« first day (1301 days earlier)      last day (2334 days later) » 

12:08 AM
0
Q: crowded 5x5 chessboard

BassWhile working on an earlier chess piece placement problem, I happened to come across a silly (but somewhat interesting) configuration: The board size is 5x5 squares There are 16 pieces of the same colour: 4 rooks 4 bishops 8 knights Each piece is attacked by exactly 1 other piece. (Maybe "pr...

 
1:18 AM
@GarethMcCaughan feelsbadman lul, but i'm just blind and didn't see the bold lines
 
1:50 AM
Ah, sorry, I shouldn't have phrased that so tactlessly :-). (Seriously, anyone can miss something, so I didn't really mean "any".)
@micsthepick fzzzzzap
 
2:07 AM
0
Q: Just doing my homework

thecoder16 My teacher gave me rather weird homework... and I'm doing it here. 5.11G, 2 5.6G, 2 6.13G, 1 2.16G, 1 3.15G, 1 6.11G, 2 4.12G, 1 5.4G, 1 6.13G, 2 4.4G, 2 7.12G, 2 4.13G, 1

 
^that'a a quickie, and no it's not my homework don't close lul
 
They are lying! Quick, close the question!
(/s)
 
2:25 AM
@thecoder16 You did get homework like that, only you didn't realize it, and that's why you're not in The Club.
 
2:37 AM
0
Q: Which digit am I thinking of?

RoceofironFind a 10-digit number where the first digit is how many zeros in the number, the second digit is how many 1s in the number etc. until the tenth digit which is how many 9s in the number.

 
Feel free to dupe hammer it
 
done
 
I'm kind of disappointed that only this trivial example exists for most bases
 
2:46 AM
@EricTressler -.- How do I get homework I don’t realize
@ffao “trivial”
 
You know the digit sum, so you're forced to have lots of small numbers, etc.
 
3:08 AM
I agree with that
 
 
3 hours later…
done
 
How come the pinged mod changes
 
Can we blacklist users containing "1-844-909-0831" in their bio?
 
4c week+ hint: headless acts on seize
 
5:59 AM
Where is the 4C?
 
@boboquack It's not necessary anymore, we all have it memorized.
 
I don't
 
Suddenly capture [and] (seize headless) rebel (8)
 
^ Yeah, that
 
here. It got unpinned somehow.
 
6:01 AM
bracketing is mine, based on hints... "and" is just there for surface reading, and headless acts on seize
 
I think... the two week thing
 
yeah, with "headless" not acting on "rebel", it naturally had to act on "seize"
 
Some possible "rebel" definition words: mutineer, agitator, renegade, maverick recusant, apostate... some "suddenly" definition words: promptly, abruptly... anyone got any others?
 
NABOBERY: NAB + headless ROBBERY misspelled
 
apparently that's actually a word
a ridiculously obscure one that doesn't mean anything related to the clue, but an actual word nonetheless
 
6:04 AM
I don't think I misspeeled any words
6
At least, I really hope I didn't
 
can rebel hint at something? I suppose it could be an anagram indicator, but that would necessitate an indirect one...
(unless it was anagramming "eize")
 
It's the def, it would seem. I have no idea what nabobery is.
 
yeah, I think "rebel" is probably the def
 
@JohnDvorak A collection of nabobs
 
That was my guess too.. but then "suddenly" becomes awkward (unless it's just a redundant "suddenly capture")
 
6:06 AM
Indian leader within the Mogul empire sounds more like a rebel than like a suddenly
 
Sid
where is the C4?
 
it fell off with age
 
I believe that's the first time that's happened
 
Sid
@Wen Is it a really obscure, Gareth-esque word? Or is it one we all should know?
 
Hey, obscure words aren't always given by Gareth. (cough cough SUIKINKUTSU)
 
6:17 AM
3/2week hint: the definition is (semi) archaic
 
welp.
 
Hey, good timing
 
Should I parse that as 3/(2 week) or (3/2) week?
 
I dunno how archaic, but I've seen it used in a similar sense in Shakespeare so I guess that makes it pretty old
 
(Man, you all ain't ever gonna live SUIKINKUTSU down eh)
 
6:19 AM
(it's fun to make fun of it :P )
 
(3/(2w))eek was intended
 
I mean, I've seen the word "I" used in Shakespeare
doesn't make it archaic
 
no, but I don't think Shakespeare is the first source of the word "I" that comes to mind
 
All I'm secretly hoping is for the answer to not be a proper noun
 
Well, I haven't really read that much, so I don't think looking into the Shakespeare reference would help much
 
6:22 AM
Too late, Wen1now. I'm searching the complete works of Shakespeare for 8-letter words as we speak
 
Good luck :)
 
can "suddenly" hint at anything? like abbreviation or something?
 
It's not a proper noun, if that helps
 
suddenly could probably be sub, from subito in sheet music
 
6:25 AM
ooh
 
well "subverse" is 8 letters and an archaic form of subvert, aka rebel.
 
"subverse" means to rebel, but I can't find a way to get "verse" from "capture and seize headless"
...yeah that
 
:)
 
Suddenly capture could be "snap" (photography) or something from a game. "Snapback" is a term from Go (a way to capture stones)
 
7:01 AM
"ravish"/"ravished"/"ravishes" is an archaic word for abduction
 
Oh, @EricTressler how was your trip?
 
@Wen1now It was nice, thank you for asking. I spent much of the travel time stuck on cryptic crosswords
 
7:19 AM
I feel like this is [u]SURP+RISE
 
That is correct!
 
Ladies and Gentlemen! We will shortly be resuming our regular 4C schedule ...
Well done, @Sp3000.
 
Finally! :) Well done @sp3000
 
Oops, sorry :(
 
@Wen1now In hindsight, the clue doesn't look especially unfair to me, so no need to be sorry.
 
7:28 AM
It seems perfectly fair to me
 
not unfair, but I had 0 chance of getting surprise = capture
 
it doesn't even use any weird words like suikinkutsu
 
Yes, the def is somewhat loose. The problem with 4Cs is that they are isolated. In a real crossword, you'll get some crossers eventually.
 
that's why we have hints
 
@Wen1now cause we'll often ping the one who did the last one, as they're likely to still be around
Otherwise, I ping Rubio :P
good job @Sp3000
 
7:39 AM
@Mithrandir I ping the one first in the list of users by activity
 
Actually, depending on what time it is, I'll ping either Rubio or Gareth. Or if GPR or Deus is around, then I'll ping 'em.
 
hi
I see my name
I'm going to be a bit scarce this week except at odd (well - even more odd for me) times due to RL Things™
 
No problem
More pings for Gareth ;)
But while you're here @Rubio, I've had a couple comment flags pending on comments that were imported from the dice puzzle when it was merged that referenced the old OP of the puzzle who is no longer the OP of the puzzle for a couple days... Just curious why those are taking so long when I thought it was a relatively simple case :P
 
7:55 AM
@Mithrandir A lot of the time, I think all of the mods just leave it for someone else to deal with. :P I've handled the flags.
 
@Deusovi ha
Thanks ;)
I didn't consider that possibility, because, well... I like handling the flags and getting rid of that blue notification ;)
Also, mod stats! Whee! ;D
 
8:22 AM
Oops I missed something historic
Well done @Sp3000 :o
 
8:48 AM
Something historic o_O
 
this may just have been the longest-standing clue in C4 history
someone will have to check the archive
 
but that's because it was winter time and the poster didn't give daily hints
 
9:11 AM
hi , i was watcging the 4c archive, and i read that : Contrary right with snood, a lie (9)
With the current explanation : Contrary right = false, snood = hood, a lie = def
 
mhm
 
how can you find hood ? pure guessing ? or I'm missing something...
 
A snood () is historically a type of female headgear designed to hold the hair in a cloth or yarn bag. In the most common form the headgear resembles a close-fitting hood worn over the back of the head. It is similar to a hairnet, but snoods typically have a looser fit, a much coarser mesh, and noticeably thicker yarn. A tighter-mesh band may cover the forehead or crown, then run behind the ears and under the nape of the neck. A sack of sorts dangles from this band, covering and containing the fall of long hair gathered at the back. A snood sometimes was made of solid fabric, but more often of...
snood = hood, literally
 
ho
i was missing something literally :)
 
Sid
@Mithrandir it is. By almost a week if I am not wrong
 
9:23 AM
Oops. Againm sorry about that
 
9:35 AM
0
Q: Difference or addition on a rose petals

Jamal SenjayaArrange numbers 1 to 20 to the rose petals with rules : Yellow petals contains odd numbers, and white petals contains even numbers. The outer petals are the difference or addition of the inner petals. some numbers have been there as guide. Example Solve this

 
Asking again for advices :
Wood, maybe softer (6)
 
@Skyvask (Assuming the answer is SBERFG(rot13)) I think that's perfectly valid, and pretty nice!
 
9:57 AM
@Ankoganit thanks !
 
When does the next 4Clue arrive
 
when sp3k makes it
 
10:28 AM
so w1n, out of all people, is the one impatient now :P
 
w1n's usually pretty quick to follow up, but I just finished dinner and am working on a clue now
 
@Mithrandir zap
 
Is looping through 50 000 000 things potentially bad
I mean constructing an array with that many things
Hey, it didn't turn out that badly
 
depending on what are you doing with that array
 
10:50 AM
an array of 50 000 000 int32s only takes up 200 MB of memory
 
and if you are doing a bubble sort on that array ...
 
I'm doing practically nothing with the array
 
so don't worry about memory :)
 
11:06 AM
I was more worried about running speed, I guess
 
11:29 AM
CCCC: Become angry after Oregon's capital replaces street embraced by jazz enthusiasts to produce carriages (10)
 
Hu, what is the goal of 4C ? if you have a link :)
 
@Mithrandir kaboom
 
@Skyvask Solve the clue, then you get to post the new clue. The point of the clues (and, I guess, this website) is to entertain
 
@Wen1now Ok thank's, i'm not sure i will find any of them but it's a good training at least
 
That's what I thought at first. After trying my hand at some, I realised that they weren't as bad as I thought
I guess, if you wanted to get better then try some clues, make some clues and suddenly you'll be solving tonne sof these
 
 
1 hour later…
1:09 PM
This one is so difficult ? :o
 
 
1 hour later…
2:32 PM
You just have to know how to break it up @Skyvask then it becomes easy
But it is quite hard to find the breakup
 
yeah, i'm better at solving math puzzle, that doesn't need any english knowledge ^^
 
 
2 hours later…
4:39 PM
anyone willing to testsolve a liars puzzle?
 
@micsthepick Sure.
 
how can I send it to you?
 
Easiest might be pastebin.com. Anyone who reads this will be able to read it, but you can time-limit it to 10 minutes and I don't think the consequences are too awful if some unscrupulous person gets a head start.
 
Head over to Got a sec?, maybe
 
@thecoder16 "Solving the puzzle is easy, once you've solved the puzzle."
 
4:43 PM
I could onetimesecret the link to the pastebin.
 
yup, could do that
we could do it via the "Got a sec?" room instead. That's accessible only to the mods and anyone else we invite, which in this case would be @micsthepick and no one else.
(sorry, should have credited @Mithrandir for that suggestion)
the advantage of that one is that it gives us a place to discuss if there's feedback beyond "seems OK, took me x minutes".
 
We got explicit permission from the CMs to use private rooms for puzzle making, and that includes testing ;)
 
5:12 PM
1
A: You Won't Find 13

ABcDexterAll possible words out of these are: We have 13 words. Of these, Try it out in the app.

the OP flagged his/her own puzzle?
 
Looks like it!
 
That's really strange.
it's probably the first time I saw it on SE
 
5:37 PM
It's probably because they seem to be the first to flag it as unclear. If someone else does first and the OP agrees, it's usually marked as flagged by community.
 
No, that only works for duplicates.
The OP cannot unilaterally close the question in any other case.
 
That question still seems to me more joke than puzzle.
 
5:56 PM
what rep do you need to do a VTRO?
 
well, I'm 1/3 of the way already!
 
Sid
@micsthepick I guess you can now see individual up votes and downvotes. I loved that thing when I got 1k rep
 
beware, all of you, if you downvote any of my posts, I will find you, and I will k...asually ask you why you downvoted and how I could improve my post.
 
I will agree with Gareth on that question
 
Sid
6:08 PM
@GarethMcCaughan but I think it is not at all unclear. We don't close questions for being joke puzzles, do we?
 
It has a solution.
So what if it was intended to be humorous? It's still a valid puzzle.
It's slightly confusing, yes. But so are most of the questions on this site :P
 
0
Q: Help catch this serial killer!

ibrahim mahrirIn the calm and peaceful Rurdem Town, a series of murders is driving the local police crazy. The local police suspects this to be the deeds of a serial killer. They are right about that: the arrogant psycho got borred, and decided to challenge them. He left behind a note that contain clues about ...

 
 
1 hour later…
7:22 PM
5
Q: Just doing my homework

thecoder16 Note: I only wish I had a teacher that gave me homework like this. My teacher gave me rather weird homework... and I am doing it here. 5.11G, 2 5.6G, 2 6.13G, 1 2.16G, 1 3.15G, 1 6.11G, 2 4.12G, 1 5.4G, 1 6.13G, 2 4.4G, 2 7.12G, 2 4.13G, 1

I don't see what the question is...
So I flagged as UWYA.
 
7:45 PM
anyone available to review a draft puzzle?
 
8:29 PM
@micsthepick lol sadly I can’t tell if you are serious
@micsthepick darn, like 70 rep to go for me
 
This is what it looks like when I am not serious
will someone review it or not?
 
I can if you want?
 
okay
 
@mics wait so you are serious? so confused
 
8:33 PM
Got it
 
If I am not serious I should make it obvious that I am not, but ask me if unsure.
 
0
Q: Hack into the system

DasSaffe First of all - I have to admit, that I don't know the answer to the question yet. I can tell you the answer to the question Before anything like this comes up: This is taken from a non-competitive website and it is keeping me struggling for over a day now: Welcome, agent! You have agreed to ...

 
@micsthepick as a note the link to the question comes as 'page not found'
 
@mics so you actually think my puzzle is unclear?
 
No he doesn't, it was a joke (I think)
Hmm... I'm not amazing at these @micsthepick but I can give it a shot :)
 
8:36 PM
@thecoder16 If I had to guess, we need to find out what the homework means, but the question does not specifically state that...
@BeastlyGerbil You don't need to solve it, just to review it
 
Ah ok
 
@micsthepick fair enough... guess I’ll edit that in
 
@thecoder16 okay, once you have finished I will remove the flag
 
Done
 
Also Done
 
8:42 PM
Okay @micsthepick my notes: 1. I assume you will replace ' C and D' with the actual names? 2. Link doesn't work 3. I like the who is bit but the 'where' - thats going to be easier as there is only two possibilities. 4. Spelling Grammar all seem fine.
 
oops
@BeastlyGerbil 1 done, 2 fixed, 3 any suggestions? 4 sweet.
 
3
Q: A perplexing pizza from a long lost friend

AstroMax In high school, me and my friend Isaac would often send each other cryptic messages titled "meet me". The messages used various ciphers to disguise the content hidden within. Once solved, it would reveal a time and location for us to meet after class. Isaac and I were fairly close friends until ...

 
 
1 hour later…
9:55 PM
@micsthepick sorry had to go. For 3 perhaps add a few more locations? You can just add them in the false people of ‘is not here’ for the truth. It will be better if there are more than two possibilities
 
0
Q: you have 6 burning candles

Aamer Aboufarroukh - Credit Vawhats the answer for this question. You have 6 burning candles, and blow out two of them. How many candles are left standing after 24 hours?

 
The Lair of the Sphinx did freeze, due to lack of chat. Now where will I go to chat in one word beats?
 
Classy. They seem to have made an account for the specific purpose of a troll answer.
 
That's normally what people do.
 
11:04 PM
what flag?, I went for not an answer
@BeastlyGerbil How does the latest revision look?
 
I used rude/abusive.
 
Ditto. It's inappropriate by community standards. And it's clearly not an attempt to answer the question.
 
11:22 PM
there, I changed my vote, and now it's gone
perhaps we need the question to be protected?
 
@MikeQ You can do it here. Or if you post in the Lair Of The Sphinx, it will thaw.
 
@GarethMcCaughan Only mods can post in a room that did freeze. To thaw needs a mod too.
 
Ah! I did not know that. Mike, if you want then I can post in The Lair Of The Sphinx and make it thaw, and then you can post your one beat words there once more.
Though of course it froze 'cause no one used it much.
 
Does the English language permit a conversation with only 2-syllable words?
 
Negative, methinks.
 
11:28 PM
maybe, perhaps sometimes
 
11:51 PM
anyone up for spyfall?
no? I'll just go back to my corner then...
sobs
 

« first day (1301 days earlier)      last day (2334 days later) »