The Sphinx's Lair

matt

19:01

oh btw i forgot to say this

pickle good

North Læraðr

Hm I thought ANT could be stuck on shoe and LLI be some how wiretapper's tool

Avi

ALLINT = Wiretapper's tool, stuck in shoe on floor

matt

p i c k l e = g o o d

Avi

could just be AL + LINT + H_ E_ F_ A_ M_ I_ L_ Y_ - @msh210, confirm?

North Læraðr

Wait look what I found

Lawful interception

Lawful interception (LI) refers to the facilities in telecommunications and telephone networks that allow law enforcement agencies with court orders or other legal authorization to selectively wiretap individual subscribers. Most countries require licensed telecommunications operators to provide their networks with Legal Interception gateways and nodes for the interception of communications. The interfaces of these gateways have been standardized by telecommunication standardization organizations. With the legacy public switched telephone network (PSTN), wireless, and cable systems, lawful...

Avi

19:03

yaaa

Beastly Gerbil

Ok thats definitely correct

msh210

@Avi how "AL + LINT"?

matt

then what's the NT?

Avi

LI

Beastly Gerbil

So ALNT is stuck in shoe on floor

North Læraðr

19:03

Sounds about right

Avi

AL -> aluminum, lint is shoe lint

Beastly Gerbil

I'm not sure lint can be stuck in shoe

Its not a great definition

matt

however shoes are typically on floors because of standing/sitting/walking i guess?

not sure

Beastly Gerbil

LI seems correct for wiretappers tool

Avi

ya

it's too strong

North Læraðr

19:05

LIN stands for LEGAL INTERCEPTION NODE

Beastly Gerbil

Interesting

ALT shoe on floor?

matt

a quick google for ALNT gave, ah yes, "Autologous Lymph Node Transfer"

Avi

AL(LIN)T + H_ E_ F_ A_ M_ I_ L_ Y_ @msh210

with alt being a brand or alternative brand of shoes

North Læraðr

that's ehhh

Avi

LIN being legal intercept node

and then inits

Beastly Gerbil

19:06

Sounds feasible

Avi

feasible but probably not precise enough

North Læraðr

Yeah

Hmm

Beastly Gerbil

I think all we're missing is how to get 'alt'

North Læraðr

ANT and LLI sounded plausible as well

Avi

AL(LIN)T = wiretapper's tool, stuck in shoe on floor

North Læraðr

19:07

But unfortunately, google's not showing up anything for LLI

bobble

feasible has FeAsiBLE in it

matt

"Leveled Literacy Intervention"? idk

first result

Beastly Gerbil

I've only ever solved one CCCC so I'm suprised I've been able to find so much as it is :P

matt

@bobble how is that relevant

bobble

shrug

Avi

19:09

relevant ends with ANT

matt

how is that relevant?

bobble

it also has RELEvaNT

North Læraðr

I looked up alternative footwear and got some suspicious websites (shivers)

matt

what is happening

bobble

I see a CC in there - VA into RELENT

Avi

19:10

VA never RELENT(s)

matt

virginia?

i am confused

Avi

ok back to C4

North Læraðr

Maybe it's a "lt"

like something that stands for "lt"

matt

oh no
not "it" again

North Læraðr

"LT"

matt

19:11

ohhh

uhhh lieutenant
wow i actually spelled that right

North Læraðr

Seems far-fetched by

Lord & Taylor

Lord & Taylor is an American department store chain, and the oldest department store in the United States. As of August 2019, it had 38 stores and one outlet store. The flagship store at the Lord & Taylor Building on Fifth Avenue in New York City operated from 1914 until 2019. The chain has been a subsidiary of Le Tote since November 2019. Lord & Taylor parent company Le Tote filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on August 2, 2020, and on August 27, 2020, it was announced that Lord & Taylor would be liquidated. == Early history == === 19th century === English-born Samuel Lord start...

matt

how did you find that?!!

North Læraðr

Typed "LT" into google and wikipedia gave me a list

I have godly googling skills

bobble

our resident tree has mad Google skills

matt

apparently so

Beastly Gerbil

19:13

I doubt thats part of the clue but who knows

North Læraðr

Yeah

It does fir AL(LIN)T though

And they do make shoes :P

matt

hmm

North Læraðr

Okay lol

More on Normal force (shoe on floor) | Physics | Khan Academy

►

matt

tf is that

North Læraðr

"shoe on floor"

Shoes + floor?

matt

19:16

hmm there's an idea...

(also when we finish this, you really needn't credit me)

Avi

@msh210 you are evil <3

so close, yet so far

matt

ikr? this is hard
well and this is my first c4 anyway so

Beastly Gerbil

We pretty much have how the wordplay is set up

Just not exact definitions

North Læraðr

According to acronyms.net, the first result for "LLI" was "Last Login Identification"

matt

we just need the "alt"

Avi

19:18

shoe on floor = ???

sandals?

North Læraðr

ANT

Avi

what about ants

North Læraðr

A(LLI)NT

Beastly Gerbil

msh210 would probably accept it as it is and explain it but it would be good to crack it

Avi

well yes

North Læraðr

19:18

The ant is on the shoes?

Avi

but ANTs are

usually not on my shoes

Beastly Gerbil

Shoe on floor wont give ant

Avi

cause i avoid stepping on them

North Læraðr

Oh I was still looking at "stuck on shoe"

Avi

you would avoid stepping on ants too if you've ever had them crawl all over your shoe

Beastly Gerbil

19:19

Stuck in will show how 'LI' or 'LLI' will be in the rest

North Læraðr

Yeah

Beastly Gerbil

Shoe on floor will give alt (hopefully)

matt

ALT clearly indicates "Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres" via abbreviations.com

tf is a telomere though

North Læraðr

I'm not sure how that's relevant

Avi

telomeres are part of dna

North Læraðr

19:20

Telomeres are in biology I believe

matt

exactly

Avi

prevent cancer a little... or a lot

North Læraðr

I thought telomeres are responsible for aging

Avi

they get shorter when they divide

matt

which means it has nothing to do with shoes

North Læraðr

19:20

Bc it cuts off a part of your DNA

matt

ouch

Avi

Telomeres are the caps at the end of each strand of DNA that protect our chromosomes, like the plastic tips at the end of shoelaces. 3. Without the coating, shoelaces become frayed until they can no longer do their job, just as without telomeres, DNA strands become damaged and our cells can't do their job.

matt

hmm interesting

Avi

no

matt

blegh

Avi

19:22

your shoelaces are not telomeres

North Læraðr

Yeah

Avi

or they would be hella expensive

matt

forget i said anything

North Læraðr

I don't see how telomeres have to do anything

matt

do ^with ?

Avi

19:23

so uh

"shoe on floor"

could be "shoe adjacent to floor"

matt

shoutout to @msh210 for making this ridiculously hard f***ing puzzle

@avi how?

Avi

or it could be shoe + "on's floor" = shoe + _N

placed on something

doesn't necessarily mean on top

could be placed on the side of

yeah but you can't do X Y floor

matt

hmm

Avi

"on floor"

doesn't really work because of the T being leftover

matt

wait wait

we have an N and a T

aNT

maybe im making no sense though

(probably tbh)

hmm

North Læraðr

19:28

ANTA is a shoue company

Avi

maybe we just need to wait for Deusovi and Gareth

D:

matt

noooo

we're so close, i can feel it

North Læraðr

Wait hold on

msh210

@Avi thanks

Avi

np

North Læraðr

19:30

What if wiretapper's tool is just in shoe + floor

msh210

@BeastlyGerbil nope

Avi

that's possible

matt

interesting idea, Tree

North Læraðr

AL(LI)NT?

Beastly Gerbil

@msh210 hehe Avi was right, you are evil! :P

matt

19:31

hmmm

@NorthLæraðr also *shoe ?

msh210

@matt thanks

matt

no problem

Avi

the question is how AL and NT would be a shoe and floor

matt

@Avi good question

North Læraðr

@Avi en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NT Any leads?

matt

19:34

none yet for me

Avi

nop

i think i'm yielding

matt

hmm

@Avi no don't

Avi

SWIMS is an ambigram

I go

North Læraðr

I'm just gonna take a shot

matt

how are ambigrams relevant?

> SWIMS

hmm

North Læraðr

19:38

@msh210 AL(LIN)T+H_E_F_A_M_I_L_Y

matt

what does that mean?!

jafe

Ali nl the Family?

:P

North Læraðr

Wait

ALT being "a lord and taylor" :P

matt

um?

msh210

@NorthLæraðr um, no

North Læraðr

19:40

@msh210 shucks

perhaps a clue...?

msh210

@NorthLæraðr so soon? I don't mind, if people want it.

matt

or is that the clue?

North Læraðr

@msh210 I would ask, only because we're so close. However, I will wait until other ppl agree

Beastly Gerbil

No clue yet, the cc is only 2 hours old

matt

how old does it have to be?

North Læraðr

19:41

Usually a day

matt

wh-

hmm

Beastly Gerbil

Clues have gone whole weeks without being solved

matt

whoa

North Læraðr

Oh wait, wiretapping requires Line Tapping

LT

That doesn't work

bobble

according the the archive, 18 days is the longest a clue has stood

@NorthLæraðr LT Koenig :)

matt

19:43

thinking up a halloween clue now

Beastly Gerbil

@bobble the archive is somwhat outdated now I really wouldn't be suprised if one had gone longer

matt

hmmmmm

North Læraðr

Being American, wiretapping I think of Nixon

jafe

wiretapper's tool sounds like bug, no?

matt

yes indeed

jafe

19:48

not that it's any help if all in the family is the solution

North Læraðr

@jafe Yeah. But that doesn't fit it

Exactly

HEFAMILY is waaaay to coincidental

jafe

yeah

matt

i dont get it...?

^ hefamily

jafe

"initially, h.. e... f.. a.. m.. i.. l.. y.."

matt

hmmmm

also GAP from "get a peek" - probs irrelevant

"he family gap"

Avi

19:51

"get a peek into a white supremacist's home life with it" is probably the definition part of the clue

jafe

it's (3,2,3,6) so family has to be the last word

Avi

with the actual definition being the American sitcom named ALL IN THE FAMILY

matt

hmmm

jafe

nvm read that wrong

matt

hmmm

North Læraðr

19:52

maybe stuck is in shoe

BUt that doesn't help

Avi

but then LI doesn't go into anything

matt

this is hard

Avi

and you have AL or ALL or ALLI being a wiretapper's tool

North Læraðr

what could "shoe on floor" even mean?

jafe

casinos have floors, dealers have shoes of cards... and in poker you go all in

matt

19:54

good question. obvious answer is "there is a shoe on the floor"

jafe

:P

bobble

@msh210, are you happy now that your clue has survived >2 hours' worth of attack by the Lair?

North Læraðr

I hate you msh

You and your pickles

matt

@jafe serious answer?

jafe

not really :)

matt

19:55

i was so convinced there tbh

jafe

but "shoe" and "floor" are both casino terms

North Læraðr

@jafe How?

matt

coincidence?

Avi

oooh

i was thinking poker earlier

matt

@N

> casinos have floors, dealers have shoes of cards... and in poker you go all in

Avi

19:55

but didn't know those were poker terms

North Læraðr

shoe is a box indeed

jafe

in blackjack you have a shoe which has x number of decks shuffled together

matt

hm

North Læraðr

Floor?

jafe

floor is the floorman, i.e. the manager you call if there's an error or something

Avi

19:57

3

jafe

hahahah

Avi

D:

matt

oh no

North Læraðr

@Avi It's not loading

Oh i see it

matt

thats one giant shoe though

Avi

19:58

don't question the metaphors

matt

dafuq does that mean

Avi

the SHOE is a metaphor for the CCCC which is crushing all of us

matt

i see now

but how do you know we are standing? we are most likely not

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