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12:00 AM
Lol
 
12:10 AM
@bobble wow
 
 
4 hours later…
user478740
4:26 AM
Coincidence? Or not...
 
-2
Q: A puzzle with seventy-two countries

Vassilis ParassidisLet's have two groups of countries. Each group has 36 countries. The first letter of the countries in the first group start with A,B,C,E,G,S. The second group of countries has as first letter T,I,K,L,N,P. From the letters of the first group construct a 6x6 Sudoku. Construct a second 6x6 Sudoku wi...

 
 
3 hours later…
7:59 AM
a throwback is a reminder, and someone who constantly reminds one of something could be A NAG
exeter museum is the RAMM, and the ED is an example of stuff from long ago
if something is "quaint" or "rubbish" in a cryptic clue it could be ANAGRAMMED? @msh210
 
@bobble Worst idea I ever had was naming myself after a book character...
 
 
2 hours later…
9:36 AM
0
Q: What kind of car do I have?

FIreCaseWhat kind of car do I have? The clue words: stories, robbery, rock, minimum, old, ducks

 
 
1 hour later…
10:42 AM
@jafe You've got the right answer but the wordplay is not what I intended.
(And, no offense, but I think mine is better. :-) )
Should I give it away or wait for you/someone to figure it out?
 
hmm, let's see!
pretty sure RAMM is the exeter museum
 
@jafe Me, too. :-)
gtg, but I'll see, later, what you find
 
10:59 AM
ed. is the abbreviation of a lot of things including editor, edition and education, and -ed is the past tense suffix... not really a fit for "stuff from long ago", though
if A was an abbreviation for a thing called gana then throwback could be the reversal indicator, but i'm not seeing it
think it's more likely that NAG = throwback somehow
or maybe "a throwback" is "an ag"... if "ag" is a word
hmm actually maybe RAMM is stuffing AGED which means "from long ago"
which would mean "a throwback" would be AN?
 
11:43 AM
Eh, close enough. I intended NA<, RAMM stuffing AGED.
 
ah ok
CCCC: Only the finale of Flying Dutchman performed with vocals, leaving out introductory parts to Wagner's opera (15)
throwback, wingtip, warhead, crowfoot... many names for the same thing
 
 
1 hour later…
1:10 PM
@jafe Ho ho. (-flyin)G, then (-r)OTTERDAMMER and (-s)UNG.
 
1:23 PM
@GarethMcCaughan that's correct
 
0
Q: Are there Sudokus that are so hard that no known logical deduction techniques can reduce it?

Mans NilssonAre there Sudokus that are so hard that no known logical deduction techniques can reduce it? Maybe such a technique would reduce away multiple options?

 
@Mithical Hahaha
@GarethMcCaughan That's a Gareth word if I ever saw one
 
More a name than a word. (It's the title of the last opera in Wagner's Ring cycle.)
I mean, I guess it is a word, but occasions when you need to talk about a "twilight of the gods" other than when discussing the Wagner opera are pretty rare.
 
2:06 PM
@GarethMcCaughan Bet bet
 
2:19 PM
@Mithical Sometimes I run into characters that share my (commen-ish) name. It's worse if they're an on-screen character - then someone call out my name and I have to remind myself they're talking to a fictional character.
 
2:40 PM
0
Q: Cryptic Family Reunion: Sgt. Sequence Rides Again!

Jeremy DoverThe answer to this puzzle is a list of ten thematically related words or proper names or phrases. Each of these is clued cryptically, and the theme is to be determined. NOTE: While the theme mostly works generically, it is topical to PSE as of its posting date. Since the definition part of a cryp...

 
3:25 PM
@bobble We got bobble and bubbler
 
Hi @Bubbler!
(fan of your Code Golf stuff)
 
Avi
3:40 PM
thinking about how to turn demonstration into defenestration
Proof turns monday into...
 
friday
 
Avi
yes yes
and then ene (3 more letters) to go
 
@Avi Maybe try turning DEMON to DEFENSE*
 
you mean DEMONS?
 
Ah, yes. Words are hard.
2
 
Avi
3:44 PM
that would be overcomplicating the wordplay
reason being, you can make a better clue starting with defense*
6
Q: Falling out with the Judge

Avi Poor defense speech leading to defendant finally being thrown out (14) The defendant never reached their prison cell. How did they die? jafe helped design the clue - thanks! :)

case in point
 
Ah, I see...that would be a replay.
 
Avi
Thrown-out proof turns Monday into Friday, primarily exciting numerous employees (14)
 
^ nice :)
@bobble that would be a good idea
 
 
4 hours later…
7:56 PM
my 7th period live meet thing should've started 10 minutes ago...
there we go
 
Avi
8:57 PM
Soon I will ascend and become API god
but certainly not an image pasting god
holy moly that was a bad image paste
 
I concur with you second and third lines. Not sure about the first
 
Avi
there, a better screenshot
 
still with tiny text
 
Avi
if I enlarge it vertically, the right side will go escape velocity out of this world
anywany back to api
 
9:26 PM
API?
 
An application programming interface (API) is a computing interface which defines interactions between multiple software intermediaries. It defines the kinds of calls or requests that can be made, how to make them, the data formats that should be used, the conventions to follow, etc.
basically it defines the boundaries and requirements of a program which interacts with a database
 
Avi
10:21 PM
defines the boundaries and requirements of basically any program/interface
although, you could even call interfaces APIs of their own
"Interesting," said Tom, sitting back into his coffin.
 
that a CC?
 
Avi
no it's a Tom Swiftie
inter-resting
"I'm a bird," said Tom, chirpily.
"My smile is beautiful," said Tom, toothily.
 
"Why is Avi making me say things?" said Tom, quite puzzled.
 
10:36 PM
"Hello!" said Tom. "Hello," returned the figure skater.
 
I've been trying to think of some Tom pun for Mithical = Mythical. Nothing coming to mind
 
Let me know if you figure one out. I wouldn't want to have mithed it.
 
hehe
 
Avi
"Mithical is a legend," Tom said, mythically.
not sure that holds though
 
@Avi what is a tom swiftie?
 
10:46 PM
said Tom as he turned into <insert magical creature>?
 
Avi
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...
 
i see
, said tom
 
Avi
"I see," said Tom, listing out the alphabet in incorrect order.
that doesn't count
 
hmm
how about ... "I can't solve this cryptic clue", said Tom, puzzled
 
Letters of the alphabet that sound like words: A, B, C, I, J, K, P, R, T, U, Y
did I miss any?
 
10:53 PM
Gee, I don't know
 
^ G
 
Oh, alright
 
I removed some that I count as non-real words: Gee, Oh, etc.
ah beat me to typing
 
Queue up in line
 
that's a real word
 
10:55 PM
"oh" is a also a real word
 
...and if you're British you say 'ell
:P
 
there's also 'e, which I also didn't count
Em is a nickname
 
G O Q L M
N i guess
 
eff is one of those non-cursing ways to curse
 
"shut the f up" kinda thing
 
Avi
10:58 PM
"The ground is shaking," said Tom, quakily.
 
nice
 
Avi
"This airplane is bound to crash," said Tom, knowingly.
 
maybe not that one
 
"You're always late," said Tom, hurriedly
 
Avi
@merrybot no-wing-ly
 
11:02 PM
ah ok
 
I'm doing a physics practice test, and one of the possible answers to "what is the graph of speed vs time of the object as it moves from point X to point Y" is a graph of y=0
 
Avi
"I made bank at the casino", said Tom, gainfully.
 
ohh that one's nice
 
@bobble why
 
Avi
remember distance is the area under the curve
<3
unless acceleration graph
 
11:04 PM
I guess they wanted it to be an obvious wrong answer?
 
Avi
then you just tear the paper apart and curse at the exam setters
 
Tom #2: "i love you", said Tom, heartily
 
Avi
then put it back together and solve the paper calmly
 
it's an online exam. I don't want to destroy my computer
 
Avi
print it out
rip it apart
 
11:05 PM
why is that so funny @avi
 
but that's wasting ink
 
Avi
what's ink compared to self-satisfaction
 
it is the Bobble Dilemma
 
Avi
"I'm voting Biden," said Tom, liberally.
 
"But Trump would be safer," said Tom, conservatively
that's what I get for trusting spellcheck
 
Avi
11:07 PM
"spellcheck has betrayed me," tom said, capitally.
 
PERFECTION
 
@bobble Em and en are lengths. Ex is a former spouse. Dee is a nickname. Ell is a building wing. O is a poetic vocative. Ess means to wind like a letter S, I think.
@Mithical I don't get it.
 
@msh210 and let's not forget Queue
 
Avi
@ Mithical - seconded
 
@merrybot and some others, yes. I didn't repeat what's already been mentioned.
 
11:10 PM
Letters of the alphabet that sound like words (liberal definition of "words"): A, B, C, D, E, F, G, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, X, Y
 
"Boaz, Naomi, ugh, I hate that whole story. I ripped it up and threw it out," said Tom ruthlessly.
2
 
I liked Up
it had doggos
 
@bobble If you wanna be more liberal, every letter name sounds like the word that names the letter.
 
this is true
 
For example, Z sounds like "zee" (or "zed"), which is a word meaning "the letter Z".
 
Avi
11:16 PM
@msh210 explain?
biblical reference?
 
"I really, really, really want some now," said Tom Jones.
 
SUIT THEIRS = (THISISTRUE)*
 
@Avi yeah, the story and people referred to are in the book of Ruth
 
@bobble okay? w-
 
"Oh, what a perfectly lovely geyser," Tom gushed.
 
11:20 PM
"I don't have any fancy motorcycles," Tom moped.
3
 
this is almost becoming the new pickle
 
Avi
no, Tom Swifties come and go
they tend to go when everybody runs out of ideas
and the moped one was really good
 
It would've been better as "a fancy motorcycle", for agreement on plurality
 
@merrybot "Everyone in the Lair keeps insulting my favorite food," said Tom sourly.
 
@msh210 oh no
 
Avi
11:28 PM
"I like math," said Tom, approvingly.
"Math is purely calculation," Tom countered.
 
"I want to nag a ram," said Tom, crazily
 
Avi
D:
"I'm not quite a sultan," said Tom, sulking.
ok that one was bad but it had to be done
"I can't stop bumping into tables," said Tom, cornered.
 
"That was really rough", said Tom, doggedly
 
bgehjrkft
 
Avi
@bobble explain?
 
11:36 PM
rough = ruff
 
Avi
eh
mayyyybe
 
shrugs out of ideas
 
Avi
"I've rigged this wrestling match," Tom said, turning about.
ya out of ideas
 

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