The Sphinx's Lair

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Jafe

12:41 AM

cool!

CCCC: Artist and [... ... ...]mark 'Thailand' (4)

Jafe

1:02 AM

@msh210 i see, thanks! i think T for thailand is a pretty odd choice, you'd think it would naturally be TH since no other country starts with TH and many start with T

2 hours later…

oAlt

3:23 AM

@Jafe wha

oAlt

3:33 AM

Ah. @Jafe Sia (Australian music artist) + M (mark, the currency I think) = Siam (Thailand)

Jafe

that's right

Sphinx

3:55 AM

Q: none, none, Newland, Portage, Plano

Here is a list: "none, none, Newland, Portage, Plano" What is it? Are there any more members?

sequence

oAlt

4:13 AM

CCCC: Geological period in which one-half of human beings gets wiped away, and half of vast ocean gets covered in ice and fire (part 4) (11)

Jafe

the thanossic era

Sphinx

5:04 AM

Q: 125034 v2.2 / 2023-12-21 Q1(m=6)

I am developing a game that generates puzzles every day. It's my opinion that these puzzles are like Einstein's Riddle in 1D. Two weeks later, it will generate the following puzzle for players looking for a challenge: 2023-12-21 Q1(m=6) Rearrange the digits in ⟨1263045⟩ to meet the rules below. ...

mathematics

2 hours later…

Jafe

6:57 AM

(peo)PLE + I((va)ST + O?)CE + 'N' + (fir)E

not aware of O = ocean but maybe it's a thing

chambers says yes

oAlt

and merriam. Anyway yes @Jafe that's correct

Jafe

7:16 AM

CCCC: Footballer Eastwood, under the influence of alcoholic beverage, is coming last (7,6)

2 hours later…

Daniel S

8:51 AM

@Jafe CLINT ON PORT IS

Jafe

that's right

Daniel S

9:04 AM

CCCC: Footballer Eastwood and Day both active. (7, 8)

msh210

9:26 AM

@DanielS Clint on, Morris on

Daniel S

@msh210 Correct!

msh210

CCCC: A onetime resident of the Tower of London is said to saunter into the room (4,6)

Daniel S

@msh210 ANNE BOELYYN ~ AMBLE IN?

msh210

@DanielS precisely so

Daniel S

CCCC: A onetime resident of the Tower of London found advantage in battle command. (6, 7)

(previous answer should of course read ANNE BOLEYN)

msh210

9:44 AM

I've been watching Only Connect, and have come to the realization that I have absolutely no idea which American /æ/s Brits pronounce as /æ/ and which they pronounce as /ɑ/. (For example, I was mildly surprised to discover that can't and cant aren't homophones in British English.)

(And therefore Anne Boleyn and amble in may differ in the initial vowel for Brits, for all I know. But they're homophones for me, anyway.)

Daniel S

@msh210 In both cases I can point you to parts of Britain where they are homophones, but also parts of Britain where they are not.

msh210

Fair enough. I suppose I should say "in BBC English" rather than "in British English". :-)

Jafe

i can't imagine either anne or amble with the /ɑ/ but i'm probably more confused about that issue than either of you

i think in game of thrones they have words (like "bastard", iirc) that the upper-class characters pronounce with an /ɑ/ and working-class ones with an /æ/... again no idea how well that reflects actual british usage, if at all

surely the prisoner this time is WALTER RALEIGH somehow

msh210

That's what I was thinking, but I can't see how.

Jafe

something in WAR something... leigh doesn't mean command, does it?

msh210

9:53 AM

"Terra" is hiding nicely there, but I don't see the relevance.

Sphinx

10:22 AM

Q: Once upon a tile in Hollywood

Bon Venndredi, the three overlapping ellipses create seven disjoint regions. Each ellipse represents an as yet unknown category. Your job is to place the tiles in the regions and deduce the categories. One is already placed for you

knowledge wordplay lateral-thinking

1 hour later…

Jafe

11:40 AM

new hint posted on the clock puzzle, apparently that one was way underclued

Sphinx

12:16 PM

Q: Snailfence: Deciphering puzzle

The following text describes the method used to encipher it. Ssatnntloe-lree-itgaiima-t-odto-tl,hchaenisoa-a-oitnpsnefenf-p-coigtlxilon--letdnrhitC-iar-ae-reamralcppi-pttfp-dpt-ehrneWeaet-oet-nscewee-lgoeeuehbihrt--aescne-hroftia---lxeee.nnieanhbrh-sta-aca-mde-etce-oefn-nniarfeestt-x-p.sptl-prtt...

cipher

Sphinx

12:39 PM

Q: PSE Advent Calendar 2023 (Day 8): A Quilt for Santa

This puzzle is part of the Puzzling Stack Exchange Advent Calendar 2023. The accepted answer to this question will be awarded a bounty worth 50 reputation.< Previous Door Next Door > Mrs. Claus needs help with a gift for Santa. Every year, Santa complains that his legs get too cold when he flies ...

wordplay visual optimization seasonal packing

4 hours later…

GentlePurpleRain

4:56 PM

@Jafe Can you explain the [... ... ...] in the clue? It seems superfluous.

Jafe

it's the same as the previous clue with a part removed in the middle

GentlePurpleRain

Ok. So it's just to show how it resembles the other clue.

Jafe

yeah

GentlePurpleRain

5:14 PM

@DanielS PERK IN WAR BECK

Sphinx

5:35 PM

Q: Does this random sequence contain the number 1?

Randomly choose a number from 1 to 3 and call it $a_1$; Randomly choose a number from 1 to 3$a_1$ and call it $a_2$; Randomly choose a number from 1 to 3$a_2$ and call it $a_3$; $\cdots$ Repeat this process ad infinitum to get a sequence $s=a_1,a_2,a_3,...$ Question: does $s$ contain the number 1...