The Sphinx's Lair

12:04 AM

nice

The surface made me smile, even though the clue was pretty straightforward.

@GarethMcCaughan thanks

@GarethMcCaughan yeah, it's a nice clue

What's the difference between "CATACLASM" and "CATACLYSM"?~!

Cataclasm occurs during the cataclysm, perhaps

CCCC: "Process in your head," said Tom mullingly. (7)

ohhhh

I just realized

SILENTLY = SIL(-l)Y over LENT!

12:11 AM

second of a series, i see :P

Tranquilly gone a little crazy over fasting time (8)

@jafe :-)

I highly doubt I'll be able to keep it going long, though.

For the benefit of anyone who thinks msh210's latest isn't punny enough to be a proper Tom Swifty, note en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mull#Etymology_2.

@GarethMcCaughan To be fair, I didn't think it was punny enough to be a good Tom Swifty. But otoh it's a fairer cryptic clue than my last Swifty one. It's really hard (for me) to make both aspects good.

can somebody enlighten me on Tom Swift

12:20 AM

Yup. Making a good cryptic clue or a good swifty is hard. Both at once is very impressive even if one or other is a bit iffy.

I think I'm completely missing the joke

Tom Swifty

A Tom Swifty (or Tom Swiftie) is a phrase in which a quoted sentence is linked by a pun to the manner in which it is attributed. Tom Swifties may be considered a type of wellerism. The standard syntax is for the quoted sentence to be first, followed by the description of the act of speaking. The hypothetical speaker is usually, by convention, called "Tom" (or "he" or "she"). == Origins == The name comes from the Tom Swift series of books (1910–present), similar in many ways to the better-known Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series, and, like them, produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. In this series...

oh my god

this is great

Some recent examples, some of them very impressive, can be found at the three blog posts visible here: slatestarcodex.com/tag/tom-swifties -- the blog in question contains a lot of gems of other sorts too.

18. “My karate instructor died,” Tom said, desensitized.

If Tom was a carrot

"I ordered a table online," Tom said, eatably

"I got hit hard in the stomach," Tom said, aloofly

"No part of me hurts," Tom said, sordidly

"A ghost emptied my pantry," Tom said, uncannily

"Robert's surfing on the ocean," Tom said, untidily

on tide, (Robert) E. Lee

alternatively:

"We've run out of detergent," Tom said, untidily.

double meaning - clothes are dirty, no more Tide

Mithical

12:57 AM

"I wonder how they make this wine," Tom mulled.

"You don't even deserve a name!" Tom denounced

not sure where to place the comma in that one

I don't understand this one:

“The medication cured my autism but also made me gain weight,” Tom said fatalistically.

FAT + ??

1:22 AM

allistic

opposite of autistic

aut- = self, all- = other

(same prefix as in "allergy")

"allistic" isn't a common word and I think is mostly used by autistic people to describe not-autistic people, with the intention of questioning the idea that not-autistic is "normal" and autistic is "abnormal".

When I say "not a common word" ... I don't think you'll find it in any dictionary.

Maybe some very recent ones.

e.g., Wiktionary has it, oldest citation coming from 2013.

2:25 AM

Ah, thanks :)

3 hours later…

Elliot Williamson

5:17 AM

Hi, is this a general chatroom or was built for a specific question?

5:45 AM

General chatroom

"I'm all dressed up," said Tom, tiredly.

5:59 AM

"I'm extremely anxious," Tom said, elegantly

or perhaps, "I have ants in my pants," Tom said, elegantly

not sure which is the correct form

6 hours later…

12:00 PM

@msh210 MASTOID*

12:28 PM

Nice!

(Especially the misdirection in the first word.)

2 hours later…

2:14 PM

@jafe yes indeed

@GarethMcCaughan thanks

One my father told me years ago and I think he made up: "I didn't order a table for four at this Chinese restaurant," said Tom fortuitously.

2:26 PM

"That church has a first-rate tower," said Tom aspiringly. OR "Really, the people who think most clearly all turn out to be just slightly autistic," said Tom aspirationally.

"The South lost the US civil war because its generals weren't quick enough to adapt to new information and changing circumstances," said Tom slowly.

"I can't stand watching those WW2 cinema newsreels because the newsreader keeps twitching," said Tom pathetically.

"You interrupted my train of thought and now I'm going to have to start this mathematics problem from scratch," said Tom reprovingly.

"Arthur was in intensive care and then he died," said Tom articulately.

"Ireland is thinking about switching over to US coinage," said Tom eirenically.

Rubio

3:17 PM

@GarethMcCaughan Ouch. :)

“This bouquet needs double the flowers and half the baby’s breath,” said Tom morosely.

2 hours later…

Q: Fastest Finger First- Pointing Fingers

5:13 PM

"You've brought me all this firewood but I've got no use for it," said Tom ungratefully.

Sphinx

5:55 PM

Fastest Finger First Which hand have the most fingers pointed at?

visual

Sphinx

6:15 PM

Q: A Computer CHip

Stickman's trapped in a Computer chip. Is it possible for him to get to the Exit? Credits: Wiggins

visual

1 hour later…

7:15 PM

CCCC: West of Greek capital of Athens, a city popular with tourists (4)

7:59 PM

@jafe … and with culture. Or at least I always hear people talking about its culture, how it's blossoming.

Mithical

8:11 PM

@GarethMcCaughan Tom aspires to become an architect.

"Counting steeples is hard work," Tom exclaimed perspiringly.