The Sphinx's Lair - 2020-02-14 (page 1 of 2)

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3:21 AM

0

Q: Can you express your answer to this riddle?

I’m a place where you can be In a form, I’m one of three Good or bad? Maybe What is it that is me?

riddle word wordplay rhyme poetry

3 hours later…

6:45 AM

1

Q: Old British Empire

Across 1. #1 in Waterloo: a famous Duke (10) 7. Material essential to hotel management (3) 8. In Cuba, three facing death for unauthorized entry (11) 9. Exotic free-diving spot (4) 10. About-faces in response to poetic forms (8) 13. Newcomer taking secret code of silence (6) ...

cryptic-crosswords

3 hours later…

9:27 AM

0

Q: Running Out of Digits, level 2

The challenge idea, and images are credited to Andrew. You initially have 100 of each digit from 0 to 9. This means you have 1000 digits in total. This count for each digit is shown in the table below. Now you start listing numbers, and each time you say a number you must remove the digits...

mathematics number

1 hour later…

10:48 AM

1

Q: What is a 9th K-word™?

This puzzle is in the spirit of the What is a Word/Phrase™ series started by JLee with a special brand of Phrase™ and Word™ puzzles. I also want to thank a math teacher who shared this riddle when I was in a high school. This riddle is a variation. For each number from 1 to 9, there exist cor...

riddle word wordplay word-property

4 hours later…

2:50 PM

0

Q: 12 players, 3 teams of 4 players, 3 games/Thursday night

Thursday night we play bocce. We have 12 players and pull pills to see what team you are on. You are on the same team for the night, and your team plays 2 games. A v B, A v C, B v C. I would like to schedule it so that each week you play with different players for a 10 week or 8 week time fram...

3:16 PM

@hexomino You are correct that that interpretation was a bit sketchy, but I couldn't find another way to make it fit :(

next time I need to find a better word

@Avi I mean the other lines fit okay, I just thought the third line jarred so it wouldn't be right. Carbon monoxide is not something that's good to have in your veins and when it is it usually bonds with haemoglobin to form COHb

i mean

it can be in your veins

and it doesn't like to be out once it's in

hence, CO poisoning

but I agree I played fast and loose with that one

I figured the rest would be enough to lock in the answer

... and it was :)

@Avi Yes, I am amazed, Ebe is clearly good at this

I wasn't expecting anybody to get it for a week

Ebe blew it out of the water xd

Dispense zero broken tires without first saying "Boomer!" (9)

METE + O + (RITES*) - S = METEORITE [def "Boomer!"]

meteorites go boom

fairly devious bar "first saying" as S_, not sure about that

Cooks with red stoppers (6) - B(R)AKES

Fashionably dressed returnee to hide until they finish (7) - TAN< + TIL + _Y

3:58 PM

Insufficiently dressed lad is chased by mad cyclist with a bit of nitroglycerin (8,4)

SC(A + N_)TILYC* + LAD = SCANTILY CLAD

@Deusovi Please shred meteorite, brakes, and scantily clad cleus :)

Cleusovi

Scattered dues left editor's missing instrument - DUESLEFT* - EDS = FLUTE

^ probably illegal

@Sphinx this is a dup

4:15 PM

hmm, that's unfortunate, but you do seem to be correct

Do I vote to close, or flag it?

Oh, I have no choice - flag redirects to vtc

... wait a second, you're a mod

4:58 PM

@Avi Once you have enough arbitrary internet points there's not much point in flagging since you can vtc, etc unless of course the flag is for something you have no superior power for

I'm not able to flag anymore

I can only VTC

flag button autochanged to VTC

@Avi Can't flag at all? interesting

cackles in Sudoku

I can flag, just not for closing, that goes to vtc

oh wait I'm writing a rhyme

5:00 PM

You can still cackle in sudoku while you rhyme

what rhymes with "ago" that is a synonym of "close"?

"close" or "well"

RhymeZone?

there are too many rhymes with "ago" :(

Although I disagree with some of what they consider a rhyme, but that's beside the point

Aha!

Gather round, if you want to know

5:03 PM

Aha doesn't rhyme with ago @avi

A tale of beasts from long ago

@dcfyj Lol

@dcfyj That is a gigantic pedantic statement requiring abatement; a cessation of sensation all over the nation may be caused by lies otherwise

@Avi Makes me think of the V speech...

@Avi "first saying" is not the same as "first of SAYING", yeah

everything else there seems fine

5:08 PM

EYS

for BRAKES, i really don't like "with" as a container indicator

no :(

Insufficiently dressed lad is chased by mad cyclist carrying a bit of nitroglycerin (8,4)

that should fix it

I just can't get the mental image out of my head :(

Apparently FASCIST still hasn't been figured out

it's probably RACIST -> FASCIST and we all are just missing it

FASCTHEIST - THE o;

THEIST is ?

Is there a word meaning "to concern" that contains THE?

5:12 PM

0

Q: Two operations, one rule

I'm making my own (esoteric) programming language, and after a while of using the syntax, me and my friend thought that this would make a great puzzle without context. These two are mathematical operations, no conditionals, loops, or anything else is involved. There's just something that stands ...

mathematics computer-puzzle computer-science

bother

I wouldn't equate that with "to concern"

I would be very concerned

if you bothered me

I'd be annoyed lol

honestly I feel like "bother" is "to cause concern in"

rather than concern directly

5:15 PM

bother: (of a circumstance or event) worry, disturb, or upset (someone)

So we're thinking of the same definition, but in different lights

still, bor isn't a part of Fascist

No, it's not lol

@Avi oh, that was the only thing I was planning to complain about there - looks like you fixed it! seems fine to me

(also, the mental image is hilarious)

5:33 PM

uh, wasn't there some DNA-based riddle sometime within the last months?

some START sequence or something

As a side note, looks like spyfall got frozen again lol, we definitely don't play that as much as we used to

This C4 is so sneaky I swear

Is "rife with" an indicator?

for what?

I can't think of anything it could mean off the top of my head

5:52 PM

0

Q: There's Still Good In You

My first Riley riddle. Enjoy. My Prefix - A+ Place where work to get done, Suffix might send. My Infix - Procedure that can be performed on a tom or some hen. My Suffix - Place to go with brevity, if wrong way limbs do bend. All Fixed - Feature not representing a faction of darkness,...

riddle word wordplay rhyme

Here's a clue I found:
FREESIA Sea rife with these odd flowers (7)

but that's just (SEA RIFE)* = FREESIA

ew

lol

where did you find this clue

wordplays.com

5:57 PM

"with these odd" is Bad

capital Bad ok

Sea rife with odd flowers?

Strange sea rife with petals (7)

ehh

pos mismatch

CMC: Use "Let it go" in a CC

This song might make Allah cry out loud from fervor (3,2,2)?

ALACRITY -> ALACRY

hence, "Let it go"

throws CC through the roof

okay time to make a rhyme

6:17 PM

Quick one:

Took to court, pleased, but let it go (4)

SU(-it)ED?

Yeah :)

Yeah I got one! lol

Nicely done! :D

Every so often I can come up with a good/decent CC, but I very rarely solve them

6:19 PM

My solving is weak compared to my construction too.

suited -> pleased?

That was my assumption

I'm more interested in construction, anyway.

My solving is weak compared to my construction as well xd

Yeah, in the sense of "to meet one's needs". It suited them/it pleased them.

I'm typoing in everything I write today... holy smokes.

6:21 PM

Yeah safe

in -> on

sense -> sensei

of -> if

to -> top

meet -> meat

Oh, SENSE(i) is a nice curtailment.

one's -> oni's

needs -> deeds

it -> bit

fit -> bit? :P

it -> fit

Why not fitbit? it's a thing lol

6:25 PM

suited safe (probably?)

@mbingo I'm making typos on this message

them -> hem

hem -> hen too no?

@Avi Yeah, I realized at "one's".

but apparently dcfyj didn't :(

I'm also coding at the same time lol

pleased -> leased

what are you coding

6:27 PM

C# winform

them -> the

C# hmm

I don't use it

afraid I'll be corrupted

into using extern methods shivers

Changing an old connection textbox to 4 separate (considerably more) user friendly textboxes

@Avi Haven't used any myself that I know of lol

@dcfyj Shouldn't that be like a 0 second task

Would be, if this program weren't massive and have class external references to the stupid textbox via a public string

.....!!!!

!LJ!JL!KJ!

6:30 PM

?

class external references via public string

you poor soul

I didn't write that part, inherited program

I know

I can tell

People stopped doing that in 1983

Sadly it's fairly embedded at this point so I can't just remove the references

r e f a c t o r

6:31 PM

@Avi Don't I wish that were true

@dcfyj I wish that were false

I could move the external reference to a public function in the class I suppose...

Depends what all needs to be referenced

For a C# program, this thing has a lot of global variables

1

Q: A special chemical compound with a touch of math

What do you get when mixing Aluminium, Neon, Nitrogen, Sulfur, Titanium, Vanadium, and two math ingredients $\lim_{n\to\infty}(1+\dfrac{1}{n})^n $ and (degree,?,seconds) and don't ask why. This mix exists only today! Find the mix.

mathematics enigmatic-puzzle chemistry

End end ends not end; not end ends end (4) <--- this was a genius C4 earlier

here's the breakdown:

wait no

I forget how to parse this

lol

You know the answer don't you?

6:35 PM

Yeah, it's BUTT

Not sure where any of those letters are coming from, but ok

not sure I remember the clue correctly

End end = halt's end -> T

ends not end = "comes after" debut, which is beginning (not end)

so it becomes debutt so far

"not end ends" = remove the ends of the word "end" = -d and -e

thus becoming BUTT, or [end] (definition)

Might have been End's end ends not end; not end ends end (4), which would be more accurate? I don't remember the clue precisely since it was a while back

Why not just search for it then?

I'm not good at searching chat history, that's why

I love those kind of wacky clues and appreciate the idea behind that one, but stuff like the indirect last latter (end end → T) and the awkward use of "not" make it much easier to write those and way harder to solve.

Super cool idea, though.

6:43 PM

Like I said, I don't remember the clue exactly

I know. But I assume that's the general gist?

yeah

There was another clue that was made of entirely anagram indicators

Haha, love that.

the answer was (ANAGRAM INDICATORS AND LITERALLY SO)* &lit.

That's awesome.

6:47 PM

@mbingo and @Avi:

Oct 22 '19 at 21:28, by PiIsNot3

CCCC: Not end ends not end, not end ends end (4)

aha

Not end = _T

ends "comes after"

not end = DEBUT

not end ends = - E_T

The only possible unfair part is “not end” -> DEBUT, but I’ve seen deletions combined with definitions before, so I’m pretty sure it’s OK

[end]

That's better, for sure. I still take issue with some of it, like "not end" = DEBUT (to me, "not end" means "continue").

not the end is the beginning or middle

6:48 PM

And here is the anagram indicators one:

Oct 28 '19 at 2:10, by Alconja

CCCC: Confused, arrange, sort, illicit, sad, and anomaly?! (7,10,3,9,2)

True, you're right.

I wish the third "not" were "no".

@mbingo It was mostly a challenge for myself, since I really liked how not, end, and ends could all literally mean anything in a CC

So I decided to go all out with them, and, well, you can see the results right there :)

oops, was verifying for myself that it actually was an anagram

Yeah, definitely. It's certainly reasonable.

I do love those kinds of constructions.

THIS FASCIST ONE, HOWEVER

hint please

6:53 PM

I’ll admit, there is one part of the clue that may not be an exact match (I wrote it at like 3 in the morning, so I wasn’t making sure that everything was clued properly)

But I’ll let you all be the judge once the answer is found

Anyway

CCCC hints: 1. The answer is FASCIST, as many people have found. To get started with figuring out the wordplay, “beginning” does not modify “concern.”

@HTM Actually more like three things that are not an exact match

Bleh, I should probably stop writing clues so late into the night

aha, so it's (arrange, sort, illicit, sad, and anomaly)*

confused is the indicator

angry sandwich

>;c

(sandwich + ae)* = CHAINSAWED!

7:12 PM

Mixed sandwich after earth's beginning is cut (10)?

@dcfyj That looks like an indirect anagram, unfortunately

true, hadn't thought of that, although it's not exactly unclear lol

Rotten, half-eaten sandwich was cut in half (10)?

@Avi You’d need the phrase “sandwich ae” in order to make the anagram work

EA sandwich

Destroy EA! Sandwich destruction with sharp tools!

wait no

7:18 PM

this is where sticking to one particular type of wordplay hurts you

That would have to be destroyed EA, no?

(EA + CASH + WIND)*

or EA'S something

hmmmmm

CHAINS + AWED

CHA IN S AWED

CHA SIN* AWED

CHASIN(-g)* A WED

Evil chasing a married [def]?

I don't see a way to get that definition to work

with the surface

and already the surface is pretty sketchy

Evil chasing us in advertisement

Evil chasing us in advertisement destroyed by chainsaw?

not sure chainsaw is even a verb

What do you think of:

Sliced bits of apple and egg in messy sandwich (10)

7:25 PM

that's pretty good I think

sounds fine to me

Sliced is kind of inexact, but...

Sliced is a good def

Oh. Never mind then :D

I think it's fine! Maybe a bit inexact but I've seen worse

7:26 PM

I think of a slice as more of a knife action. Chainsawing is more...

@Deusovi Yeah, but that's true of all but one clue you've ever seen.

Violent slicing

fair enough

000ish?

so exact

@mbingo I take it you haven't seen this clue before? "000ish (5)"

Deusovi came up with it

I haven't...

oh, that one

7:27 PM

Sliced -> cut might be better

that was a while ago, and I think my standards are stricter now

:(

we need more clues like that

@HTM Yeah, I think so too. But the adjective sense (i.e. "cut bits of apple...") isn't great. I know there's an ideal synonym out there though.

Lemme think on this 000ish thing.

No question mark, no exclamation mark...

@Deusovi Then how do you explain this:

Nov 24 '19 at 18:48, by Deusovi

CCCC: UK? (4)

!!?

7:29 PM

@mbingo it's (5) if you're interested in solving it

Yeah, @Avi included that. I'll let it simmer...

ah so they did

Or you can cheat and search it up

Ohhh, good call.

how do you even search chat

7:32 PM

top right

the box in the top right that says "search"

wow that user design

All I've got atm are things like -ESQUE (but how is that 000?). AITCH maybe (but also in no obvious way 000)...

Gareth McCaughan

Neither ESQUE nor AITCH.

ZEROS... NAUGHTS/KNOTS...

7:34 PM

He mistyped it, it's 000-ish

Is it invalid without that hyphen?

ah, yes, my bad

I’d say it’s optional

@mbingo don't remember, but everything is important in CC no?

@dcfyj When done right, yeah!

7:36 PM

@Deusovi wow the wordplay on that one lol. I never saw it, that's funny

@Deusovi You could make an equation one where there's a (#) equations (#), and only one of them is the actual length

I'd say it's probably fine without the "-"

@Avi huh?

You did 7 - (6 - 9) = 10, maybe (4)

yeah

where the (4) is the length

7:38 PM

enumerations are always at the end

change it up

;o

actually it's probably impossible xd

change it up? like, put the enumeration at the beginning?

put an enumeration at the beginning and at the end

as part of an equation

1 of those is multiplied, the other is the length of the answer

because (4)(5) = 20

frankly, if you succeed, you could make it a puzzle

With a disclaimer as to the trick

7:52 PM

can somebody please turn INNER into REI

I think it would be interesting to see

INNER or RINSE would probably work

huh?

what do you mean by "turn"

Jedi's inner circle loses (NN)

Jedi's inner circle rejects (NN)?

Jedi's inner circle rejects nation's extremists?

I don't know enough about Jedi lore to make this a thematic clue :x

Jedi's inner circle rejects Naboo's leader twice (3)

twice or completely would work there, I think

I(-nn)ER<

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Feb '2014

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