The Sphinx's Lair

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oAlt

00:27

@Sid nice :)

Jafe

i assume "nerd" would have been worth half a point

geez "leave" has a ton of two-word synonyms

oAlt

00:49

I'm wondering if the answer is something like "___ from" since the f for force is there, but then I don't know what "rom" would be doing

Jafe

yeah like "exit from", if Xitrom was a southern city

force can be g as well, of course

juicifer

01:35

@Jafe yk you could probably make that happen

Jafe

02:22

plant muh flag somewhere and establish the free city of xitrom?

Sphinx

03:14

Q: A simple cross-number puzzle # 2

Beginner puzzle This puzzle is intended to be suitable for people who are new to puzzle solving. Clarification: Both experienced solvers and new solvers are welcome to post solutions to this puzzle. Fill each square in this cross-number with a non-zero digit such that all of the conditions in th...

5 hours later…

oAlt

07:55

"Southern city" could also be a unit I guess

2 hours later…

msh210

09:40

C4 hint: Force does not per se clue precisely one letter.

Bubbler

clearly Force clues two letters ma

msh210

Maybe it does, pa.

Jafe

10:04

"with force" could maaybe be ff for fortissimo

oAlt

10:36

Or force clues two or more letters but honestly I'm finding the with force theory likelier

2 hours later…

Sphinx

12:21

Q: origami SNY t28

It's been a long time since I've posted an origami puzzle! Fold the shape into a rectangle such that the rectangle is 28 layers thick everywhere. The purple part is the puzzle. Although solutions are not required to be applicable in real life, using an actual sheet of paper is a great visualizat...

mathematics geometry paper-folding

juicifer

12:39

given the hint I'm wondering how safe it is to assume that "force" clues 0.9 < n < 1.1 letters

msh210

@juicifer (I meant precisely one as opposed to a "one" that can mean "one or more".)

Jafe

"force" could also be the name of a force like LAPD or the like

Stiv

13:07

I'm tying myself in knots with the fact we seem to have the ingredients for MAKE SURE without being able to spot a definition for it... Force=MAKE (as in 'impel') Southern=S, City=UR (crossword classic), the ultimate in adventurE = E. Plus it feels the ordering is kind of the opposite of what we need, as to what is 'following' what here...

msh210

@Jafe I bet it's NKVD. Seems like likely fodder.

Jafe

clearly

oAlt

13:29

@Stiv "the" ultimate can also be E but I don't know how make sure = adventure

oAlt

13:56

I just realized... that still does not address why "following" is there

PDT

gangster bug with a furious expression churns a puzzle. (7,9)

Jafe

crip tick cross word? :P

PDT

14:19

contents of hidden object’s back is skeletal in nature. (4)

juicifer

you could probably even go with "hidden object inside back (4)" to make it an &lit

PDT

First course of slimy fish and mince for starters? (4)

Is this against the rules I am not quite sure

Jafe

15:26

is it meant to be m+eal

msh210

@Jafe how does that work?

Jafe

15:47

eel for slimy fish somehow homophoned and m for mince for starters, dunno

PDT

16:40

Yeah that is right but is the ordering breaking a rule?

juicifer

17:24

yeah right now your wordplay is giving "EELM"

if you're gonna clue parts of the wordplay out of order, you need to give the solver a clue as to how to order them

so something like "slimy fish after mince for starters"

or even "with" would work for something simple like this

and you also can't just use a homophone without using an indicator like "I heard" or "aloud"

Sphinx

18:02

Q: Flipping DIP switches

About 30 years ago, I bought a memory extension card. At first, I was hesitating: there were 8 dip switches and no manual. Then the owner recalled that 4 switches indicated the memory on the motherboard and 4 switches configured the card. In the worst case, how many switches had I to flip? (0000 ...