@GarethMcCaughan ahh I am not as au fait on my drugs

White powder company sings "CANE" (7)

Playing a bit with indicators today

@AncientSwordRage not my intention

@msh210 no worries, I'll keep thinking on it

I definitely felt like taking this statement on as a challenge, but so far it's proven true

Pretty sure the C4 ends in DIA (A line in DA(wn))

My thinking all revolves around it ending just in 'D' (the 'crack of dawn' implying its first letter). This would fit the general ending of words that are synonyms of 'tormented' also...

Something like HARASSED, where you have HARE (speed) 'inhaling' A+SS, all followed by D(-awn). If SS=line (e.g. via shipping, somehow) then this might work

(I've also been working with RATE and PACE and similar short word for 'speed' that end in an 'E' to give us the useful 'ED' ending...)

BOTHERED could maybe work if everything after "Speed" could clue THERE inside BO_D, maybe "At" inside (inhaling) "a line" and D as you said

How does 'speed'=BO though?

Shrugs

@Stiv harried for tormented?

Not enough letters unfortunately

@Stiv I mean as fodder in some way?

although I realise in my haste, that's the wrong part to fodderise based on your thinking

My thinking, as I don't think I'll get any further on my own, it was COCKCROW and line -> ROW (although, first issue not inhaled) leaving one of the C for speed( of light) and the rest... no idea

Maybe 'speed inhaling' is a slightly cryptic description of gasping?

line is abbreviated l. so "xxxx inhaling a line" could be "AL inside xxxx"

@Jafe that's the normal wordplay, sure

@msh210 HARROWED: HARE inhaling ROW + D(awn)

That looks good!

@Stiv you did a lot of the hard work, getting me HERE~HARE

:p

(I'll wait for confirmation)

@AncientSwordRage yes!

Nice!

CCCC: Army Ration: remove/squeeze end, before second mouthful, swallow (and in France, it comes in a tube?) (5)

@msh210 that's awesome, I loved the misdirection (that I thoroughly fell for) :D

@AncientSwordRage thanks

@AncientSwordRage METRO (it comes in a tube) = MRE remove squeezE before mOuthful; swallow ET

Dangit

argh that's exactly what i was trying to make work

didn't know about MRE

@msh210 thats it

@Jafe it's a slightly niche acronym (Meal Ready to Eat)

CCCC: Perhaps some hens and does caught victims at the start (5)

hen can be a female bird other than chicken too, right? i think this is V_ in DOES = DOVES

@Jafe nice!

ooh, a ripple effect!

@Jafe yep!

CCCC: There's oil spilt all over New England footballers (5,5)

"spilt" still looks weird but i'm forcing myself to use it

@Jafe recoils in BrE

spilt's spelt weird

@msh210 Rye would you say that?

@AncientSwordRage because I barley ever have seen it spelt that way

@msh210 not using the right suffix 'ere gets my 'oat

PUNS

@Anonymus25 yes, whea try

Very apeeling

Oh no, what have you done

@msh210 it's teff to think of anymore

@Jafe three lio(n)s*

@msh210 that's right

(had to Google English national team to learn it was called that)

@msh210 New England REALLY through me

CCCC: TV (a/k/a telly) I played loudly (11)

ahhhh I mean threw

@msh210 TALKATIVELY*

Dangit I just found that

@ChrisCudmore yep!

CCCC: Banner makes strange rat do more. (9)

MODERATOR*

Yup

hehe

heh nice

I should do some more work-word before I get to involved in making more cryptic-word

This catacomb, I care initially (7)

Best clue so far that I have made

@Anonymus25 CRYPT+I+C_

Took a look at the thesaurus

Yep! Not a C4, but fun

Maybe "cemented" instead of "care"

"this catacomb, I care initially" is not something anyone would ever say, I don't think, whereas "this catacomb, I cemented initially" is

or closed

yeah

Takes notes

@ChrisCudmore cf.

@msh210 Cool!

Gonna do 4 edits for [rubiks-cube] today since two of the ones at the top of the list are dupes.

Does anyone think we should create a terminology tag?

I've seen a few examples of where it would be useful, though it's not very common from my understanding.

When would it be used?

For example, this question I'm currently editing asks if a specific algorithm has a name which fits that type of tag.

Can you picture an occasion when someone might wish to see lots of puzzles requesting correct terminology?

(Since tagging is for filtering purposes, largely...)

Yes, though they'd be quite infrequent (in my opinion).

The closest thing we have is puzzle-identification, which asks for a specific type of terminology: puzzle names

Have to say, I'm not really seeing it... If someone wants to ask about Rubik's cube terminology, for example, they are probably most likely to get an answer by tagging it with [rubiks-cube] rather than [terminology]. Ditto for cryptic crosswords, or grid deduction puzzles. I can't think of a situation where you would ever use it on its own, without already having another tagged puzzle type for reference.

[terminology] seems more of a meta-tag than a topic tag

@Stiv I'm thinking of it from the perspective of looking for questions that are requesting terminology, no specific puzzle type, just terminology requests.

However, I will say I don't see a lot of benefit; but since I thought of it, I wanted to get the opinion of others. :)

Would anyone here add solvability to this question?

I'm on the fence

It's looking for detecting solvability, not if a specific configuration is solvable so my instinct says no.

But it deals with the solvability of a cube, so I'm on the fence.

That's all this is, of course - my opinion (I can't speak for others) - and I agree with what Chris says above: it does feel a bit of a 'meta tag' rather than a topic in its own right. [puzzle-identification] I get, because in those instances you don't have a lot to go on; but [terminology] as described above really sits inside another more pertinent tag that you could use, depending on the type of puzzle you're inquiring about.

(And if you don't know the type of puzzle itself, we're back to [puzzle-identification] instead!)

Anyway, never any harm in asking!

@Stiv nope, I'd prefer to get the idea out there at least :) doesn't hurt if the answer is no.

I can't think of a single day where I said to myself (I wonder how many questions we have requesting terminology). :)

I gotta head out for now, back later!

CCCC: Backstab Gin Rummy pal, missing the opening to call for help when, perhaps, a joker is spotted? (3-6)

@AncientSwordRage BAT-SIGNAL = STAB< + GIN* + (-p)AL (def=call for help when, perhaps, a joker is spotted?)

@Stiv exactly

Cool. I played with (-sta)B for a while, before eventually realising what 'back' was meant to imply here :)

@Stiv I'm hoping it wasn't too unfair

No, not at all.

I've seen wordplay used like that before

(plenty of times)

It's probably not Ximenean, but...

Good to know, I have less Ximenean things ... Planned. Best to test the waters first.

CCCC: Try one's hardest to assist crook past stern guards (4,4,9)

Was browsing dad jokes when I came across this gem:

"My wife always complains that I have no sense of direction, so I packed up my stuff left away and right!"

How is this not opinion-based? It's literally asking for an opinion on best scramble method. Answers end up being recommendations for methods/software the answerer personally likes.

@bobble in theory "most random way" might be if enforced ?

As the answers show, people are interpreting it to mean "share your favorite scramble method!" and everyone provides why they like their method and why it's random "enough"

@bobble I voted that as P.O.B as soon as I saw it yesterday.

3 people disagree

@Avi Oh, I really wish he had packed down his stuff...

Leave Open reviews?

@Stiv BEND (assist crook?) + OVER (past) + BACK (stern) + WARDS (guards); (def: try one's hardest)

@ChrisCudmore 3. I don't understand. Was hoping someone in chat could illuminate possible reasoning.

@samm82 "assist" is part of the definition methinks. bend=crook

Oooh that tracks

I'm of the opinion that the question is only on topic if it asked for an authoritative scrambling method from the ANSI standard on Rubik's Cube Scrambling or other competent body. And even then, it's a LMGTFY question

I wasn't sure if "to assist" was a valid connector and I was pretty sure it wasn't, but being part of the def makes a lot more sense

and merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crook gives BEND first up.

Have we accepted any particular Dictionary/Thesaurus as canon for the CCCC?

I don't think so - I think as long as it seems like a reasonable definition/synonym

@Stiv So I guess this becomes BEND (crook) + OVER (past) + BACK (stern) + WARDS (guards); (def: try one's hardest to assist)

@samm82 That's correct :)

Alright, let's see how fair this next one is....

CCCC: Greek character is modest and a little sentimental (5 or 5)

with (5 or 5) meaning that there are two solutions - I think that's the right syntax for that

@Stiv brilliant!

"My wife always complains that I have no sense of direction, so I went up the staircase, packed down my stuff left away and right!"

trying to fit in "up" but not sure it worked as well

maybe just stick to "My wife always complains that I have no sense of direction, so I packed down my stuff left away and right!"

what about "after I calmed up"?

"I caught my wife doing food colouring shots. I think she died a little inside"

"I couldn't calm up after my wife complained that I have no sense of direction, so I packed down my stuff left away and right!"

@samm82 nice one

@ChrisCudmore I dyed laughing at this

There it is! Love it

@Avi It's better spoken.

of course

@ChrisCudmore made a pun on "Cudmore" but not sure if you're okay with people punning on parts of your name. would you like to hear it?

Go ahead.

One of Chris' friends: "His last name is Cudmore, but he wants to be your bud more."

fairly harmless but I just wanted to check beforehand

I've heard worse.

good to hear I'm not the worst of the batch :P

@bobble you just get it sometimes where people do bad reviews because it's something they 'like'

For which question

Maybe worth going to meta?

@samm82 MU + SHY is one solution.

ooh nice

The same construction gives nushy, xishy, pishy as possibilities, but none are words

somehow I always forget what pithy means x.x

@ChrisCudmore Yup! Now if someone else gets the other solution I'm going to have to decide who goes next in the chain lol

@Avi if you follow the chat chain there's a link somewhere

@bobble @avi -- this is the start of the discussion.

fair

feels like it should be locked, not closed

like, it has historical significance

but it shouldn't have new answers because it doesn't fit the format of the site

A "historical significance" lock is applied only to off-topic questions, so saying it should get that also means you're saying it should be closed

It's meant to apply when a question is off-topic but deletion should be prevented due to useful answers

this to be precise

@Avi locked questions are closed more or less

Also, it should be "The post is stellar, in spite of its off-topic nature"" which I'd argue it's not

@samm82 PAR = average sort of means modest, in the "a modest apartment" sense. "a" = one = I. "little sentimental" = its first letter, S. So you get PARIS, a Greek character. I suspect this is not the intended solution.

A lovely idea, but I think the PAR part is too much of a stretch.

Can confirm, this is not the intended solution

@GarethMcCaughan Yeah, me too.

i think one solution is MU+SHY (a little sentimental)

(Sorry Jafe - that one's gone!) :)

oops sorry, missed that!

The other one is really stumping me.

Whoever gets it deserves the win.

It could maybe be MIDAS = MID (modest) + A + S(-entimental)?

Looks good.

@Stiv @samm82

(if MID=modest is considered fair)

If not, then the AS ending might be something to work with

If he's doing a Schroedinger, we have to allow a little latitude.

Not quite what I was going for, although it fits rather well

Fair enough :)

dry can mean "lacking embellishment", so maybe DRY+ A + S_?

a lot of options for greeks ending in S

i wonder if the "is" is important since it's not used in the first solution

@Jafe Once again, not quite what I had in mind....