The Sphinx's Lair

Avi

20:00

the puzzler is a metaphor for our souls

which have been crushed

matt

are you ok

Avi

by this CCCC

matt

uh anyway c4

Avi

ya I'm fine

but this one is quite hard

North Læraðr

Ohhhhhhh

Wait I'm dumb

A "shoe account" is an alternate account right?

wait no

jafe

20:02

umm

North Læraðr

That's a sock account

Hmph

jafe

yeah

Avi

sock-puppet

bobble

this room is quite active today

Avi

blame the shoe

North Læraðr

20:04

"To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly."

Shoe takes alternative steps on the floor

My brain is shutting down

jafe

in 22h the first hint is going to be like "the last word is not 'family'" and it's back to square one

Avi

lmao

if that happens

RIZ OF THE SSSITH

actually no

bobble

Smash hits: Star Wars, Dark Knight (4) -> SITH: the first CC that I ever solved :)

Avi

very clever clue

jafe

nice

North Læraðr

20:11

Shoe on floor--> altitude?

I mean...

"the height of an object or point in relation to sea level or ground level."

Avi

Doctor Who's production (4)

jafe

@NorthLæraðr i don't see it

North Læraðr

@jafe Like shoe on floor level idk

Avi

i don't see anything

matt

what did i miss?

North Læraðr

20:13

shoe on ground

sog

alt

tread

i'm losing my mind

matt

sog (v.): to soak, steep or saturate

@NorthLæraðr noooo

open letter to msh210

this
is
hard

Beastly Gerbil

Agreed

jafe

maybe wiretapper's is a partial homophone indicator?

matt

how?

Beastly Gerbil

The worst part is I have a decent clue ive thought of which never happens but I have no idea how to solve this one :P

msh210

20:16

@bobble positively gleeful

North Læraðr

@jafe Hm how?

matt

@msh210 you're funny

jafe

like if you say bough on the line and the wiretapper might take it as bow

matt

still doesnt make sense

North Læraðr

Yeah

matt

20:17

ohhh now i get it

bough, bow /bou/

North Læraðr

okay...

shoe--->?

shoo?

msh210

@matt thanks

North Læraðr

floor-->phloor?

matt

@NorthLæraðr yes shoo

@NorthLæraðr google thinks it is "flaw" but i am not british

North Læraðr

@matt doubt it

tool---> tule

matt

20:19

hmmm

North Læraðr

no anagrams, no deletions

matt

aight guys, be back in a few hrs probably
let me know what happens

Avi

the poker thing looks very very promising to me

North Læraðr

How?

Avi

but you put cards in a shoe

ALL IN?

all the cards

Shoe (cards)

A dealing shoe or dealer's shoe is a gaming device, mainly used in casinos, to hold multiple decks of playing cards. The shoe allows for more games to be played by reducing the time between shuffles and less chance of dealer cheating. In some games, such as blackjack (where card counting is a possibility), using multiple decks of cards can increase the house edge. == History == Prior to 1961 in Las Vegas casinos, all blackjack was being dealt from a single deck. John Scarne proposed to the Nevada Gaming Control Board that a state ruling be enacted such that Blackjack must be dealt from a shoe...

North Læraðr

20:21

you're left with T and wiretapper

Avi

T = tool?

North Læraðr

or wiretapper's tool

Avi

ya

North Læraðr

how does t comes after shoe

and there's also floor

Avi

the wiretapper is the problem

shoe on floor could just be a shoe

well

what does a wiretapper hear in a casino

msh210

20:22

C4 hint: None of you have correctly said any part of the definition or wordplay.

Just kidding.

Avi

was about to throw my shoe

North Læraðr

ALL and INT

wiretapper's tool ---> int?

but stuck in shoe on floor idk

BRUH\

jafe

what's an int

Avi

integer

North Læraðr

intelligence

Oh

wiretapper stool?

Avi

20:25

that sounds illegal, and disgusting

jafe

i think the first two words are just that msh210 knows he's being listened to on the line and he's letting the wiretapper know they're a tool

North Læraðr

Can shoe be sock?

idk alt for alternative

nah

Avi

in shoe, on floor = LINT

North Læraðr

but AL

UGH

Beastly Gerbil

wouldn't in be part of the indicator though?

Avi

20:28

"A LINT"

pronounce

ALLINT

North Læraðr

tool?

Avi

idk

jafe

tool is just there to make it a little harder

Avi

/me throws lint at setter

there

it's a tool now

weapon of disgust

bobble

it's now been >3 hours of sustained attack on this clue

msh210

20:30

@Avi ew

North Læraðr

wiretapper's tool --> A LINE

AL+LINT

Avi

@msh210 indeed

North Læraðr

That's my answer

AL + LINT HEFAMILY

Avi

how does a line -> AL

North Læraðr

Line-->L

jafe

20:31

L is an abbreviation for line

Avi

seems indirect

jafe

yes it is :P

Avi

Line might work

A(L)LINT

aldec.com/en/support/resources/documentation/articles/1519

lmao

msh210

@NorthLæraðr not what I intended

Avi

36 mins ago, by Avi

RIP North is down, I'm down

jafe save yourself this shoe is too powerful

jafe

20:36

looks that way

Beastly Gerbil

Seems like we may be reliant on deus or gareth here :P

bobble

let's ping them @Deusovi, @GarethMcCaughan, HELP US PLEASE

Deusovi

hm?

bobble

the CCCC

we all stuck on how to get ALLINT

Deusovi

how does the definition work?

bobble

20:45

54 mins ago, by Avi

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

54 mins ago, by Avi

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

Deusovi

oh, just looked it up, and apparently the main character is very prejudiced

bobble

so now you can use your magical CC powers to figure out the last bit of wordplay?

Deusovi

not immediately seeing anything

bobble

but your magical powers!

Deusovi

ah got it

"tool stuck in shoe" = AWL; "wiretapper's" = homophone indicator

"floor" = INT, as in the rounding function

and then the rest just works how you described

bobble

20:51

@msh210, Deus got it with his magical powers

North Læraðr

@Deusovi Wait, AWL?

Deusovi

an awl is a tool used for piercing leather

North Læraðr

AWLINTHEFAMILY?

Deusovi

> "wiretapper's" = homophone indicator

North Læraðr

ohhh

So

AWL-->ALL

Deusovi

20:53

ALL ("awl") + INT + HEFAMILY inits.

North Læraðr

Damn Deus

that's...wow

I can't believe Deus solved that in like what 15 minutes?

Something that we couldn't do in 3 hours with four people

Five

Deusovi

you all had most of it already parsed

I just finished it off

North Læraðr

Me, Avi, Bobble, Gerbil, Jafe

So Avi got the def

Gerbil got like 90% of the wordplay

jafe

i sat here lookin' good

North Læraðr

I sat here Googling useless terms :)

Beastly Gerbil

20:56

I have a CC ready if noone else does

I dont expect it to last long but I'm confident its valid at the very least :P

bobble

I have a funny CC ready as well

mine is overly complicated in the service of a funny def-answer combo

North Læraðr

Avi said he doesn't want it before so...

I think it's fair that Gerbil gets it

Unless @Avi wants to fight and contest it

bobble

Do we need to wait for msh210's confirmation?

Beastly Gerbil

Don't expect it to last that long but I can try

North Læraðr

Go ahead

Beastly Gerbil

20:58

I think the fact that Deus got it means its right tbh :P

Deusovi

don't think it's necessary to wait

Beastly Gerbil

CCCC: Heroine farm (5)

North Læraðr

GRANGE

nope

Beastly Gerbil

(thats six letters :P)

North Læraðr

yeah

CROFT

Lara Croft, tomb raider

Croft is a synonym for farm

jafe

21:00

makes sense

Beastly Gerbil

Correct, thought it wouldnt last long but liked the surface

North Læraðr

Kind of

bobble

do you have one ready?

North Læraðr

not rn but i gotta do something stuff

@bobble you can post one if you want ig

though I do want to make one but like

idk

bobble

busy

North Læraðr

21:01

Ok nvm then I'll make mine in some time

Beastly Gerbil

Theres no particular rush, just as long as its not too long :)

matt

oh uh... wow Dues

*Deus

Avi

well

at least that's gone and done with

msh210

21:29

@Deusovi thank you!!

Avi

TIL that awls are used for shoes

bobble

I'm un-busy, should I post my clue now @NorthLæraðr? Or do you still want it?

North Læraðr

@bobble I was working on one, but I gotta go anyways, so you can take it

bobble

CCCC: Alicorn Magazine: essential articles & beheaded baby! Cow telling fake news with a laugh! Everything about the early signs of hags, ogres, ragamuffins, and work! (It deteriorated, unopened, in the end.) (7, 6, 5, 4, 1, 4)

there's a lot of components in the wordplay here :)

Avi

21:55

but why

bobble

why what?

the wordplay is fair, it's just a complicated sort of fair

Avi

beheading babies

we only eat them

bobble

beheaded baby. only 1 is beheaded

Avi

1 is one too many

bobble

and what, eating them alive is more humane?

Avi

22:01

I didn't say they had to be alive

just whole

looking like _C_ _AZ_ + (articles) + ABY + some other things?

bobble

have you figured out what the def is?

Avi

no

hence, trying to observe parts of wordplay

until something pops out at me

essential articles is a little stretchy

bobble

do you like the surface?

Avi

if going for alicORn magazINe

it's a little awk but it works i guess

especially since magazine has mAgAzINe

and if the first word was RAINBOW

that would be trouble

bobble

no comment, obviously

Avi

22:12

yeah

think I'll leave this one to deusovi as well lol

oh and Alconja

have at it

Gareth McCaughan

23:12

Alicornja?

bobble

23:36

alicornja: the mythical creature who prances around Puzzling

Transcript for