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2:28 AM
0
Q: A 3x3 grid whose neighboring cells have common factors

Dmitry KamenetskyA $3 \times 3$ grid $G$ is filled with every number from the set $\{2,3,5,6,7,11,14,15,30\}$. Now a new $3 \times 3$ grid $H$ is formed, such that $H_{ij}$ is the number of neighbors of $G_{ij}$ that have a common factor greater than $1$ with $G_{ij}$. Two cells are neighbors if they are adjacent...

0
Q: Judgment-free construction of a playlist

Joseph Sible-Reinstate MonicaAlice and Bob are planning a long car trip and need to come up with a playlist for it. For any given song, they have one of four opinions on it: "That's, like, my favorite song ever" (love), "I like that song" (like), "I'll listen to this, but you owe me" (tolerate), or "I'd rather poke my eardru...

 
 
5 hours later…
HTM
7:03 AM
Aw, no thoughts on the C4? Was looking forward to reading some :(
 
Sid
I am just stumped. I literally have no idea.
 
HTM
Anyway, I've made more C4s inspired by HNQs, some of which are not exactly correct, but I wanted to get as close to the original wording of the question as I could:
30
Q: Positive drug test in Singapore: How long do I need to avoid the country?

TranscendMy issue is a bit unusual. I've passed a medical exam in Singapore for my company. They tested me positive to drug cannabis but never caught me as I left the country before result issued. Hospital send notification to minister of health MOH which has sent report to Central Narcotics Bureau with a...

Drug test in Singapore recalled - all positives, say? (8)
 
Sid
I have been thinking it is P + [some word meaning for] + a = twirling pair
 
HTM
2
Q: People in India

user282192Is the following sentence grammatical? Can I use in twice in the following sentence? People in India work as labourers in many western countries.

Chinese people in India (2)
6
Q: Red Question Mark - Secret room on map Inaccessible - TBOI Repentance

DarrellThere is no way I can find to get to this room I circled and have never seen it before. I am on the corpse floor 1.

Secret room on outline - inaccessible for many? (4)
@Sid Ah, I see
Well, I will assure you there is one correct interpretation of the CC that produces a sensible answer, so keep looking!
In the meantime, the HNQ CCs are up there for your enjoyment
@HTM Whoops, that should be "CCs" instead of "C4s"
 
0
Q: Best stratigy for stick-taking game

john chakderRule of the game- It's a two player game. The first move will alternate between players. There are N number of sticks in a table. both player have to take at least one and at most M sticks (2<M<=N) from the table. The one who takes the last stick wins. player cannot take p and q no of sticks whe...

 
7:25 AM
@HTM _di_ :P
 
HTM
@Jafe :check_mark:
 
Sid
If the di folks actually lived in India, would that make the clue an &lit?
 
yep
 
HTM
@Sid Idea: find a country containing a substring that's also a name of a ethnic group that lives primarily in that country
So we can have "People in [country name]!" = [substring] &lit
 
there are roma/romani people in romania but it's not a good hidden word because it's not in the middle
(i believe the name of the people is not related to the country name)
dumb answer: united ARAB emirates :)
 
HTM
7:32 AM
Maybe one of the African countries has something useful, there's lots of puzzly ethnic group names there
@Jafe :P
 
ganda people in uganda but again it's not in the middle (and also closely related word)
 
HTM
Indigenous people are "those ethnic groups that were indigenous to a territory prior to being incorporated into a national state, and who are politically and culturally separate from the majority ethnic identity of the state that they are a part of". There are internationally recognized definitions of indigenous peoples, such as those of the United Nations, the International Labour Organization and the World Bank.This is a partial list of the world's indigenous or aboriginal or native people, grouped by region and sub-region. Note that a particular group may warrant listing under more than one...
Potentially helpful list?
 
tswa people in botswa... argh, it's actually mozambique
 
HTM
Maybe this counts?
The Swati (Swati: Emaswati, singular Liswati) are a Bantu ethnic group in Southern Africa, predominantly inhabiting Eswatini, South Africa's Mpumalanga province, and Mozambique. The Swazi are part of the Nguni-language speaking peoples whose origins can be traced through archaeology to East Africa where similar traditions, beliefs and cultural practices are found. The Swazi people and the Kingdom of Eswatini today are named after Mswati II, who became king in 1839 after the death of his father King Sobhuza who strategically defeated the British who occupied Eswatini. Eswatini was a region first...
I think the name of the country derives from the name of the people though
 
yeah
 
HTM
7:41 AM
Hopefully some of these are giving you ideas for your next crossword :)
 
hehe the grid's already done for the next one, writing clues now :)
 
HTM
Looking forward to it as always
@Jafe Botswana is inhabited by the Tswana, but yet again another instance of the people naming the country
The Tswana (Tswana: Batswana, singular Motswana) are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group who are native to Southern Africa. The Tswana language is a member of Sotho-Tswana language group which belongs to the Bantu language family group. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the population of Botswana in 2011.Batswana are the native people of south-western Botswana, Gauteng, North West and some parts of Northern Cape provinces of South Africa where the majority of Batswana are located. == History == === Early history of Batswana === The Batswana are descended mainly from Bantu-speaking tribes who...
 
if only the han people lived in afghanistan...
yeah same with sotho in lesotho
africa does have a ton of cryptic possibilities
 
7:59 AM
btw just realised that "people in [country]" isn't a valid &lit anyway because the word people is not contributing to the wp...
 
HTM
Actually yeah, I just realized that too
"[country]'s natives!" maybe?
Don't know if "natives" is a proper "middle of the word" indicator tho
Or perhaps we can rework the clue to be: a word for "people" in the middle of an abbreviation/word for [country] = a word for a group of people that live in said country
Anyway, I should go to sleep soon, nice talking cryptic with ya!
 
likewise
see ya
 
8:49 AM
@Jafe @HTM "characters from"
 
 
1 hour later…
10:19 AM
nice
 
 
1 hour later…
11:34 AM
@bobble Looks like the questioner rolled it back.
 
 
6 hours later…
5:05 PM
-1
Q: To Mock a Mockingbird: 4 brothers

EnlicoIn the case of the four brothers at page 30, there are four brother, indistinguishable in appearance, of which Arthur is an accurate truth-teller, Bernard is an inaccurate truth-teller, Charles is an accurate liar, David is an inaccurate liar, where "inaccurate" means that one always believes t...

 
 
2 hours later…
6:43 PM
@HTM "inhabitants"?
 
HTM
@Deusovi +1
 
Central Botswanans (6) ... provided the Tswana are in fact found in central Botswana as well as other parts
 
HTM
> Batswana are the native people of south-western Botswana...
From the wiki article
 
yeah, that's unfortunate :-).
 
HTM
Good attempt though!
Actually, the wiki says that the Tswana constitute 85% of the population of Botswana, so perhaps there are some living in the central part?
 
7:01 PM
Oh, I'm sure there are. Probably lots. But I think it would be a slightly unfair clue since there's nothing very central about where the Tswana are found in Botswana: you would never, if you didn't have a clue to construct, describe the Tswana as "central Botswanans".
 
HTM
True, true
As a wise person once said...
Oct 25 '19 at 20:38, by Gareth McCaughan
Cryptic clues are difficult to solve; if you aren't scrupulously careful about them then they become unfair to the solver.
 
there's a "me" in America :) though that probably doesn't help here
 
 
4 hours later…
HTM
10:40 PM
Is anyone here doing the Virigina Tech hunt by any chance? I just noticed it on the puzzlehunt calendar, and I'm thinking of participating in it as the end date isn't until the end of this month
If not, I'm looking to possibly form a team to do it
 
11:25 PM
0
Q: Friend sent me a cipher

venusI have a friend who really enjoys ciphers. He creates them whenever he gets an opportunity. Yesterday, I asked him what his favorite episode of Star Trek was, and he said he would get back to me. Today, he sent me this. EMOTMQHVKMCGTVLMVUTWJQCBTWSVSUMT clues one: you need all clues two: all thre...

 
11:41 PM
not currently planning on doing it - last year's was... not great
plus there's a paywall halfway through
(granted, it's for charity, but it's still frustrating)
 
I'm looking at the hunt website and I don't see anything about a paywall halfway through. What am I missing?
 
there's one every year - it's not mentioned on their site, but according to a VT student i know, it's a tradition for that hunt
 
That's a bit bait-and-switch-y.
So, what, each individual has to pay money to proceed, or somehow the teams do, or what? Seems really weird.
 
0
Q: Your typical riddle

IsaacRoan Sison I tick like a clock, but the hands is red and yellow for some reason. When i alarm, i wave my hands pretty fast, And when i notice when its midnight, both hands put down to 6.

 
it's 100% for charity - at a certain point, they ask that you make a donation to one of a few charities, for $5 per person on your team
and then sending them the receipt from that donation allows you to proceed
 
11:51 PM
Huh. To me, that feels 100% unobjectionable if it's advertised from the outset and 100% unacceptable without advance warning.
 
oh i find it incredibly frustrating given that it's not mentioned
better than being hit with a non-charity paywall (which has happened to me before), but still not good
 

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