The Sphinx's Lair

Sphinx

00:25

0

Goal of Hidato: Fill in a grid with a series of consecutive numbers that connect each other horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Yesterday I posted New record for minimally clued 5x5 Hidato, asking for any 4-clue 5x5 Hidato with a unique solution. However, none of the answers (or trivial tr...

JoostVanPoppel

08:20

hi, got a question, maybe someone can answer. I want to post an image that leads to an online escape room. Am I allowed to do that? And if so, are there any conditions to do so? thanks!

msh210

09:00

C4 hint: The first letter is S.

oAlt

13:05

@msh210 reverse (up) rut (a habit) + curt (blunt) [with] e(pee)s around to get s(truc tur)e = structure, a building

msh210

@oAlt precisely so

@DanielS I didn't intend this red herring

Sphinx

0

Q: Derive (¬ψ→¬φ)→(φ→ψ) from ψ→((φ→(ψ→χ))→((¬χ→((¬ξ→τ)→φ))→(ξ→χ))) via MP

The formulas ψ→((φ→(ψ→χ))→((¬χ→((¬ξ→τ)→φ))→(ξ→χ))), and (¬ψ→¬φ)→(φ→ψ) are tautologies in terms of {→,¬}, namely in terms of "if, then" and "not". All of ψ,φ,χ,ξ,τ are placeholders for all propositional formulas. Propositional formulas are defined as follows: Given a set of variables {0,1,2,.....

mathematics logical-deduction strategy computer-puzzle algorithm

Jafe

what the

oAlt

13:33

CCCC: Bump up in operation with epees' tips around (4)

msh210

@Jafe it's Greek to me

Jafe

hehe

oAlt

@JoostVanPoppel I think the rules don't allow this unfortunately since puzzles should be contained wholly only in this site. I think the exceptions are the imgur mazes, which are just barely allowed since imgur is the image hosting website for PSE anyway. But as I don't have much time to type right now, and I am not really an expert on how this site works, I'm hoping others can answer better than me.

Jafe

fun fact: the finnish version of that idiom is "it's hebrew to me"

oAlt

I think I saw that on twitter before haha. On a post showing how EU countries say "it's all Greek to me" in their own language

Jafe

13:48

i wonder if there's a language that uses "it's english to me"

juicifer

re the c4: a SPIT< would certainly be a bump up in your operation if that operation was "roasting a chicken over an open fire using a fencing sword"

Jafe

and if that is indeed your operation, count me in

juicifer

lol

oAlt

@juicifer Hahahah

twitter.com/amazingmap/status/1678715279205978112

yeah, this is definitely where I saw it

juicifer

I love "I am french to the conversation"

Jafe

13:51

hahah

msh210

"I understand only railway station" is an interesting one

oAlt

yeah thats my favorite

Jafe

a more comprehensive version appears on omniglot

Sphinx

0

Q: Derive (ψ→φ)→((φ→χ)→(ψ→χ)) from ψ→((φ→(ψ→χ))→((¬χ→((¬ξ→τ)→φ))→(ξ→χ))) via MP

The formulas ψ→((φ→(ψ→χ))→((¬χ→((¬ξ→τ)→φ))→(ξ→χ))), and (ψ→φ)→((φ→χ)→(ψ→χ)) are tautologies in terms of {→,¬}, namely in terms of "if, then" and "not". All of ψ,φ,χ,ξ,τ are placeholders for all propositional formulas. Propositional formulas are defined as follows: Given a set of variables {0,...

mathematics logical-deduction strategy computer-puzzle algorithm

juicifer

oh god they're multiplying

oAlt

14:01

@Jafe (and wikipedia)

Jafe

it begins.

Daniel S

@oAlt If bump = NOSE we have ON< + E_S<

oAlt

@DanielS yes :)

thats correct

Jafe

oh carp i tried so many sortings of those 4 letters but not that one

juicifer

@Jafe so in english the expression is about greek, and in greek the expression is about chinese, and in mandarin the expression is about "bird language" ... now I have to know what birds call it when they can't understand something

oAlt

14:05

Loll

Daniel S

CCCC: Foiling border security. (7)

msh210

@DanielS fencing ddef

oAlt

oh wow nice find. and nice surface, I don't know how you keep making them

Daniel S

@msh210 Correct!

msh210

@oAlt ikr, he's good

juicifer

14:11

oh that's so obvious in hindsight

msh210

Never would've solved that but for the fencing context of the preceding clues.

CCCC: One hundred, in the end, make a racket (7)

juicifer

14:25

@msh210 c latter

msh210

14:36

@juicifer precisely so

juicifer

CCCC: These are on either side of humans (5)

msh210

h and s :-)

(&lit)

@juicifer

juicifer

yep!

msh210

CCCC: A frequent effect of Fidel Castro's! (4)

juicifer

@msh210 f..e..a..r.. &lit

nice one

msh210

14:41

yep yep

& thanks

juicifer

CCCC: Regular pattern in Gary, Ind.? (4)

msh210

grid (of streets, as alternating letters of Gary Ind) &lit

Sphinx

0

Q: Minimally clued 4x5 Hidato (4 clues)

Puzzle attribution: Me :) Background So as you might or might not know, I have been studying the minimum number of clues needed to force a unique solution in Hidato for variously sized boards. I recently had come up with a 5x5 Hidato with 5 clues, although it was found to have multiple solution...

logical-deduction grid-deduction no-computers

msh210

@juicifer forgot to ping you again

juicifer

@msh210 right on

msh210

14:51

CCCC: Landowner hiding wolf? (4)

Stiv

@msh210 DOWN (wolf) = _DOWN_

msh210

@Stiv yep!

Stiv

The question is, though... who's he hiding the wolf from?

msh210

The landowner in this case is Red Riding Hood's grandmother.

Landowner = a hiding wolf

Stiv

15:22

CCCC: In France, you left me with power, the Five Points of Calvinism, and a flower (5)

juicifer

@Stiv TU L I P

oAlt

It's– never mind :p

Stiv

@juicifer Quite so

juicifer

CCCC: In France, you followed me carrying, oddly, insect hair? That's naughty (11)

Daniel S

15:38

@juicifer M(I.s.

BOTHER!

Mischievous

= M(I.S.C.H.I.)E + VOUS

juicifer

yeah there you go

seems like that word aptly describes your enter/return key

Daniel S

CCCC: Setter's very bad in Scotland? That's naughty. (6)

oAlt

> pish: (vulgar, colloquial, chiefly Scotland) Of poor quality; very bad.

I'm + pish @DanielS

Daniel S

@oAlt That's it!

oAlt

15:55

Sorry for repeating, but

CCCC: Kanye goes to major US city with girl, with epees' tips around, to get some hairs (9)

juicifer

@oAlt e(ye la she)s

oAlt

@juicifer (Kan)ye thats correct

juicifer

lol

CCCC: Taylor's version of set (2)

Daniel S

16:44

@juicifer TV?

ddef

juicifer

@DanielS yep!

Daniel S

CCCC: PSE is down? That's monstrous. (8)

Sphinx

21:11

-1

Q: Riddle need help

Transformation I start as one but can be two,A protocol change do you have a clue? Once I split there is no going back,what am I,with my history unpacked

affix-riddle

Stiv

21:40

This same question has been asked repeatedly this year (10K user links, as all since deleted). We're really not here to help people get into Coinbase wallets... — Stiv 10 secs ago

@DanielS WEREWOLF (that's monstrous) = WE'RE (PSE is) + WOLF (down)

Ankoganit

ha, I like the WE'RE bit

Stiv

Once I realised this might be another reference to down=wolf, the rest followed with a smile :)

Daniel S

@Stiv Over to you

Stiv

Merci

Stiv

22:07

CCCC: The Fellowship of the Ring (maybe) took Boromir's head to the West Country (5)

Jafe

22:57

B_ + ENIN<

would have been funny if tolkien randomly included real place names among all the made-up ones

"you must travel past Rivendell, and through the forest of Mirkwood, to reach the town of Ipswich"

2

Stiv

23:22

@Jafe Correct :)

Jafe

CCCC: Cycling organisation for Dutch bankers (3,5)

Stiv

23:44

@Jafe ING GROUP (Dutch bankers) = the letters of GROUPING 'cycled' to INGGROUP

Jafe

yup!

Stiv

Glad to get that one speedily, because now I can post this...

CCCC: This series had many - FDR, three... It presents a milder variety (12,5)

Jafe

hmmm

FDR was a president and presidential is 12 letters...

presidential terms? although didn't FDR have 4

"it presents a milder" looks like it could be an anagram of that

probably need to dive into the archive...

checked that the anagram works, and that FDR had 4 terms (although he 4th ended prematurely with his death)

"term" can be used as a last-letter selection indicator so i wonder if we need to look at the last letters of previous answers

Transcript for