative response recommended.
 
(Just joking! Jabbering judiciously jaded judgement.)
 
Rubio's rigorous remarks ring rightly!
 
7:28 PM
Feasibly, foreseeable future finds folk forgiving ferrety friend?
 
Nay! Not necessarily. Nearly nigh-never.
 
Indiscretions immortalized. Illustrious incandescence ingoing.
 
Reminder: rebellious responses regarding rule reinforcement rarely reaps recommendable "rewards".
 
Translation: take time talking to touchy tyrants.
Think things through thoroughly.
 
Righteously reworded, Rainman!
 
7:37 PM
Impeccably instantiated initially.
Polecat: perhaps practice performing punctiliously; pray policing people provide pity. :)
PurpleRain perhaps particularly practiced parturitating proper prose.
 
^ Regrettably, Rubio regards risk/reward relative ratios regarding rethinking recent reprobacy remarkably rotten.
Recommend rather: recant, repent, reform.
 
Nonsense! Needless nonstop niggling. Now nervous neglect necessitates new niceties.
Pray point present problems past?
 
Resurgent recalcitrance reveals recommended::real reactions' rift redoubling. Reflect! Repent!
 
7:55 PM
<-- Showing she shall shutdown shouting shameless shockers
 
Reasonableness reigns! REJOICE!
 
Dutifully deciding dictation
 
Clearly correct call.
 
Regarding recent "Recondite Riddle Remark-room Rotation" (RRRR) riddle - relief requests, Remarkroommates?
 
Come, compadres! Cue Carnival commencement!
Methinks my mutty mate might mitigate monotony, may manage more melodious messages mixing morphemes.
Helpful hints? Hurry here!
 
8:17 PM
REUTERS RECAP: Report recognizes repetitively reading replicated rhymes rightly rankles, riots result!
 
Relief rightly requested. Respond regularly.
Alliteration allowed; not needed.
 
Rejoicing resumes. Rah!
That's draining. :)
 
It certainly stunts conversation.
I just now realized that you stuck to R the entire time. Impressive!
 
Hence my chiding remark earlier
 
8:36 PM
@Rubio You should include the "Complete the sequence: 1 2 3 _ 5" bonus challenge
 
ST(RE(gEtTiPs)AP -P)INTING -> STREET PAINTING
 
Yeah, no way I was getting that
 
ninja'd... cough
 
But why is get tips inside of reap?
 
Presumably REAP is meant to mean "work"
(and the in is postfix, as in "it's got nuts in")
 
8:43 PM
But the "in" is already marking the STINTING wrapper?
 
hmm, so it is. Perhaps the clue is missing a word.
@Rubio If stacksfiller's solution is correct, would you care to comment on (1) work->REAP and/or (2) the curious incident of the thing-inside-other-thing indicator?
 
The curious incident of the Rubio in the nighttime
 
Steganogaphy:
    A word lies hid
    Not in plain sight
    Soon its reveal
    Will give you fright
    Erudite puzzlers
    Return it to light!
STREET PAINTING is not the answer
 
I think I know the answer to the steg
 
@Rubio You've been inspired by that chess puzzle, I see.
 
8:46 PM
Indeed.
 
Oh my. Someone starred my insubordination.
 
my riddle idea is on the star board. I think I'll use MikeQ's idea for a number-sequence. And now my steganography entry is ready.
 
What is a Doing Word (tm)? Positive examples: "go", "come", "eat", "kill", "write". Negative examples: "atom", "ethereal", "the", "quickly".
 
@Rubio You could also do an "IQ test question" of four random scribbles and then ask which is the correct one
 
That's the wrong kind of bad puzzle.
You'd want, I dunno, "Which is the odd one out?" with three triangles and a square or something.
 
8:49 PM
The answer to 1 2 3 _ 5 is: "It's a trick question! Obviously the correct answer is to leave the blank empty. This is simply a partial Fibonacci sequence."
:)
 
Confession: When Mike posted 1 2 3 _ 5 earlier I didn't read it, just glanced at it, and assumed that his choice of a too-easy sequence puzzle was the Fibonacci numbers with one missing :-).
 
Hmm. I'm torn between C & D
I think it's D.
 
Nope. It's A, because A is for Answer.
 
but c could stand for correct
 
8:55 PM
@BeastlyGerbil VTC too broad?
 
:P
Also have you people seen this? I'm going to find this really confusing - I'm going to keep clicking in the place where something used to be :/
 
D
Definitely D
 
The update's coming monday btw.
 
Open challenge: Make a puzzle that consists of parts, where each part appears to be a very crappy puzzle, but somehow the different parts interact to form an actually cool puzzle.
 
@mikeq thats how 99% percent of puzzles here are formed :P
 
8:59 PM
Maybe a steganography that takes the form of a series of crappy puzzles like "What number am I thinking of" or "I am a thing with hands. What am I?"
 
I was expecting someone to do it even before you said it
 
You could do some bad ciphers and number sequence which somehow have second meanings
Thats actually would be quite fun to make...
 
I think I know the answer to the CCCC but I can't work out the reducing bit
 
@BeastlyGerbil Except that they're usually missing that last step
 
9:08 PM
T([t]OIL+gEtTiPs)APERING ???
You really made me doubt my ability to count.
Shame on you.
@Rubio if that's right I'm not fond of "tail off" being used like that. (I'm not complaining. I have no right.)
 
@Will why, what's wrong with "T" being tail?
and yes, that's right
 
oh
that makes moderately more sense
 
;)
 
here's an easy one (I promise)
CCCC: Manic yells about random stuff (10)
 
9:39 PM
MISCELLANY
(manicyells)*
 
that is correct
 
@Rubio C, because this is a shit question
 
9:59 PM
CCCC: Dearie me! Left accepts police state (8)
 
Google
 
@feelinferrety doesn't tell me anything
 
@boboquack Got them.
@boboquack There appear to be two famous people with that name: one is India's tallest man, and the other is an actor who just goes by Dharmendra.
 
1
Q: How to find the layout of the plots?

Ronald BecerraA peasant had a square garden of $100 × 100$ meters divided into $100$ equal square plots. In the testament, he left to each of his $7$ male grandchildren $10$ contiguous plots, forming each of the $7$ batches the same figure. He also left to each of his $3$ female grandchildren $10$ parcels adj...

 
10:54 PM
@boboquack I vaguely think Dharmendra has something to do with Dharma, which is a religious/ethical term (meaning law or something of the kind?) and I even more vaguely think Singh means lion. Clearly it's also a name and that's probably all it is there.
 

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