« first day (2104 days earlier)      last day (1520 days later) » 

Sphinx
Sphinx
2:46 AM
2
Q: I burn what you can’t protect

Ébe Isaac My prefix is not acquitted My infix demands respect My suffix is a price I burn what you can’t protect What word am I?

riddle word wordplay rhyme poetry
 
 
1 hour later…
Sphinx
Sphinx
3:47 AM
0
Q: As a noun I’m complete; as a verb, I’m yet to be so

Ébe Isaac Removing my prefix Makes a familiar sound Removing my infix Helps you search all around Removing my suffix Means to make me whole As a noun I’m complete As a verb I’m yet to be so Who am I?

riddle word wordplay rhyme poetry
 
 
2 hours later…
Sphinx
Sphinx
5:31 AM
0
Q: I hate Valentine's Day

Don ThousandI played her my favorite song on my favorite [prefix] As I gave her a decorated Hallmark [infix] And said, "I hope I'm [suffix] to make you happy" But alas, she said no, and left me alone. Is my heart just [whole word] to you?

riddle word
 
 
2 hours later…
Sphinx
Sphinx
7:53 AM
0
Q: My name is akin to my size

shanylong My name is akin to my size Each can be complex or concise I remain within gaze In front of your face Observable under the right eyes In multiple forms I exist In strenuous times I assist With so much potential I am quintessential Attempt to unveil me, I insist!

riddle rhyme poetry
 
Sphinx
Sphinx
8:13 AM
-2
Q: How can you get 100 using 2,4,6, and 9 by only using each of them once?

Theo DemeulemeesterPls just give me the answer if I get this then I get a pizza party.

mathematics
 
Sphinx
Sphinx
8:53 AM
0
Q: Fun with Flags part 3: what used to be

sarsaparillaWe are looking for 4 countries/kingdoms/sovereign states which do not exist anymore. Other puzzles in this series: Part 1, Part 2.

enigmatic-puzzle visual flags
 
 
3 hours later…
Sphinx
Sphinx
12:16 PM
3
Q: Specialist sudoku

jafeI know y'all want to be generalists or something, but here's a little sudoku for (geography) specialists. Enjoy. ABRAU ⋅ AGANTON ⋅ AKUSEKIJIMA ⋅ ALICE HOLT ⋅ ALTENBURG-NOBITZ ⋅ ANJEDIVA ⋅ APULIA ⋅ ASHTAMUDI ⋅ ATTU ⋅ CAMPO DEL MORO ⋅ CARLHAUSHÖHE ⋅ CASA DE CAMPO ⋅ CHAMP DE MARS ⋅ CHANY ⋅...

knowledge geography sudoku
 
Sphinx
Sphinx
12:36 PM
 
 
1 hour later…
Gareth McCaughan
Gareth McCaughan
2:00 PM
@jafe @athin I see what you're doing there. Two more to go...
 
dcfyj
dcfyj
2:15 PM
Apparently HTM's C4 still stands
@GarethMcCaughan Didn't HTM put up a clue? I'm not seeing it pinned
 
Gareth McCaughan
Gareth McCaughan
Yeah, he did. I guess it got starred but not pinned or something. Let me see if I can find it.
OK, pinned it.
It's not a super-informative hint.
 
dcfyj
dcfyj
Well, it does tell you that beginning modifies file rather than to concern
 
Gareth McCaughan
Gareth McCaughan
Yeah. (Or it modifies TO, of course, but that seems less likely.)
so, #BadC4Solutions: file beginning = F; to concern = AS; the left = T; detailed = SIC which returns to yield CIS; so we have F/AS/SIC</T making FASCIST or Nazi. Unfortunately, while "as to" = "concerning" it really isn't true that "concern" or "to concern" = AS; and, also unfortunately, SIC means something like "literally" or "exactly" or "yes, they really said that" which isn't much like "detailed".
("Fascist" and "Nazi" aren't really the same thing either but they're close enough, especially in informal usage, that that's fine.)
 
dcfyj
dcfyj
2:31 PM
I always feel weird writing "that that"...
Does "return" have to mean to "come back from" in the cryptic or can it be return as in yield of profit?
 
Mithical
Mithical
@dcfyj It's not that "that that" is incorrect, it's just that it feels weird...
 
dcfyj
dcfyj
@Mithical Do note that I didn't say it was incorrect lol
 
Mithical
Mithical
The whole message was an excuse for the triple "that"
 
dcfyj
dcfyj
heh
 
Mithical
Mithical
It's for that that "that that" is used for.
 
dcfyj
dcfyj
2:36 PM
huh, apparently today is Presidents' day
 
Mithical
Mithical
Wait a sec... *scrolls up* Rubio didn't post a Valentine's puzzle?! What have we come to...
 
dcfyj
dcfyj
Was he supposed to?
 
Mithical
Mithical
He has a history of posting holiday-themed puzzles
e.g. last year
18
Q: What force is more potent than love?

RubioA few quotes about Love.... What force is more potent than love? True love is selfless. It is prepared to sacrifice. We are all born for love. It is the principle of existence, and its only end. Do all things with love. We are most alive when we're in love. The most power...

cipher enigmatic-puzzle steganography
 
dcfyj
dcfyj
Would it be more likely for return to flip detailed rather than detailed cutting the end off return?
 
 
2 hours later…
Avi
Avi
4:40 PM
@Mithical Puzzling, obviously
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
-@Avi so if i'm not mistaken on the C4, the F in FASCIST comes from file; either that or that's where the T comes from
the t from to i mean
 
mbingo
mbingo
"File beginning" seems likely for F, and "the left" seems likely for T. But that isolates "to concern"; what would we do with that?
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
Don't look at me; CCs don't make sense to me until they're solved
 
mbingo
mbingo
@ThePuzzlingPlatypus what would we do with that!?
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
@mbingo if that's a joke, I don't get it
 
mbingo
mbingo
4:49 PM
Oh I was just blatantly disregarding your request
I won't look at you. But man this clue has been up forever 😫
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
OK that makes sense
do you think detailed is in its usual indicator status or do you think we need a word for detailed
in other words is it detailed or "de-tailed?"
 
mbingo
mbingo
Yeah, could be either. A curtailment of "return" and a reversal of "detailed" are both possible.
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
And if any of you are wondering why I haven't posted a riddle in years: lack of poetic inspiration
also I have enough rep to play the games, and that's good enough for me
@mbingo @Avi Either of you have any ideas on Deusovi's Rubik's cube puzzle?
 
mbingo
mbingo
What kind of riddles were your domain?
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
Mostly I did rileys, and I wrote a great one last memorial day
that wasn't a riley
but to me, riddles should rhyme
 
mbingo
mbingo
4:53 PM
I can look at it later this afternoon. I haven't given it a fair shot.
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
My riddles are all solved
or did you mean the rubik's cube thing
 
mbingo
mbingo
(I meant the cube, yeah.)
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
I haven't posted because I didn't feel I had anything to post
or I wanted to do something else
So we need synonyms for either "return" or "detailed," right?
 
mbingo
mbingo
Fair enough. I'm plotting a puzzle series, so I can fill the void you've left 🙂
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
Honestly, I just treat riddles like regular poems
 
Avi
Avi
4:57 PM
@ThePuzzlingPlatypus My only idea is to align letters of the same size together
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
Look in @OmegaKrypton's chat room
@HTM thought of something, but it didn't work
but Deusovi's hint seems to imply he was onto something
 
mbingo
mbingo
Yes, a synonym for "return" that starts with A(SC) or a synonym for "detailed" that ends in (CS)A... presumably.
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
@Avi You know, that "Butcher's Brawl" puzzle never got solved
I know that "TEAM" in the answer given should be "MEAT" but that's it
 
Avi
Avi
I mean
it was pretty simple
what's BEFORE F?
E, duh
highlight all the Es, and you're done
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
let me look
 
Avi
Avi
5:02 PM
alconja pretty much had it figured out
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
oh
Someone should post an answer then
 
Avi
Avi
gravedigging meh
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
I was editing the grammar of old posts in December to try to get the werewolf hunter hat
 
Avi
Avi
I've started to use vocabulary.com quizzes to find inspiring words for CCs
it's a lot more devious than what my auto-filler comes up with
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
Thanks, now I know what to do if I want to post a riddle
but have no words for it
 
Avi
Avi
5:05 PM
xD
what have I done
 
Sphinx
Sphinx
5:19 PM
2
Q: This new puzzle type needs a name {5}

StivI believe I have invented a new type of puzzle... What is its name? Colour-blind-friendly version available here. Begin by solving the 9x9 sudoku; each of the 9 symbols /, *, +, -, =, ^, >, v and < must appear exactly once in each row, column and thick-bordered 3x3 box. Then apply some g...

enigmatic-puzzle grid-deduction sudoku reverse-puzzling
 
jafe
jafe
ooh, who's going to be the 200th?
time to go for gold
(or in this case silver, i suppose)
 
dcfyj
dcfyj
@ThePuzzlingPlatypus That's not solved?
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
what isn't?
 
dcfyj
dcfyj
The rubik's puzzle, I replied to your comment on it
(in here)
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
oh
think i'm gonna leave the room for now
 
dcfyj
dcfyj
5:30 PM
Ok?
See you later then
 
Avi
Avi
Fresh chip (5) - CRISP (ddef)
:/
why are people posting so many sudoku puzzles
I haven't made my masterpiece complete yet x.x
 
dcfyj
dcfyj
who knows, that one's at least fairly intesersting
 
Avi
Avi
So is mine
but it's difficult to construct the next step
 
Brandon_J
Brandon_J
Ey
Will be in Codenames in a bit
 
Brandon_J
Brandon_J
5:57 PM
Am in Codenames now
 
Sphinx
Sphinx
1
Q: What is a Counterfeiting Word™?

melfntThis puzzle is in the spirit of the What is a Word/Phrase™ series started by JLee with a special brand of Phrase™ and Word™ puzzles. If a word conforms to a special rule I call it a Counterfeiting word™. Here are some examples of Counterfeiting word™ and not Counterfeiting word™: +-----------...

english word-property
 
Gareth McCaughan
Gareth McCaughan
@Avi Because once there are 200 of them, there will be 40 tags with >= 200 questions, and then Puzzling will be able to award the Generalist badge, and then a lot of us will get an extra badge.
 
dcfyj
dcfyj
Arbitrary internet points!
 
Avi
Avi
6:18 PM
screams in insufficiently fast puzzle creation
I only came up with link 2 so far :(
 
 
2 hours later…
jafe
jafe
8:08 PM
breaking: deusovi passes gareth for #2
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
oh huh seems so
this set's almost done, though -- won't have enough material to pass up Rand as well
 
Mithical
Mithical
Incentive for Gareth to actually create puzzles
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
At this point, he might be too committed to the "no questions asked" schtick
 
dcfyj
dcfyj
@Deusovi Then he just needs to answer (correctly) faster :P
 
Sphinx
Sphinx
3
Q: On The Subject of Regular Crazy Talk

Deusovi (This is part of a series of puzzles written for Timwi for a Secret Santa puzzle exchange, themed around various custom modules for the game Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. No KTaNE knowledge is necessary for any of these puzzles except the final meta; each puzzle resolves to a single word or ...

enigmatic-puzzle language
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
8:34 PM
@HTM It may be time for another hint?
 
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
ThePuzzlingPlatypus
@Deusovi Maybe after he's done playing Codenames with us
I told him you wanted a hint
 
HTM
HTM
CCCC hints: 1. The answer is FASCIST, as many people have found. To get started with figuring out the wordplay, "beginning" does not modify "concern." 2. "Detailed" does not modify "Nazi's" or "return."
@Deusovi Your wish is my command
 
Gareth McCaughan
Gareth McCaughan
Hmm. I pinned that latest hint but on tthe starboard, at least for me, what's displayed stops after the first hint, with no obvious way to make it show the rest.
(And no "..." at the end or anything like that.)
 
HTM
HTM
I can maybe repost it and cut off all the unnecessary bits
CCCC hints: 1. "Beginning" does not modify "concern." 2. "Detailed" does not modify "return."
 
Sphinx
Sphinx
9:02 PM
0
Q: Need to solve this

David VarryI got a puzzle to solve from the guys at my stage party; and I need it solved by my wedding (next Saturday). I spent hours looking at this but I can't find the solution; can anyone help me? I got a peace of paper with this on it; 57843 32672 5891 1994 36225 87823 42553 A. 6638 B. 1624 C. 448...

riddle cipher pattern calculation-puzzle number-sequence
 
Avi
Avi
Detailing lack of beating former spouse (2) - EX(-pounding)
 
mbingo
mbingo
9:15 PM
Is "detailed" somehow SIC?
With "concern" or "to concern" being AS or AS TO?
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
neither of those seem like they grammatically fit to me
but... maybe?
 
mbingo
mbingo
Yeah, at this point I'm being super liberal. But I could squintedly envision SIC to mean, like, "detailed as in the original source".
Definitely want "concerning" for an AS TO deal, but...
HTM did admit that there were potential inaccuracies.
So it could be something like "return detailed" = CIS, in F + AST(o).
Or CIS in F + AS + T, though "concern" = AS is even less likely.
Looks like the real in is to figure out what's up with "concern". It's not modified by "beginning", and it would be strange for it to be modified by "the left" (since the C is in the middle of the answer and "X the left" is non-standard at best).
So it sounds to me like we want some sort of synonym for "to concern" or "beginning to concern".
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
"to concern" could be something like AS?
 
Sphinx
Sphinx
0
Q: Continue this sequence

FritzBanWhat could be the next number in the sequence: 57, 74, 65, 61, 37, 58, ? Replace the question mark. My own puzzle.

pattern number-sequence
 
mbingo
mbingo
How so? I'd love for that to be the case.
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
9:23 PM
"to concern" meaning "regarding", roughly
 
mbingo
mbingo
Yeah, AS TO is nearly there, but AS alone feels a bit too far, maybe.
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
True, but I'm not sure I have any better ideas
 
mbingo
mbingo
I'm inquiring as to / regarding my cell phone bill...
If we use "to concern" = AS TO and "the left" to mean "the left portion" / last-letter deletion, then the above works.
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
I was thinking "to concern" = AS [slightly sketchy], and "the left" = T_
 
Avi
Avi
actually, the answer to this CCCC is FA(U)ST
definition being [HTM], FAST being how he made this CCCC, and (U) being the horns of the devil
/s
FAST though
is that a file type?
FASCINATE?
 
mbingo
mbingo
9:30 PM
Yeah, the AS version is possible too.
 
Avi
Avi
beginning to concern -> fascinate?
 
mbingo
mbingo
How so?
 
HTM
HTM
BTW:
 
Avi
Avi
if you become fascinated with something
 
HTM
HTM
oops wrong message
 
Avi
Avi
9:30 PM
it begins to concern you
 
John Dvorak
John Dvorak
I see how, but not why
 
Avi
Avi
drowns in angry pudding
 
John Dvorak
John Dvorak
My first idea would be file beginning = header
 
mbingo
mbingo
@Avi The part of speech differs. But again, possible...
 
Avi
Avi
file beginning = header sounds eminently plausible
 
HTM
HTM
9:31 PM
Feb 14 at 18:53, by HTM
I’ll admit, there is one part of the clue that may not be an exact match (I wrote it at like 3 in the morning, so I wasn’t making sure that everything was clued properly)
 
John Dvorak
John Dvorak
What beginnings does a physical file have?
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
Hm, I have no idea if we're on the right track then
it's very possible that we've already gotten it
 
mbingo
mbingo
HTM would ding us if so, right?
 
HTM
HTM
The rest should be somewhat OK
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
mbingo
mbingo
9:33 PM
I like HEADER and similar, but not sure how it'd apply.
It's gotta be the F.
 
Avi
Avi
I think
beginning To is the T
"concern the" is leaving
 
John Dvorak
John Dvorak
oh, I misremembered the hint, thinking that "beginning does not modify file"
 
msh210
msh210
@JohnDvorak I thought of shebang.
 
John Dvorak
John Dvorak
That seems even further from the def
still, good interpretation
 
mbingo
mbingo
@HTM Do you feel that we'll know when we've got it?
 
Avi
Avi
9:39 PM
@JohnDvorak maybe the title?
 
HTM
HTM
@mbingo Unfortunately not, I think, judging by the sheer quantity of convincing but unintended explanations you guys have generated so far
 
Avi
Avi
DETAIL(-e)D* = dilated
 
mbingo
mbingo
That's good to know, though. We shouldn't disregard attempts because we're not convinced of them.
 
Avi
Avi
return -> FEAST?
I hope not lol
I still think beginning is modifying "to"
but that would be grammatically sketch
 
HTM
HTM
And as you guys probably realize by now, there's a bunch of non-standard things going on here, so if any of you all need any additional nudges, let me know
 
mbingo
mbingo
9:44 PM
We would also need some way to get "concern the left" to the other side of that T, then.
 
Avi
Avi
uhhhh
maybe put "concern the" on the "left"?
 
mbingo
mbingo
I'm but one man, but I'd happily take whatever nudges you're willing to offer.
Yeah, could be.
 
Avi
Avi
return -> LIST -> LIS(-t)?
as in, a summary
 
mbingo
mbingo
Detailed doesn't modify return.
Per hint 2.
 
Avi
Avi
aha
SERIAT(I -> A)M = MASERATI
 
mbingo
mbingo
9:51 PM
@Deusovi How did you and your squad enjoy the MLP hunt?
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
It was nice! I was kinda confused by the metas not really being metapuzzles (since they were solvable without any of the answers), but overall it was a fun hunt
 
HTM
HTM
@mbingo I actually decided to take a look at it after someone in this chat mentioned it
Solved four Round 1 puzzles and the meta, then ran out of time to work on the rest
 
mbingo
mbingo
Yeah, that was interesting. I tend to be pretty lenient about meta theory (e.g. I don't mind stuff like recent SUMS hunts that don't use the answers at all), so yeah, while confusing, it was still neat.
 
Avi
Avi
but... it's supposed to be meta :(
 
mbingo
mbingo
@HTM Awesome. Did you do it after release?
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
9:54 PM
I generally prefer more tightly constrained structures, and metas are one of my favorite parts of a hunt. So I was slightly disappointed by that.
 
mbingo
mbingo
Yeah... well, SUMS for example gives you something else when you solve a puzzle, and you use that. So the meta still culminates.
 
HTM
HTM
If you mean after the contest window was over, then no, I spent the final weekend doing them
 
mbingo
mbingo
Yeah, I meant during the window but not right away. Good that you got to solve some.
While I'm stoked for Galactic's MH, March is gonna feel real empty.
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
Yeah, same. Hopefully we get some other teams making hunts to fill the gap.
 
HTM
HTM
If it makes you feel better, I'm currently in the process of constructing hunt-style puzzles for a series I'm planning on releasing on PSE, so be on the lookout for that :)
 
Avi
Avi
9:58 PM
What's the difference between a hunt-style and regular-style puzzle?
 
HTM
HTM
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
"Hunt-style" is a specific category -- generally the puzzles solve to a single word or phrase, and have no instructions given.
 
Avi
Avi
Ah
aha now I see where Deusovi gets his devious ideas from
 
mbingo
mbingo
@HTM That does make me feel better!
I'm working on a set for the end of March as well, and I know of another inaugural larger puzzle hunt likely to happen later in the year.
 
Sphinx
Sphinx
0
Q: Why would I need a Lamborghini Rebenton?

Bass The proper word to use as the ninth symbol is in Berlin (3)

word enigmatic-puzzle sudoku
 
mbingo
mbingo
10:03 PM
@Avi I'm new here, but the "enigmatic-puzzle" tag seems to align somewhat with "hunt-style".
 
HTM
HTM
@Sphinx Lol, that was fast
 
mbingo
mbingo
@HTM Is your set specifically for PSE?
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
Yeah, that's the general usage of enigmatic-puzzle around here (though there are probably minor differences?)
 
HTM
HTM
@mbingo I mean, I'm not posting my stuff anywhere else, so technically yeah
 
mbingo
mbingo
Awesome. Stoked for it.
 
HTM
HTM
10:04 PM
(Although I have thought of posting stuff on Reddit or on a personal website, but ain't nobody got time fo' dat)
Who will have the honor of editing the Generalist Countdown for the last time?
 
Avi
Avi
Not me, you go ahead
did anybody get a generalist badge?
oh hot damn
answers not questions
 
HTM
HTM
You can check here
 
Avi
Avi
hmmm, I'm only 5/20 so far :(
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
It'll probably fire at the next update, whenever that is
 
Mithical
Mithical
If I had to guess... an hour and 43 minutes from now.
(Daylight Savings Time always messes me up)
 
 
1 hour later…
Sphinx
Sphinx
11:45 PM
0
Q: Against the Grain, Salt to the Sea: Sudoku

athin Against the Grain, Grain of Salt, Salt to the Sea, Sea...badge? What Badge? Of course, guessing is not fun, right? Anyway, congratulations to anyone who get this! :D

no-computers sudoku
 
athin
athin
@Sphinx Argh, I'm sniped by @Bass ;)
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
appears we have 59 generalists
 
HTM
HTM
Woo, I'm generic!
 

« first day (2104 days earlier)      last day (1520 days later) »