The Sphinx's Lair

Jafe

3:29 AM

ah, the c4 is indeed QUEER EYE, but it's a spoonerism of "ere Kwai" (ere = before)

@AncientSwordRage so yeah, this basically

Stevo

me talking in class be like

bye

AncientSwordRage

3:49 AM

@Jafe I was trying to think how 'aired' would remove an R, but what your said works much better

Jafe

4:08 AM

per msh210's comment i'm going to assume that's it and post the next one

CCCC: Rose's firm pair of cheeks enthralled member of parliament (7)

Ankoganit

4:42 AM

@Jafe CO(=firm)+MP+ASS= Rose (as in, compass rose)

Jafe

5:22 AM

@Ankoganit that's right

Stevo

ok school over

so

2 more days till first gold badge.

Ankoganit

5:39 AM

CCCC: Losing heart, Leslie, lead character in Parks and Recreation, hands some spirits (11)

msh210

@Jafe yep

Stevo

@msh210 uh, not to be rude or anything, but we kinda assumed it was correct :)

msh210

@Stevo I know. I was just confirming.

Stevo

@msh210 I know, I was just saying.

Sphinx

6:01 AM

0

Q: The commanding Riley

My prefix is a form of money. My suffix has electrical charge. My infix is your abbreviation. Altogether I command. What am I?

0

Q: Rigid regular nonagon from 21 Meccano strips

You are given 21 Meccano strips, where the distance between adjacent holes is 1 unit: 9 strips of length 10 (hence having 11 holes) 6 strips of length 18 (19 holes) 6 strips of length 19 (20 holes) By inserting nuts and bolts in the holes so as to form hinges between the strips, it is possible...

mathematics geometry construction

Stiv

7:01 AM

@Ankoganit LEPRECHAUNS = L_E + P_ + REC + HAUNS - nice surface!

Ankoganit

@Stiv correct, of course :)

(and thanks!)

Sphinx

9:19 AM

2

Q: PSE Advent Calendar 2021 (Day 2): A Christmas Tree for broke Nerds

This puzzle is part of the Puzzling StackExchange Advent Calendar 2021. The accepted answer to this question will be awarded a bounty worth 50 reputation.< Previous Door Next Door > Question: What message is hidden inside this tree? Text Version: * >>> >

computer-puzzle seasonal

Stevo

ahh, seeing 2 PSE advents in a day

M Oehm

Well, if you save the chocolate from 1 Dec, you get to eat two on 2 Dec.

Stevo

and I believe thats what happened.

M Oehm

(More common to open a door on a certain day and find that the chocolate has already gone, though.)

Stevo

@MOehm understand what you mean. Even still, Lukas's puzzle is getting me no ideas of how to solve.

guess I better get back to the Rudolph waiting to finish his gymnastics :)

M Oehm

10:34 AM

Hm. I may have found something in the tree. But what next?

Stevo

@MOehm hmmm, partial?

I've been trying to strain my eyes to find a pattern with the colours; now my eyes hurt.

I shall not sleep until the puzzle is solved!

starts drooping

M Oehm

@Stevo No, I'll wait a bit and see what other nerds come up with.

Stiv

10:51 AM

CCCC: Taking a case of brandy from a baby - literally so easy (5)

Stevo

11:05 AM

@MOehm oh.

M Oehm

@Stiv BASIC = B(rand)Y taken from BA(by) + SIC!

@Stevo Well, it's always nice to be able to solve a puzzle singlehandedly. I can't do that at the moment, but perhaps someone else can. Not everyone has had the opportunity to see that puzzle.

(And I think that's also the reasoning behind the "official" stance on partial posts.)

AncientSwordRage

@MOehm that was too wordplayorific for my brain this morning

M Oehm

11:23 AM

Really. I thought it was BASIC. (Ho, ho.)

Stiv

@MOehm Indeed. You can even throw both 'A's into the mix too if preference dictates :)

M Oehm

He! Didn't think of that. I alwyas like to make such trivial zero-sum eliminations first.

msh210

@Stiv nice surface :-)

Stiv

11:48 AM

I'd really hoped to find something else satisfying B_Y that a baby might be interested in (and that comes in cases) but I couldn't come up with anything quickly. I figured BRANDY was more desirable than BALONEY at least...

M Oehm

Burgundy. :)

CCCC: I recall great intros of instrumental riffs in composition of Led Zeppelin (9)

msh210

12:03 PM

d(I (_r _i gib)<)le* - very nice

^ @MOehm

M Oehm

@msh210 Yes. Thanks.

I've also seen that the bounty for yesterday's C4 metapuzzle is underway. Thanks for that, too.

Stiv

Ooh, that is very nice!

msh210

CCCC: Mashup entering a composition of Led Zeppelin (9)

Stiv

@msh210 TANGERINE = ENTERINGA*

msh210

@Stiv yep!

Stiv

12:31 PM

CCCC: I am spotted in Hollywood environs by mystery man after caper results in big disappointment (10)

Ankoganit

2:22 PM

@Stiv ANTIC+L(I'M)A+X

Stiv

@Ankoganit Spot on, nicely found :)

Sphinx

2:42 PM

0

Q: Help with math puzzle

My niece is having problems with the attached and I can't figure it out! I think I'm overcomplicating it. Thoughts?

mathematics

Ankoganit

CCCC: Rent Seinfeld regularly — it's mature (7)

Stiv

2:57 PM

@Ankoganit RIPENED = RIP (Rent) + _E_N_E_D

Anonymus 25

I was going to say, is ETENED a word?

@Stiv yep!

Nicely disguised

:)

No seriously, IS etened a word?

Stiv

3:09 PM

Nope

Anonymus 25

Because I thought the pattern started from "rent", totally would've gotten lost there

M Oehm

Well, even if that were true, your answer would have been only 6 letters long.

Anonymus 25

Yeah, I guess

Wolgwang

Hi!

Are sudoku type/grid deduction puzzles like this on-topic on PSE?

Lukas Rotter

Hello :) yes, absolutely

Wolgwang

3:22 PM

@LukasRotter Is this even solvable(find the missing symbols in place of I,II,III) without any context?

Lukas Rotter

@Wolgwang Not sure, where did you get it from? I assume the only rules are that symbols cannot repeat in rows & columns?

Stiv

CCCC: Pixar production crashes badly after heads of HR and sound editor all quit (4)

Wolgwang

@LukasRotter From a friend of a friend. I guess we have to assume that but I didn't get much success... I should spend more time on it before asking on PSE.

M Oehm

My first instinct would be to convert the symbols to digits and feed them to a sudoku solver.

juicifer

@Stiv CARS(- h_ s_ e_)*

Lukas Rotter

3:34 PM

yeah, I see no repeating symbols in the hypothetical 3x3 boxes.

Wolgwang

Oof! that is simpler than what I thought. Is it a $\triangle$ on I ?

M Oehm

Under both rules - sudoku and no repeated symbols in columns or rows - there would be a triangle where the I is.

Lukas Rotter

should be, yes. if its a sudoku then II should be a an asterisk. I guess the puzzle is really just about finding the 3 symbols immediately, not solving the whole thing

*under both rules, II should be...

Looking at it is really straining, though :)

Wolgwang

and trademark symbol in place of III?

Lukas Rotter

yep

Wolgwang

3:50 PM

Thanks :-)

Lukas Rotter

De nada :)

Wolgwang

I am unable to find Sphinx here. 🧐

M Oehm

It's the other way round -- she finds you!

Wolgwang

This is the main room of PSE?

M Oehm

4:16 PM

Yes.

Wolgwang

I am surprised to not find some cryptic room description.

Stiv

@juicifer That's the one :)

juicifer

4:43 PM

CCCC: Chucks rabbit (8)

AncientSwordRage

5:30 PM

@juicifer clearly it's BUGBUNNY™

juicifer

ha

M Oehm

@juicifer My guess is CONVERSE, ddef. (shoes & chatter)

AncientSwordRage

5:44 PM

@MOehm ahhh

msh210

@MOehm To converse is to chatter, but how is that "rabbit"?

M Oehm

@msh210 See verb 2 here. (I only know that term from crosswords.)

msh210

oh, right, I've seen that before

M Oehm

Apparently it' from Cockney rhyming slang, which I'm never very comfortable with. (But that's probably the raison d'être of rhyming slang: To make those who don't know it feel uncomfortable.)

5:55 PM

@MOehm yeah, apparently from rabbit and pork = talk

AncientSwordRage

(not vetted that videos, as I can't watch at work)

juicifer

@MOehm that is in fact it

did not know "rabbit" was cockney slang tho. it seems common enough that I feel like I've heard it before

and I am not the least bit cockney lol

M Oehm

CCCC: Place of worship for queen of many faces, dodging cunning ploy (9)

Stiv

6:45 PM

@MOehm Ooh, is this CATHEDRAL? Where Queen=CAT (as in Catherine) and the rest yields (-poly)HEDRAL, poly being PLOY*

msh210

6:58 PM

Queen is also a word for a cat iinm

M Oehm

@Stiv Yes, that's it. And what msh210 says is also correct (see no 5).

(That means queen = cat is a definition by example. Well, never mind.)

Stiv

Ah, that's a new one on me, the queen=cat (animal) one!

M Oehm

That's another thing I've learnd from crosswords and fifteensquared.

Sphinx

8:04 PM

0

Q: Camel-eon 8x8 tour

This question is inspired by the Chameleon 8x8 tour puzzle. A knight is a chess piece that moves by jumping to a square $\sqrt 5$ units from its location. (The more conventional way to put it is that it can move two steps horizontally and one step vertically, or two steps vertically and one step ...

chess knight-moves

Stiv

CCCC: Community college kid is confused: "Put in 10 grams... Produce 1000?!" (6,7)

Stiv

8:51 PM

(Warning: One of the definitions I've used here is a bit of a stretch, but it makes for something lovely, so...)

Sphinx

3

Q: PSE Advent Calendar 2021 (Day 3): Tentai Show

This puzzle is part of the Puzzling StackExchange Advent Calendar 2021. The accepted answer to this question will be awarded a bounty worth 50 reputation.< Previous Door Next Door > Divide the grid into "rooms" among grid lines so that each room is rotationally symmetrical and contains exactly o...

grid-deduction seasonal

Sphinx

11:22 PM

0

Q: A rectangle cut into two pieces, which build a square

A rectangle with side length a and b are in ratio $a : b = (n+1)^2 : n^2$, where n is a positive integer. Is it possible to cut each such rectangle into two pieces, which can be put together to build a square?

mathematics logical-deduction geometry

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