The Sphinx's Lair

« first day (1169 days earlier) ← previous day next day → last day (2471 days later) »

humn

10:06 PM

... during a (relative) break in the action ...

CHICAGO MAKE ME SMILE EXTENDED VERSION

►

(yeah they shout lyrics more than sing them, but the music makes up for that)

Sp3000

@GarethMcCaughan NIN + [a]JA[r] ("get in before")

(I'm assuming it hasn't been actually solved yet - if that's true then props to M Oehm)

ffao

I thought of ajar, but that definition is so tricky

feelinferrety

@GentlePurpleRain I didn't say old. I said "older". I was thinking you might be in your 40s. To be fair, I am also nearly 30 and feel I am creeping up on "second puberty".

humn

! Thought I'd never get there. Looking back, thought I'd never get here.

feelinferrety

10:23 PM

Same, honestly.

I've always been much older than my age, and always a nihilist. I didn't figure on reaching 30.

humn

While you overshot originally!

I was a tired old cuss before my poetic muse showed me how to walk on others' desks. (that was 30 odd years ago by now)

Rubio

huh nice @Sp3000

feelinferrety

I've been a grumpy old man since I was a small child. :)

Sp3000

I take that to mean I didn't miss any solves during my perusal of the transcript and that I'm actually up then

humn

@feelinferrety , you've learned to step lightly.

Sp3000

10:28 PM

CCCC: Letter from old flame (2)

humn

How many letters are spelled with just 2?

Ay?

Ex.

Rubio

Ex, has to be

ffao

I don't even dare to think what a humn 4C would be like

Rubio

We're about to find out :)

humn

Nooo, that was an ccccident!

(really, someone else please take the baton)

feelinferrety

10:35 PM

Why is NIN erotic diarist?

humn

"Nails"? Loaded word.

Sp3000

Yeah the Nine Inch Nails are famous for eroticism, right? (actual reason: this person apparently)

humn

Okay, just to get it over with (answer online): Half of II (1)

stacksfiller

...I?

Alconja

You gotta tag it CC so it gets immortalised in the archive :)

stacksfiller

10:41 PM

Seems a little too easy

Alconja

(also you could make it "Half of III (1)", so that the last I is the def)

humn

I 1/ii

Sp3000

humn gunning for shortest answer :P

humn

Ay yi yi yi

Sphinx

Q: What is a Hopeful Word™?

In the spirit of the What is a Word™/Phrase™ series started by JLee, a special brand of Phrase™ and Word™ puzzles. If a word conforms to a special rule, I call it a Hopeful Word™. Use the examples below to find the rule. $$ % set Title text. (spaces around the text ARE important; do not rem...

feelinferrety

10:43 PM

@Sp3000 I clicked your link and thought, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO WIKIPEDIA before realizing it was a mobile link. I cannot fathom why anybody still uses separate sites. smh

stacksfiller

Wait so that was the CCCC? And was I right?

Alconja

I believe so

Sp3000

Oh right, I'm on mobile atm, auto redirects

stacksfiller

Okay then

just because I have to then

CCCC: Nothing left, with zero length (0)

feelinferrety

... um?

Sp3000

10:44 PM

o_O

ffao

these CCs are getting weirder by the second

humn

Time for a zero-length one.

ffao

though I'm not sure that one actually qualifies as a CC, because "with zero length" is neither definition nor wordplay

stacksfiller

It is a CC

humn

0=C

Alconja

10:46 PM

Well, I guess I'll formally answer (so as not to break this glorious chain):

ffao

go ahead and say the answer then Alconja

stacksfiller

^Emoticon (sad face with a halo)

Alconja

@ffao I just did

ffao

I don't see it

stacksfiller

You should say the reasoning behind it

Alconja

10:47 PM

I've been saying it almost constantly, only occasionally interrupted by my less coherent messages

stacksfiller

There is actually a wordplay half here

humn

^that was good, please undelete

feelinferrety

I can't. :|

I was seeing if it would work and it did not

humn

  , my favrite character

Gareth McCaughan

@Sp3000 Yup, you got it. Well done! (For context, I posted it immediately after I'd ninjaed Sconibulus with the answer to the previous C4, by maybe 10 seconds.)

Sp3000

10:49 PM

:P I see

feelinferrety

Never can tell what chat will choose to render

humn

I wasted hundreds of points just to see what renders in bounties.

Every turf seems to have its own rules.

feelinferrety

nope

<br />

nope

bah

humn

^anyone who ends a tag with / has learned the hard way

feelinferrety

It's a self-closing tag. It's just good code.

humn

10:54 PM

You'll heal.

feelinferrety

much like <img />

and I am a proponent of the leading space before the slash.

humn

Feels good, don't it? I learned the hard way too.

feelinferrety

How is it that even on a day when you're making a reasonable amount of sense, I still don't get you?

Is there a humn translator around here?

humn

Calling manshu? (middle of the night there at the moment)

feelinferrety

Humn: Serial Editor. Constantly waxing poetic.

humn

11:00 PM

C ≈ P, on a good day

(truly, i approximate my poetic muse on good days)

feelinferrety

Welp, I've got a stationary bike awaiting my bony butt.

humn

Ride on!

Gareth McCaughan

so @Alconja it seems like you owe us a new C4. Could we perhaps have one of positive integer length, please?

Alconja

(And here I was working on a negative one...) incoming... just trying to tidy the surface.

humn

Summer in the City - Lovin' Spoonful

►

(Does winter mean anything in Australia? Ever seen snow? Never been there, obviously.)

Sp3000

11:09 PM

Snow only really happens in the high-altitude places or if you go south enough - I personally haven't seen real falling snow

Alconja

CCCC: Abstinence is strange around woman (9)

humn

(I really appreciate the shared perspective. Signed, vicarious)

Alconja

@humn It's the middle of winter here. Today's forecast: Sunny and ~25°C (~77°F)

humn

Brrr! Not!

Sp3000

Out here it's currently 13 degrees Celcius, or about 55 Fahrenheit. Slight wind right now upping the chill factor

humn

11:16 PM

That's more like it.

stacksfiller

Well I guess because no one said the solution to mine and we moved on

it was supposed to be

"L" - "L" = ""

humn

Sp3000

(I swear I remember "abstinence" having an anagram but if so I can't recall it atm)

Alconja

@stacksfiller Sorry, didn't actually give the explanation (though I did get it - admittedly after working backwards from a dictionary attack on the enumeration)

stacksfiller

Hahaha, I need your dictionary

Mine doesn't even have an entry for

Sp3000

11:21 PM

(actually then "around" wouldn't make sense, ignore me)

Alconja

You just gotta learn to read between the lines

humn

... stop making me laugh! (For anyone keeping score:) time to go sweat out the afternoon walk and look like a laughing fool (not the first time)...