The Sphinx's Lair

oAlt

01:03

@juicifer that is correct

juicifer

01:25

CCCC: To play this game, you need use a stick to hit a white ball and loop around (4 or 4)

TakingNotes

@juicifer POOL or POLO

juicifer

precisely

TakingNotes

(sports involving hitting white balls, and LOOP* for both)

CCCC: Signal danger and call a Poe poem 'perverted' (4, 3, 5, 9)

oAlt

@juicifer nice

juicifer

thanks :)

msh210

07:27

A life-and-death situation is a signal danger, but I don't see any wordplay for it.

Also to signal (with a light) can be to trip the light (4,3,5), but I don't see anything to do with that, either. (In particular, I don't see anything "fantastic" in the clue.)

Jafe

07:51

highly suspicious that "danger and call a Poe poem" is 21 letters

msh210

slightly suspicious that "The Raven" is (3,5)

Jafe

08:13

hmm

a raven messenger might signal danger... but of course messenger is not perverted

(or might be, depending on the messenger)

nah, think i'm leaning back towards the huge anagram option

msh210

08:34

@Jafe yeah, but I can't seem to find any promising 9-letter words

(e.g.)

Jafe

08:50

yeah same problem here

Daniel S

09:25

@msh210 … as is the Bells

msh210

@DanielS true

call = RING

Jafe

ring the bells something?

msh210

something has 9 letters, so that's promising.

Daniel S

RING THE BELLS BACKWARDS apparently

msh210

ah nice find

oAlt

09:37

Ah, I got misled into thinking it was an anagram

msh210

10:14

yeah, it was very misling

TakingNotes

@DanielS you got it!

Daniel S

10:28

Thanks team!

CCCC: Football team opposing alcoholic drinks. (4, 4)

msh210

10:42

@DanielS Port v. ale :-D

Daniel S

11:12

@msh210 Absolutely! Over to you.

msh210

I'm not super-happy about this one, but

CCCC: Gasp-producing, maybe! (9)

Daniel S

@msh210 INSPIRING?

A sort of single ddef?

oAlt

11:28

@DanielS (&lit?)

TakingNotes

i think a single ddef is typically called a "standard crossword clue"

msh210

@oAlt @DanielS correct. (Something that's inspiring (wowing) can produce a gasp in others; and gasping is an example of inhaling=inspiring.)

Daniel S

CCCC: Football team are crap. (6)

oAlt

11:47

Nah, I was replying to Port Vale

In any case, I guess it is since Port FC exists and Port Vale is indeed a team opposing alcohol

Daniel S

@oAlt It wasn't my intent, and it turns out Port Vale fans are divided

oAlt

I see. (And I get it now, and I should have gotten that sooner... port is also an alcoholic drink)

Jafe

12:13

@DanielS ManU 're

Daniel S

@Jafe Correct!

oAlt

Ahh

Jafe

CCCC: Jafe is inside Lady Gaga regularly (5)

oAlt

@Jafe daily (regularly) = I (Jafe) inside LADY*

Jafe

that was fast

and correct, obv

oAlt

12:21

haha

CCCC: Unit of land area: Asian city-state (4)

Jafe

acre, triple def!

unit of land area, a city in israel, and brazilian state

oAlt

@Jafe correct!

Jafe

CCCC: Group of white cis musicians: "Transphobe disrupts my racial order!" (6,6)

oAlt

12:54

I don't know what this one is... it's a sign that I should stop procrastinating

msh210

13:11

@Jafe sideeye_chloe.png

2

Daniel S

13:22

@Jafe CARTER FAMILY = TERF in MYRACIAL*

Jafe

@DanielS that's right

Daniel S

CCCC: Football team once in Madrid. (6)

Jafe

eleven ddef

Daniel S

@Jafe Correct!

Jafe

hehee

oAlt

13:35

@DanielS nice find

Jafe

CCCC: Football team eaten by powerful hamster (6)

msh210

@DanielS wait… that's American football, isn't it?

(NTTAWWT)

Jafe

a soccer team is 11 players, no?

msh210

oh, is it? I don't know either sport well at all

I thought Am. football had 11 at a time, and soccer had fewer

(per team)

Jafe

soccer's 10 plus goaltender

i suppose "football team" could equally be 13, 15 or 18 if talking about rugby league/union or aussie rules

Daniel S

13:46

I think that as a noun eleven is only used for cricket and association football.

@Jafe FULHAM

(Hidden word)

Sphinx

0

Q: Chemistry Puzzle

Here's a little chemistry themed puzzle I made for a website a year or two back. You don't need to be a chemist or anything - I only took the basics in college Hint 1 (Probably good to know)

Jafe

that's right

Daniel S

CCCC: Football team as clued (“Net it!” as clued). (9, 6)

oAlt

Wha

Jafe

sorry wut

msh210

13:53

@DanielS ah

oAlt

Ah ok, @DanielS that's Newcastle United, which is new CASTLEUNITED* as clued, another reverse cryptic

Jafe

hah this is NEWCASTLE UNITED, reverse wordplay because "castle un... argh

Daniel S

@oAlt Correct!

oAlt

😭

Daniel S

@Jafe I feel for you

Jafe

13:56

really like the "as clued" as both fodder and indicator

that's it, i'm leaving my premier league teams tab open this time

msh210

@Jafe yeah

oAlt

CCCC: Football team is eating a city of Brazil (6)

Jafe

ManU's eating A = MANAUS

that's a lot of themes kept going lol

oAlt

@Jafe correct!

Haha

Jafe

CCCC: Football team from bottom (no first-rate league-topper) (7)

Daniel S

14:10

ARSE+ N + A + L

oAlt

@Jafe Arsenal = ars– nooo :p

Jafe

yup

ahah

Daniel S

CCCC: Letter for one eleven. (1, 11)

msh210

15:09

No idea what the solution is, but the clue and matching enumeration is very neat.

Well, there's a soccer team called Corinthians. So I wonder if this is I Corinthians (a letter) = one (I) + eleven (Corinthians, the team).

Daniel S

@msh210 Correct! It was going to be “one Brazilian football team”, but when I saw the enumeration I decided to run with the serendipity.

msh210

CCCC: Soccer team… it may run sideways/backwards (5)

oAlt

@msh210 ohh

msh210

@oAlt yeah, I saw the enumeration and "letter" and decided to look up the biblical epistle titles…

Daniel S

@msh210 BARCA

= A CRAB<

msh210

15:24

yes indeed

Daniel S

CCCC: Ball trainers a shining light for football team. (11)

oAlt

17:42

@DanielS Galatasaray (Sports Club) (football team) = GALA (ball) + TA'S (teaching assistants, which I guess may be trainers for the main teachers) + A + RAY (shining light). I got lucky when I speculated that maybe "ball" meant a party of some sort and then immediately thought of "gala".

Daniel S

18:04

@oAlt Correct!

oAlt

18:22

CCCC: Team leader without number (3)

I'm about to sleep so here's a short one

Daniel S

18:33

@oAlt T_ W/O

oAlt

@DanielS yep

Daniel S

CCCC: Football team Spanish love to back. (4)

oAlt

18:53

@DanielS Roma = AMOR< (Spanish "love") to back

Daniel S

@oAlt Yep! Sorry to keep you up.

oAlt

Haha it's fine

CCCC: Genuine, insane and free football club (4 6)

Daniel S

@oAlt REAL MAD+RID

oAlt

@DanielS ye :)

Daniel S

19:09

CCCC: Python expression denoting a new show form cryptically. (3, 3, 3, 9, 10, 9)

msh210

That's 36 letters before "cryptically", and the enumeration comes to 37. Just to save others from counting.

@DanielS "and now for something completely different" (Python expression) which is a cryptic clue for "and now for something"* = "denoting a N show form" cryptically. Not sure that I'd like "denoting a new show form cryptically" as a clue for it though (with "new" spelled out).

Daniel S

@msh210 Correct. I'm sorry the word "new" should not have appeared in the clue; looking at my notes it should have been "denoting a form shown cryptically." Note sure what happened in transcription

msh210

which is a shame, because that phrase did in fact denote a new show

msh210

19:32

CCCC: Python expression adds a P.S. in a prompt, oddly (6,6,2,2)

msh210

19:45

@DanielS I made it that in the archive. Tell me if you prefer otherwise. (Or edit it yourself, of course, if you have access to do so.)

Sphinx

20:49

0

Q: Find the numbers (can’t use digits other than 1)

Can you find two numbers composed only of ones which give the same result by addition and multiplication? Of course 1 and 11 are very near, but they will not quite do, because added they make 12, and multiplied they make only 11. To allow new users to solve this puzzle and earn reputation points...

mathematics

msh210

21:14

C4 hint: The answer is not PTOEPE SOADAS NP OP.

Gareth McCaughan

Apparently msh210 is a statistician or something of the kind.

import pandas as pd

(so far as I know, doing this doesn't in fact modify the Python prompt, alas)

msh210

@GarethMcCaughan & for completeness, what's the wordplay?

Gareth McCaughan

21:29

"oddly" as anagrind, obvs

msh210

yes sir

Gareth McCaughan

(and not, per your hint, indicating alternate letters)

msh210

@GarethMcCaughan indeed not

Gareth McCaughan

CCCC: "Nothing to use", a funny Python expression (6,7)

msh210

@GarethMcCaughan Gnothi seauton* — Pythian expression. I guess Python is another word for Pythian?

Gareth McCaughan

21:42

"Python" can mean a prophetic spirit that possesses a person, the Pythia at Delphi (where that inscription was supposedly found) being one example.

msh210

ahh

CCCC: Python expression in reverse (2)

(this should go quickly)

TakingNotes

@msh210 NI (expression from Monty Python) = IN<

msh210

@TakingNotes just so

TakingNotes

this next one is a bit absurd

CCCC: UN group operating from Zion, IL to Manila - netting a solution to a meta in ten earlier CCs? (13, 18, 9, 12)

msh210

22:05

For the record, TakingNotes's last ten C4 answers were, in order, UMBILICAL CORD, MMXXIII, DAY'S FINISH, PIE IN THE SKY, IS IT NEARLY OVER, READ BETWEEN THE LINES, PROJECT X, RED BLOOD CELLS, HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE, and RING THE BELLS BACKWARDS.

Of course, the first five of those were part of another sequence!

Stiv

22:57

Pleasingly, the first words of the last three spell RED HER RING...

2

Transcript for