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12:01 AM
@Tacoタコス maybe I can be a dolphin, and chalk my inattentivenes to having half my brain asleep at once
 
@bobble hi bobble how are you :)
anyways the sandbox is sill used right?
 
12:30 AM
0
Q: An everyday object... but its a Really Obvious Problem Everyday

Stevo None of me and things might fall Things also can't move, as I recall Part of me, and you are me All of me, might determine your fate, After all, you would be under constraint I am a 4 letter word. Who am I?

 
@Sphinx Its my first riddle type, not sure what to expect :)
 
12:50 AM
bobble editing my question
 
1:02 AM
question being answered immediately
@AncientSwordRage when I open up the review tab, and click all reviews, then scroll down, there's a blue dot next to FA/Q. Is that intentional? (i click it and nothing happens though)
 
@Stevo 🤷🏻‍♂️
I don't really use the review queues
 
well, you know, got 500rep wanted to check it out so...
 
@Stevo I don't have 500 rep here and I can't see anything like a blue dot anywhere else
Red dots, sure. Not blue
 
oh. I forgot you weren't 500 rep I asked you cause you were mod... :)
 
@Stevo I did used to do reviews.... WAAAAAAAY back
 
1:15 AM
k.
 
I know red dot means it's active
 
ok.
 
18
A: What does the blue dot in front of the review queues mean?

Yaakov EllisThey indicate that these are new queues. You will see as much if you hover over them for long enough to view the tooltip. They will disappear after you finish your first review in the queue, or 60 days post-launch (whichever happens first).

 
oh.
thats dumb. I thought that was new activity...
0
Q: What is the next term in QOP, UYR, TRT, GHV?

IAmAPieChartWhat is the next term in the sequence: QOP, UYR, TRT, GHV? The choices are: A. TMY B. UYT C. UUT D. MNO The question is from an MDCAT sample test. I don't know the answer or how to get to it.

@bobble how was my recent edit on making the tables :)
 
1:31 AM
It was nice :) Just don't do too many a day and you're golden
 
@bobble thanks! don't do too many a day maybe you should say that to yourself :)
 
I've not noticed too many from either of you
 
There's a difference between necro-edits and edits to posts already in the Active tab
I limit my former but not the latter
 
That's also a factor
 
@bobble when you have no idea what you are talking about
 
1:36 AM
There's also a difference in what kinds of edits are acceptable when you're getting rep from them or not. For example, I regularly do tiny fixes to off-topic posts on the off chance they're made on-topic, but I would feel iffy about a suggested edit which did the same, because it's not much of an improvement.
@Stevo I define a necro-edit as one made to a post which has fallen off the homepage
 
oh. That would be me trying to find tables to convert to :)
 
@Stiv NEW (three compass points) + UNITED (in league) containing CASTLE (keep) = NEWCASTLE UNITED
 
2:12 AM
@Jafe that's brilliant
 
Genius!
Praises to the clue, I think North East West is clever, I would've never gotten that in a million years
 
when you have no idea what they are talking about
umm. So i went back to those old connect walls, and one of them was Deusovi's connect wall, I added alt attribute and 5 seconds later it was approved by no other than Deuosvi...
 
Suggested edits to your own posts are shown as notifications in the global inbox
 
(hello!)
 
oh i see... hello Deusovi um sorry for that :)
 
2:21 AM
@Stevo The C4
I only got it once, and my clue was terrible :P
 
k now i am thinking of another riddle to post
dont ask me why i am going crazy today
 
That feeling when you just posted a question but somehow you just got inspiration for another and you're like "HEY I NEED THIS AS A PUZZLE"
 
@Anonymus25 mhm
 
Avi
2:58 AM
WELCOME
i guess
as in, you're welcome here but you seem to be long gone
 
um ok
 
3:25 AM
9
Q: An Olympic Connecting Wall

DooplissForceIn honor of Rio 2016, here’s a connecting wall about the Olympics! The 16 clues below can be sorted into four connected groups of 4. What are the groups and their connections? Text version: +--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+ | Parry | Right of way | Mi...

i have a pending edit on this post
 
 
1 hour later…
4:37 AM
@AncientSwordRage wait, does this mean you need an explanation :0
 
4:57 AM
anagram of "hear" concealing the first letter of "the"
def is "planet of the apes", either as the name of the planet in the film or maybe just as a planet where apes live
kind-of-related fun fact: there are currently more planets inhabited by robots than there are planets inhabited by people
 
that is, when limited to those in the solar system. You never know beyond that :P
 
that we know of, yeah
 
5:58 AM
@Jafe that feels wrong
 
6:29 AM
@Jafe Yep, over to you :)
 
1
Q: A Station Story

ChengardaA friend of mine who works with computers sent me this handwritten short story in the post with no explanation whatsoever. It raises many questions, for one he usually just emails me, and he's never expressed any interest in creative writing. The young man approached the train station, he had be...

 
6:48 AM
CCCC: Very tired policeman goes here to use violence against a generation of writers (4)
 
Avi
I feel like "a generation of writers" could be some weird use of generation
but probably not in this clue
as in, the production of writers from, say, a school of thought
probably the YARD
but how to make that
actually, I've probably lost all my CC reading skills
rip
very tired = beat? to use violence against = beat? policeman goes here = beat?
beat is also a generation of writers
only one i don't get is "policeman goes here"
@Jafe BEAT (qdef)
ohhh policeman's duty region is a beat
 
@Avi that's right
 
Avi
:D
it's 2 am
and no CCs saved up
time to get to it!
 
if by "it" you mean sleep, that's correct
 
Avi
wrong
CC creation
 
Avi
7:12 AM
do you have to specify spaces in a multiword clue?
or just total letters
 
multiword clue -> 9,4
like this
 
Avi
yeah but I was wondering if that was a hard req
or you could just do (9+4)=(13)
 
i think it's always (9,4), and (13) would imply one word of 13 letters
 
Avi
ok
@Jafe Is there CCCC: revolutionary regret for iron removing more heads than normal? (5,2,6)
 
hyphenated words i've seen somewhere like (13, hyph.) btw
 
Avi
7:17 AM
CCCC is everything to the right of the bolded text
definition is specious
 
hah
 
Avi
enjoy
@Jafe as in 2 am poorly constructed, not as in 10 days cleverly clued ;-;
anywany goodnight
<3
 
good night
 
That's surely (regret for iron)* :P
 
if so the middle word is probably "of"
that's a lot of Rs for the remaining two words
 
7:25 AM
@Avi REIGN OF TERROR (regret for iron*)?
 
hah, nice
 
Is there any way to make a Private chat on SE? (like no one could see what was happening and no one can talk)
 
No, at least for normal users
 
i don't think so... you can create private rooms where only approved users can talk but anyone who wants can still see what's being said
 
^ (it's called gallery rooms)
 
7:29 AM
that, yes
 
ok. Thats really sad (cause on skype you can create private conversations but not here...)
oh i just thought of a problem (not sure if it happens). So lets say I answer a question thats posted 2 montha before. It will be sent to the late answers queue. Will I still be able to see that in the Late Answers review still? (and say its ok)
 
You won't see your own post in the review queue I think?
 
idk cause i just got 500 rep so...
 
i wouldn't think edits by users who themselves have review rights would go to a review queue in the first place but i have no idea how it actually works
 
Avi
@Bubbler that's it
time to sleep 🛏🛏🛏
 
7:43 AM
"The Late Answers queue contains answers that were posted by new users much later than when the question was asked." (from here, emphasis mine)
 
@Jafe ( @AncientSwordRage also "criminal" can mean "wrongful", but that's about as anagram-y as it can get. This is why I don't like to use it as an anagram indicator that much, but prior to preparing this clue, I needed to make one quick so I used that in a heartbeat.)
 
i thought the anagrind-ness comes from the meaning "terrible"
 
Ah I guess that can work too actually
 
@Jafe oh i c. :)
starts to think of another puzzle
 
7:59 AM
CCCC: Slowdown of buying two kinds of worms into half? (8)
 
8:11 AM
I almost feel like I don't belong here because most of the users here are either mods or high rep users... and me? I am a lowly 500...
 
@oalt @jafe I think I hadn't parsed DotPotA as being splittable, when of course it is.
 
@Stevo Don't fret, I'm a 300 :)
 
@Stevo rep isn't everything
 
@AncientSwordRage I know. It just feels weird to be talking to mods and high rep users and being friends? You know, it feels like i'm in the wrong chat but then those high rep users and mods welcome me...
and i cant resist.
 
@Stevo Why's that weird?
 
8:14 AM
@AncientSwordRage I don't really know. It feels like I am a peasant and you are kings and princes, like peasants weren't supposed to interact with nobles. But of course I do :)
 
Of course you do
Don't let the crowns mislead you 😜
 
@AncientSwordRage ik. Everyone belongs here :)
@AncientSwordRage haha
I just went through bobbles profile. I get 500 rep in 8 months, she gets 500 rep in 8 days
still thinking of a good puzzle
 
8:28 AM
@Bubbler I think it's TAPE(worm) + RING(worm)
 
Right
 
Thanks. (I wasn't aware of the financial meaning of tapering.)
CCCC: One billed female in or before church (9)
 
9:08 AM
@Tacoタコス just make sure you post it somewhere in the time you posted the last one :)
(if thats tomorrow in my time)
 
 
2 hours later…
10:49 AM
@Stevo rightly said, and yeah as AncientSwordRage said rep is just a very small thing overall lol
 
11:00 AM
@MOehm one billed is a bird?
 
11:24 AM
@MOehm HEADLINER : def - 'one billed'; female (ADEL) + IN or (female) before (HER).. CHURCH as an anagrinder? => he adl in e r => HEADLINER
it's probably only 60% correct but it's a genuine attempt so I've not caveated it with the usual sardonic hashtag
 
11:45 AM
@MOehm or HEADLINER: One billed (ADEL) female (HER) in (IN) before (anagram indicator)... def Church? (and it's some cryptic def of Church being lined with the heads of saints??)
@oAlt solve it and put me out of my misery
 
12:11 PM
billed female could be HEN or something
 
@AncientSwordRage Some good ideas, but that's not the answer, I'm afraid.
 
@MOehm don't be afraid
 
Oh, I'm not afraid. That was just a thin varnish of civility on my answer. "Church" as an anagrind made me chuckle. Perhaps some obscure reference to being converted? Well, I guess everything can be an anagrind. :)
(Your two answers would rely on indirect anagrams, though.)
 
12:29 PM
@MOehm that's a good point
@MOehm one day I'll have to use it
Church almost always means CE or CH, so it was quite a departure
 
@AncientSwordRage Lol
I don't have leads either haha
 
@oAlt you would make an awful dog walker then
 
:P
Hmm
22 hours ago, by Jafe
a lot more removing of heads than normal, for sure
Maybe someone did follow cryptic clue instructions and removed my leads :PP
 
BTW my research on 'before church' lead me to 'lauds' but APPLAUDS is upsettingly tenuous, but might spark somebody to answer
 
1:16 PM
@AncientSwordRage 😂
@Stevo I’m not sure if I’ll have it completed today, but if I do it’ll be later in the day for sure.
 
 
2 hours later…
3:05 PM
1
Q: A Perfect Diamond of Numbers

Bernardo Recamán SantosA diamond of numbers is an arrangement of circles in the shape of a trapezoid (see figure) in which the number in any circle above its central (longest) row is the sum of the two numbers in the circles that it lies on, while the number in any circle below the central row is the (absolute) differe...

 
3:53 PM
0
Q: How fast can you ruin a Scrabble game?

TwoBitOperationConsider a standard game of Scrabble® using the csw19 dictionary. Many board-states exist where ZERO possible next moves exist. That is, no combination of 1-7 remaining letters can make a legal move. My question is, how fast can you legally get the board into this state? I have a solution with a...

 
4:05 PM
@Sphinx I got fully nerd sniped there :/
 
I'm about to try and brute force my next puzzle lol
If that fails, does anyone want to help me with it?
You'll know if it didn't, because I'll post the puzzle lol
 
4:19 PM
Could someone explain how I'm being pedantic here?
Also, their new last line in the Q is a wee bit passive-aggressive?
 
see my edit
 
Better, but then I'm biased?
 
Definitely not pedantic
You're assisting with moderation
See my comment
 
I don't see it as pure open ended. But I don't like the "Find the same answer I found"
 
@ChrisCudmore Similar to "guess what I'm thinking" puzzles IMO
 
4:26 PM
@ChrisCudmore same
@bobble I don't think you're being biased in this case
 
Yeah. "I found 4, which I'll share later. Can you do better?"
would be better...
 
@ChrisCudmore if thye don't have a proof or... whatever that tag is?
 
On a side note; does anyone need a comprehensive list of around 1,000 heteropalindromes?
 
@Sphinx this is haunting me... must... leave work....
 
4:28 PM
@AncientSwordRage I thought unsolved mysteries was for real world unsolved puzzles
 
first google hit, I didn't count :p
 
@Tacoタコス Who doesn't?
 
@AncientSwordRage No, as in I copied 1,000 of them from the web into my personal database lol
Trying to brute force my next grid puzzle because it's stumping me
I may have to change the criteria, but I'm determined to find out if a solution exists.
 
OH need, not have
 
Precisely lol
 
4:33 PM
I'm sure a little bash function could spit out a longer list...
No... no I will resist!
 
0
Q: Not really seen - what am I?

MetaZenHalf of me is all the same. The other half is just a proposition. When I'm observed, I'm not really seen. Probably because I'm in full opposition.

 
4:51 PM
@AncientSwordRage Not sure, but manual copypasta resulted in 999 of them (had my code count them) lol
Of which, 324 are eligible for my puzzle currently
 
4
A: Find the Semordnilaps

Aaron Daviesbash 134 157 118 bytes f () { comm -12 <(sort w.txt) <(rev w.txt|sort)|while read w; do ((${#w}==$1))&&[[ $w<$(rev<<<$w) ]]&&echo $w; done; } This is not a serious entry, but rather in response to Brian's Bash answer. This is how I tend to think about programming this sort of thing in Bash--by ...

 
5:28 PM
@AncientSwordRage How long did it take to find that? lol
 
@Tacoタコス I googled 'heteropalindrome bash' and it was the top few hits I think?
 
Noice lol
Didn't think you'd actually search it though :🤣
 
5:44 PM
Okay, so I think my constraints make this puzzle unsolvable :/
Grrrrr
 
Avi
@bobble no kidding
 
6:14 PM
Who knew that for three letter heteropalindromes, the letter a is the most common central letter... Oh wait, vowels are sort of the building blocks for words; of course it's a vowel.
 
7:09 PM
0
Q: How do I ring my friend's doorbell?

C. P. BoykoMy friend, a curmudgeon who dislikes visitors, recently installed a puzzle-doorbell. It consists of ten push buttons in a row, labelled from left to right: "2" "," "3" "," "4" "," "1" "o" "f" "5" (That is, the second, fourth, and sixth buttons are each labelled with a comma.) Mo...

0
Q: How many Hoshi (Star Sudoku) are possible?

Hauke ReddmannA gifted Sudoku booklet's Hoshi are (almost? - I did only spot checks) all identical, except for number permutation and leads. An excuse for this would be if there were only one legit Hoshi. How many inequivalent (under number permutation and geometric symmetry) filled out Star Sudokus exist?

 
7:33 PM
Like many other languages, English has wide variation in pronunciation, both historically and from dialect to dialect. In general, however, the regional dialects of English share a largely similar (but not identical) phonological system. Among other things, most dialects have vowel reduction in unstressed syllables and a complex set of phonological features that distinguish fortis and lenis consonants (stops, affricates, and fricatives). Phonological analysis of English often concentrates on or uses, as a reference point, one or more of the prestige or standard accents, such as Received Pronunciation...
Basically, yes
 
Say hello to the monstrosity that I'm about to push to the site lol
 
Oh. This might be interesting. Sort of a magic square with heteropalindromes?
 
Sort of yes; I originally included the diagonals in the constraints, but had to remove them.
 
8:00 PM
Posted
Wait, Sphinx already does that I think lol
Waited until I came up with a solution before posting.
 
How long did that take?
 
About an hour and a half
But I'm not the best at solving them lol
 
8:19 PM
@Deusovi by specifying "Merriam-Webster's online dictionary" is that covering the version requirement? I'm not sure how to version control a website.
Outside of saying "don't use the wayback machine", that is.
 
The problem isn't the site changing in the past, it's it changing in the future.
So no, that doesn't cover it. It's possible for answers to go "out of date" as M-W updates its site.
 
I could require the answers to provide the definitions for their words, as supplied by Merriam-Webster on the date of answer.
 
0
Q: Heteropalindromes in a Word Square

Taco タコスSay hello to a not-so-simple, 4x4 word square: This little monstrosity has two rules; to define the first rule, have you ever heard of a heteropalindrome? Strings of letters that form words when read both forward and backward (e.g., "deliver" and "reviled") are termed heteropalindromes. Now yo...

 
Then future readers could use wayback or something similar in the future if the definitions change or are no longer available.
 
The answers can still go out of date, then. The puzzle should stay the exact same puzzle no matter when it's looked at.
 
8:22 PM
At most there are 16 definitions with the given constraints.
@Deusovi I think that might be a tad strong TBH. Given that constraint, even crosswords can go out of date; for example, a clue could no longer be accurate if the definition of the word changes.
Would you mind helping me define it to satisfy your requirements though?
I'm more than willing to update it
I'm just not sure how.
 
I gave two example word lists that you could use instead?
 
But those could change too, correct?
They're data driven, and as such the data could change?
 
No, neither of those is updated. There's no central authority even controlling them; they're public domain.
(At least, YAWL is. SOWPODS, I think is, but I'm not sure. The term specifically refers to the instance of the list published in 2015, rather than the Scrabble dictionary in general, though.)
 
I'll opt for YAWL then
So can you judge this phrasing:
 
I think the puzzle is ok as it is currently defined. It doesn't need to be bulletproof for all eternity.
 
8:32 PM
Words must be found in YAWL and defined in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary as of the date of your answer?
 
That still has the problem of using M-W, which updates pretty frequently!
 
So how do I require words to have definition?
 
What words would not have a definition?
What are you trying to forbid with this rule?
If you think YAWL is too strict, there are several other word lists you could use: quinapalus.com/dicts.html
 
I suppose simply saying that abbreviations aren't allowed should work
 
What counts as an abbreviation?
 
8:35 PM
Technically acronyms are abbreviations
 
Is "taxi" an abbreviation, for instance? (Disregarding that it doesn't make another word when reversed.)
 
So NASA is only defined as an abbreviation on Google and Merriam-Webster.
It wouldn't count.
 
Sure, but not every case is so clear-cut.
 
What about SCUBA?
 
Or "taser"?
 
8:37 PM
Scuba would count since it has a definition outside of being an acronym, same with taxi.
I think your points are that I'm overthinking it lol
 
It doesn't, actually! SCUBA is "Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus".
We don't think of it as an acronym anymore, but that's what it comes from.
 
Common usage makes it a word.
 
> : an apparatus utilizing a portable supply of compressed gas (such as air) supplied at a regulated pressure and used for breathing while swimming underwater
I get it though
 
How about "You all know what a word is and don't play silly buggers with the rules"
 
Lol ^
 
8:38 PM
NASA: "a United States government agency that is responsible for the space program"
 
I like it :D
 
If you're posing an "is this possible" puzzle, then you need to have a precise definition of what counts as a solution. This means that the task should be doable (with instructions translated appropriately, of course) even for people who don't speak a word of English.
@ChrisCudmore No, I genuinely don't know what a word is.
Everyone has a different idea of what counts as a word.
Most cases will be clear-cut, but some of them will not.
 
I think restricting it to YAWL should be good enough.
My answers are defined in there
@Deusovi can you check the post now?
If that satisfies the requirements, I'd say let's clean up comments?
 
Sure, that seems good to me.
 
Thanks for the help!
 
8:53 PM
I think he found a loophole!
 
Maybe I should've kept the diagonal constraint.
Too late to change it now
Oh well, we live and we learn lol
Should also keep in mind that I think @Deusovi is an artificial intelligence; or at a minimum they have an eidetic memory.
2
I had to do what @Deusovi did too, but with different words.
After working on it for so long though, I grew weary lol
 
I'm not attempting it without a computer.
 
Feel free to try, but it disqualifies your answer lol
@Deusovi do you mind if I ask how you found your answer so fast?
The theory in the CodeGolf chat is that you created a DRAW/WARD border and searched for an A/R combo
 
Yeah, basically. AJAR/RAJA actually came to mind first, but I discarded it because the J seemed to not be very useful. Then I came up with WORD/DROW, then WARD/DRAW, and then that's all I needed. Took about a minute total.
 
Avi
Do you have eidetic memory tho
 
9:04 PM
nope, my memory is absolute garbage
 
Avi
sighs in not being able to remember what I ate for lunch
I feel this
who has the current CCCC?
 
@Deusovi I started with wolf/flow but it took me a while to think of that combo. Likely due to trying to make it a 3x3 first (which I still think is impossible at this point).
 
ATE / TOR / ERA
 
Avi
ooh a word square
 
ATE / TAR / ERA if you want slightly more common words
 
9:10 PM
TOR is common enough in crosswords. Doesn't seem obscure at all.
 
So I have to be honest though, the original constraints also included the diagonals, and words nor letters could be repeated.
 
oh that seems much more likely to be impossible
 
Tried for three days to find a working solution; nothing so I scaled up
 
vowels will kill you there
 
Then started removing constraints because I was having a hard time solving the 4x4
 
Avi
9:13 PM
MET \ EAT \ TTP
if you count The TTP Protocol
MET = meet past tense, eat = to eat, ttp = The TTP Protocol, TAT = tattoo, MAP = maximum a posteriori
 
all of them have to be reversible
and also that repeats letters
 
Avi
oof
 
...and MAP is a word by itself
 
Avi
i thought we were making a word square?
haven't seen their puzzle because
busy doing maximum likelihood estimates
oh my
 
yes, I was just pointing out that "maximum a posteriori" is not the first way I'd think to define MAP
 
Avi
9:17 PM
that does seem quite tough
@Deusovi agreed
what if you had a word square
but it was inception
so each index of the words in the word square
forms a separate valid word square
i.e. 3x3 of 3x3 word squares
and the top left of each 3x3 forms a valid 3x3
same with other squares (e.g., corners, sides, or centers)
sounds like an absolute nightmare to design
 
I'm actually working on a shifting square, so give me some time lol
It's a 5x5 grid to start and the result should be a 3x3 grid.
Like word ladder, in a word square.
 
Avi
oh god
enjoy
it's actually quite fun once you're done
it's just the getting there that takes time
 
@Deusovi do you mind if I format your answer?
 
go ahead!
 
Done, and thanks! :D
Also, @Deusovi, do you mind if I leave it unaccepted until tomorrow?
 
9:28 PM
fine by me
 
9:52 PM
For those interested, I took the word list from YAWL and broke it down into individual files based on word length. I have them available on GitHub as text files.
 
10:48 PM
when you just wake up and see Taco's puzzle already answered
 
11:19 PM
Scratch my previous statement; I'm doing a better one.
This time, with support for dot net users.
 
ok lol
like i literally just woke up and sees Deusovi again
 
@Stevo Lol yeah, Deusovi is pretty good at word related puzzles lol
 
i know (Deusovi answering my first enigmatic puzzle in 3 minutes)
waiting till October 13 to post my next puzzle....
 
The new grid (I think):
 
um...
 
11:32 PM
@Stevo this one is more like a word ladder within a word square :)
But, I'm taking my time with it :D
@Stevo Why 13 OCT?
 
ummm
the date is supposed to be a hint :)
so...
 
Ah lol
 
that kinda gave it away
 
Created a new repo for that breakdown of YAWL. It's now a full C# project with hard coded collections for words based on length (to improve performance). I'm working on making it a NuGet package for ease of access, but not as worried about that tonight.
@Stevo I'm not sure that it did lol
 
@Tacoタコス having no idea what she just said
 
11:43 PM
Lol it's a collection of code to make working with YAWL (yet another word list) easier (e.g. no need to load files).
Gives us developers an upper hand if we ever need to brute force something.
Turns out, there's just shy of 1 million words in YAWL lol
 
then figures out is was 1 million words in YAWL
 
🤣
Getting my headshot turned into anime :D
 

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