The Sphinx's Lair

@Khale_Kitha I don't know what you consider to count as brute-forcing a Vigenere cipher. I solved it, but by applying intelligence. The thing I'm sure I don't fully understand is why the second part of the key should be MONEY.

Khale_Kitha

barely shorter than answer

Gareth McCaughan

4:44 PM

(this is in reference to the Batman puzzle)

(which KK earlier implies I (1) brute-forced and (2) got lots of wrong)

stacksfiller

MIXED NUTS

Khale_Kitha

I didn't say you got lots of wrong, lol - I said you didn't interpret the first part as intended, but was close enough

Yeah, stacks

Gareth McCaughan

stacks?

stacksfiller

First half of my username

Gareth McCaughan

oh

dcfyj

4:47 PM

@GarethMcCaughan He got the cc right

Khale_Kitha

@Gareth as for the money part, your justification is correct, but the next line is also involved. It does require knowledge of the batman universe, however, to understand it.

Gareth McCaughan

5:32 PM

That would explain why I don't understand it, then :-).

(I have never read any Batman comic or seen any Batman movie.)

Sphinx

5:54 PM

1

Q: Welcome to Prison

Welcome to the prison! You're here to have fun, so get into your cell. Make sure to get into the right one, just check with the other inmates, to be sure. You will be in one of the 9 zones, north, east, south, west, north-east, north-west, south-east, south-west or central. ...

riddle

Sphinx

6:06 PM

2

Q: Insecurity to the Party

Lord Gray has invited you to the annual ball at his mansion. But being a socially awkward person, there's nothing you could dread more than being called upon to dance in a huge bright hall filled with all sorts of people. However, Lord Gray is a boisterous and insistent chap who won't take no for...

pattern wordplay language

Khale_Kitha

@GarethMcCaughan Understandable, though I admit I didn't expect it. Fair enough. The man's also a philanthropist and dear to the city due to his money which helped keep him afloat when his parents died.

Khale_Kitha

6:48 PM

(I now see that someone commented, as much)

Sp3000

9:10 PM

@dcfyj "indeed" was an automatic DE??????ED, and DE???CATED looked more likely than DE???DOGED. Then it was a matter of finding something for the last 3 chars.

Was distracted by the ! though because I thought it was &lit, but that didn't work out

@stacksfiller SOLOING - Os = SLING

Deusovi

Gah, I had that idea, but "worn on the arm, perhaps" didn't seem like a valid def for SLING.

Sp3000

It just seemed reasonably close enough - not sure how you'd describe it otherwise?

Deusovi

well, as "something worn on the arm", probably

Sp3000

Oh right, I thought your quibble was with "on"

Deusovi

nope, it's the part of speech mismatch

Sp3000

9:26 PM

I just sort of assumed stacksfiller didn't realise - might be wrong though

Deusovi

Nah, I think you're right.

Sp3000

Wanna take over? Since you had the idea anyway :P

Deusovi

Nah, you're up.

Sp3000

CCCC: Spin-spin-spin trimmed vegetables (7)

Deusovi

TUR(-n) + NIPS*

Sconibulus

9:33 PM

turn-ips

oh, you're quicker

Matt

so trimmed is doing double duty there?

trimming turn and adding nips

Deusovi

Nope, "nips" comes from "SPIN" anagrammed

Matt

oh

well

Deusovi

(* means anagram)

Sconibulus

spin->turn, spin-spin goes to NIPS, trimmed takes off the extra N

Matt

9:34 PM

I tried

would this be allowed:

spin trims vegetables (7) ?

Sconibulus

@Deusovi it's a reversal, not an anagram, but yeah

Matt

in this case trims would have to double up

Deusovi

No. No words can do double duty.

(Unless you're in an &lit, where ALL words do double-duty)

Matt

oooh

I see. I'll figure these out eventually

Sp3000

Intention was reversal yeah, but either works

Matt

9:36 PM

mostly via getting them wrong in various ways :P

Deusovi

You did read my guide, right?

reversal was probably better

Matt

more than once

but read and remember are vastly different

Deusovi

Fair enough! I know cryptics can be intimidating, and I'm sure my guide needs to be cleaned up in a few places too

(let me know if anything can be made more clear!)

CCCC: Eat the German stew (7)

Sp3000

CHOW + DER ("the" in German)

Deusovi

Yep!

Pretty simple, but I liked the surface reading

Sp3000

9:43 PM

Well since we're doing simple ones...

CCCC: Roughly three-ten for cable perhaps (8)

Matt

@Deusovi does your guide include double duty? I can't find it in there

Deusovi

Hm, I guess I didn't mention it. I thought it was implicitly disallowed, but it should definitely be in there.

Matt

I would have thought it's a sort of extra-clever addition

but for the experienced solver, it's probably more of a nuisance

Sp3000

The only time I can think of where double duty is remotely allowed is ellipsis-linked clues - in general it just reads awkwardly when you get it

Deusovi

Yeah, I didn't mention ellipsis-linked clues in my guide. That was another intentional thing to leave out.

Matt

9:49 PM

I feel like I almost get this C4, but something is wrong (probably with my reasoning)

Volatility

oh

Deusovi

Oh?

Matt

three-ten anagrams tether + en ... and tether matches cable ...

but the en kills that idea.

Volatility

Almost, it's ETHERNET*

Matt

d'oh

Deusovi

9:51 PM

ah, nice

Matt

dumb anagrammer I'm using didn't know that word :P

Deusovi

Alright Vol, your turn

Sp3000

I've run out of my good number-anagrams clues (it was just this and EXTENSION), so if anyone's wondering there's also EXTENSIVELY (eleven, sixty) and TEETHING (eight, ten) for common words

Deusovi

huh, cool

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