The Sphinx's Lair - 2020-08-18

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12:09 AM

I figured out my problem! also, I've been working on this for 4 hours now

@bobble yeah even though this one is 3 times smaller than the previous it will take around the same time to solve just because it’s much harder, took my parents about 7+ hours across two days :P

(do y'all mind the running commentary?)

Good luck! I’ll probs have to sleep so I’ll see if it’s solved in the mroning

time zones :(

And well I certainly don’t as I find it interesting to see where people are at :)

I may post a the making of tomorrow assuming it is solved as well just because this was a very different creation process and I think it’s both interesting and hopefully valuable to people

12:52 AM

@BeastlyGerbil, I'm done! Took me just under 6 hours, with two 15 min breaks

I'm not going to have time to explain until my tomorrow. I have other life stuff to do this evening

@bobble that looks correct but I’ll check tomorrow! Also I think I have like a computer solution (not handrawn :P ) which I could replace your image with so I can do that tmrw too?

Well done on solving though!

You could if you want to. I'm aware my touchpad writing is messy

No problem (literally the reason I only gave one number was because I didn’t want to have to put in all the numbers nice and neatly :P )

Right now I need to sleep! Well done on solving and I’ll be very interested in your reasoning when you can post it :)

1:28 AM

48

Q: Can you fold a square to make a square of one-fifth the area of the original square?

I love origami, and it recently gave me an idea for a very hard but beautiful puzzle. I'm really curious whether anyone here can solve it. So here's the puzzle. You are given a large perfectly square piece of paper with no marks on it whatsoever. Your task is to fold it into a square of exactly o...

mathematics visual geometry dissection

Wait... I'm sure I've seen this somewhere before.

I forgot if it was in a video or a website, but I'm confident that it's not my first time seeing it.

Gareth McCaughan

@msh210 Solution to your very nice CCCC is BUT + CHEST. (I had the BUT for ages and had thought of "mannish" in the sense of "manly" but hadn't put the two together...)

CCCC: "Smart and child-free"? Ugh (5)

1:46 AM

Did some searching and I never found nor remembered the website/video I saw it in, but here's a different website: math.stackexchange.com/questions/2518341/…

well, not same question, but same result

2 hours later…

3:45 AM

@GarethMcCaughan ugh indeed

1 hour later…

4:49 AM

@GarethMcCaughan yep! I'd thought of the somewhat fairer CCCC "Most manly, albeit with a breast" but thought it'd be too easy.

2 hours later…

7:00 AM

hmm, if a crossword has a gimmick where words are modified before entry to the grid, should the enumeration be given before or after modification?

e.g. if the wordplay gives STEVEN but you need to enter EVEN in the grid, is it better to clue it as (6) or (4)?

somehow (4) feels unfair but (6) gives away part of what you have to do

Often the enumerations aren't given at all in those puzzles.

aha, that could actually be the least confusing option

But I'd use the grid entry enumerations if I had to pick one, and add a note saying that the enumerations are for grid entries rather than clue answers.

also, generally in puzzles that withhold enumerations, there will still be (2 wds.) or (abbr.) tags after relevant clues

math.uchicago.edu/~wald/con19b.pdf here's an example - there's a lot of instructions here, but the gist of it is: the Down clues have alterations that could affect grid entry length, but the Across clues don't

so the Down enumerations are withheld

7:24 AM

i see, that seems like a good solution

2 hours later…

Gareth McCaughan

9:04 AM

Usually giving the pre-modification enumerations is more helpful and giving the post-enumeration ones is less helpful (because you can already more or less read those off from the grid). This sort of crossword is usually aiming to be difficult, so post-enumeration is (I think) much commoner, but you can totally do either. But you should definitely say explicitly in the rubric which.

9:16 AM

1

Q: A Mathematical Cipher [cIosed]

Closed. This question is off-topic. It is not currently accepting answers. 💡 Want to improve this question? Update the question so it's on-topic for Puzzling Stack Exchange. Closed 1 second ago. Improve this question I'm just learning to use $\mathrm{\LaTeX}$, and I need practice, so I made ...

cipher cryptic-clues

0

Q: You went to the casino again

You went to the casino again and saw a cardboard, with the following written on it: There are $\color{brown}{\text{dirt}}$ coins. Every time, you pay \$$10$. Then the coins will be thrown, and you get \$$n$ where $n$ is the number of coins that lands head. Then a guy told you,"It is expecte...

mathematics probability algebra

3 hours later…

voldemortswrath--inp.repl.co

12:14 PM

Seriously, it's so unfair. I already have +160 rep for the day... so I don't want to post anything just in case I go over...

@voldemortswrath--inp.repl.co just wait until tomorrow

It will also give you time to check your puzzles, try and improve them

It's better not to rush

The best puzzles will take days to make (generally speaking)

Gareth McCaughan

12:32 PM

If you are strongly motivated by gaining rep then you may also care about badges, in which case note that there are badges you get for rep-capping many times.

(But I approve of the Gerbil's counsel of patience.)

yeah, you can get into some pretty exclusive company by doing that :)

looks like deusovi's one day away from getting that one, by the way!

re: earlier, i ended up removing the enumerations and adding a note about it in the preamble... thanks for the comments, guys

12:51 PM

@jafe considering this is still 3rd on HNQ he may very well achieve that today then

2 hours later…

2:54 PM

I'm back! @BeastlyGerbil, I'll work on the explanation now.

@bobble great! I've check your solution and it's correct :)

And thanks for being careful with your pronouns for me. They/them is much better for me than he/him.

I remembered you saying so a while ago so I made sure :)

Just a note: one of the deductions you talk about in you "Making Of" is not valid. An arrowhead between two blues can give 1, 2, OR 9 (if the blues are 4 and 5)

Granted, I only realize this now as I write up my explanation

@jafe ooh, exciting! i hadn't checked in a while

@Voldemort'sWrath then maybe you should be posting puzzles less frequently, and putting more work into each individual puzzle? i'd say multiple in a day is almost always too much

3:08 PM

@bobble ah yes I should clarify it can only be 1 or 2 when there is a green as the centre :)

I don't want to add too many images but wording it well is quite difficult :P

...speaking of the Legendary badge, i apparently just got it!

7

Congrats! Thats probably a lot of lost rep :P

Not like he needs more!

i believe i do "need" about 2943 more at the moment

2

3:24 PM

I think I know someone who would disagree about that :P

@BeastlyGerbil, for my deductions I'm giving initial, greatest hits, and common types. That good?

Thatll be more than good!

My pictures don't line up with the greatest hits, though... :(

The explanation here is probably more for other users than anything else. For some puzzles it's good to see to make sure the person hasn't used a script or something, but here its almost showcasing your solution

I may be able to try and provide images if you need

3:54 PM

for logic puzzles, you often don't need to provide a full solution path, but it helps to provide the "key moments" in the solution

100% agreed

I generally like to see the starting point as well, if it's not an obvious one

4:20 PM

2

Q: A body part weird looking

Two consonants joined Two flags combined A body part weird looking An old European King Hint Consonants from an old European alphabet. A nine letter word.

4:35 PM

@BeastlyGerbil, explanation is up! Feel free to edit it if you see something wrong, but I have to do my actual work now

@bobble that looks like a fantastic answer!!!

Very thoroughly explained well done!!

And you also explained the super tricky bit (where you got stuck) very well too!

I have a feeling I'm going to hit the rep cap now that your question's on the HNQ

Possibly, but I can't see it being on that long as its bottom of the 3rd page as it stands :) although that answer deserves 20+ upvotes!

0

Q: Shifting a digit from right to left

A positive integer n (without leading zeros) has the property that shifting the rightmost digit of n to the left end doubles the number. Examples: 1->1, 1234->4123, 2020->202 What is the smallest n with this property?

logical-deduction number-theory

Gareth McCaughan

Congratulations to the legendary @Deusovi!

5

4:52 PM

thank you!

5:06 PM

I just came here to say that!

Congrats :-)

@BeastlyGerbil, could you please accept my answer?

Done :)

thanks. I figured you just forgot.

10

Q: The Mark of the Beast

Legend has it that the Mark of the Beast is the number 666. As a legendary puzzler yourself, you know that this is not the case. As your deductions have revealed, this is the Mark of the Beast: So, tell me. Where can you find this Beast?

enigmatic-puzzle visual

I figure if I post it when Deusovi is active, it'll die faster

@Avi I was trying to get it last night but couldnt figure it out

5:22 PM

I might post a hint in a few days

@Avi I saw it when it was originally posted, but didn't see what to do. The best I have is that it looked slightly more meaningful when it was mirrored.

:D looks like it's a stumper then

My initial thought was to mirror as well

That or flag semaphore which was very wrong

futhark imo

5:42 PM

Certainly looks similar to that

6:00 PM

1

Q: Another freak in the wall

I love my auntie. This may not sound like a particularly shocking statement to you, but that is only because you don't know her... Since I am a loving nephew, when she hinted that the walls of her living room were beginning to look a little dull, I offered to give them a fresh lick of paint while...

visual connect-wall

3

Q: Shifting a digit from right to left

A positive integer n (without leading zeros) has the property that shifting the rightmost digit of n to the left end doubles the number. Examples: 1->1, 1234->4123, 2020->202 What is the smallest n with this property?

logical-deduction number-theory

^ for this problem

isn't the smallest N 0

because 1 shift 1 = 1, so 0 shift 1 = 0

0 * 2 = 0

I guess the relevant question is: "Is 0 positive?"

according to math, no

ok, good. that makes the question a lot more interesting

1 hour later…

7:15 PM

1

Q: Cryptic Clue for "Time"

I've created a cryptic crossword clue for a short story I'm writing. It starts with the protagonist pondering the clue, the solution for which is "time". This is thematic, as is the fact that he can't work it out. The clue I came up with is this: The days were given out in reverse order (4) "Gi...

cryptic-clues puzzle-creation

Gareth McCaughan

7:29 PM

In some places it's common among mathematicians to use "positive" to mean what I would write as "non-negative". (I think it's standard usage in most of continental Europe.) When precision is really important, it's best to use symbols ("> 0" etc.) or language like "strictly positive" / "non-negative". For that particular puzzle, I'm sure the creator doesn't intend 0 to be the solution.

I've never heard of that, and I come from continental Europe

fairly sure that's the case in French-speaking places in particular - not sure if any other languages do it

@Deusovi Congrats! A great achievement.

Gareth McCaughan

Oh, maybe it's just France then.

^^^^^ In the answers to the question above, you can see a rare instance where I'm fussier about cryptic crossword clues than Deusovi :-).

(I mean, we are agreed that the clue in question won't quite do as it is. But I pick more nits than he does :-).)

anybody able to help me come up with a clue for Time

obviously inspired by recent question

thinking "waltz, perhaps" as the definition

Gareth McCaughan

7:43 PM

Some obvious remarks: it's an anagram of ITEM and of EMIT (which is actually TIME backwards) and MITE. It's Tim + E and Ti + Me (two musical notes; two pronouns, if you don't mind foreign languages) and I'M inside TE. It's probably easy to hide inside words of the form xxxxITE Mxxxxx.

pass on = remit?

Gareth McCaughan

er, ignore the last one, obviously

so, pass on waltz

giving the impression of not wanting to dance

Gareth McCaughan

you need some more words to indicate that you're removing the R and reversing

sure

Gareth McCaughan

7:44 PM

DEMIT is also a word.

and there are things like SEMITIC

somehow I'm not sure reversal is the best here

lemme go look up a list of indicators

Gareth McCaughan

ignoring my broken embedding thing where I brainlessly substituted ITEM for TIME, I think your best chance of that sort of clue would break as TI|ME. "Measure some spaghetti, meanwhile" or whatever.

Pass on twirling in waltz, perhaps

"you were its person of the year in 2006"

@Avi that has an extra R, no?

7:47 PM

correct

need to remove it, somehow

there are also single words like centimeter, sentiment etc

Ah yes, sentiment analysis

Gareth McCaughan

"This thing all things devours" -- spaghetti, meat, included (4) [don't like this very much, though, not least because it's too easy]

maybe a headless mime

finishes last

@GarethMcCaughan like it, but it's unsatisfying, I guess

"wait, i'm expecting ..."

7:56 PM

Godot

@jafe this is very nice too

maybe some wordplay with "signature" could be the definition, as well

"Wait, I'm expecting some kind of signature!" (4)

Not sure it makes sense to say a time signature is a "kind of signature"

and also, the "some" seems to not really apply there

some is hidden word indicator

yes

"X some" doesn't mean "some portion of X"

oh, right

"maybe 4/4"

8:03 PM

Maybe 4/4 prisoners shot? I'm executioner

bleh, and there goes the surface

"prisoners"?

prisoners of*

rip

"prisoners X" doesn't mean "some portion of X"

hm, that would be better but would break the surface more

right

"maybe 4/4 in..." works, but i'm not sure if it's fair to use 4/4 as an example of "time"

8:05 PM

"prisoners of" or "prisoners inside" would probably be the correct usages

yeah, that too

a piece can be in "4/4 time" but in a normal sentence you'd say time signature i think

yeah, you wouldn't say 4/4 is the time of the piece

I'd say the piece is 4/4

but that might just be me

yes, you could say that

but that wouldn't mean that 4/4 is the "time" of the piece

8:06 PM

yeah

fair

you could say it's waltz time

time has the meaning of "measure the duration" as well... so something like "clock" could be a valid def

19 mins ago, by Gareth McCaughan

ignoring my broken embedding thing where I brainlessly substituted ITEM for TIME, I think your best chance of that sort of clue would break as TI|ME. "Measure some spaghetti, meanwhile" or whatever.

maybe the beat?

ah, missed that

8:07 PM

do you know of a sentence where "beat" means "time"?

beat means "time signature" I guess

follow the beat, follow the time signature

That's pretty sketchy, and also "time signature" is not the same thing as "time"

I'd argue it's not that sketchy but it definitely isn't the same thing as "time", so that debate would be pointless

(sketchy because "time signature" refers to a pseudo-fraction of two numbers, while "beat" refers to an actual auditory pattern in the music)

keep time ~ follow the beat i think... not sure you'd say "follow the time"

8:10 PM

@Deusovi Fair, that distinction makes it precise

i don't think you'd say "follow the time signature" either? not a thing i've heard at least

not sure what that would mean

means

yeah

count the beats in each measure

and don't play badly :'(

the time in "keep time" is more akin to tempo i think

8:12 PM

well, for one, it already seems like "beat" and "time signature" are distinct - a song has a single time signature (usually), but many beats

what about "era"

sure, "era" would work as a def

come to think of it "tempo in Italian" could be a def for "time"... "tempo" is a chess term, and the italian is a chess opening

"in the time of the dinosaurs" / "in the era of the dinosaurs", off the top of my head, would mean the exact same thing

makes sense

8:13 PM

jail time ~ prison sentence -> time ~= sentence?

though not sure how else those might be equivalent in a sentence

chambers lists "a prison sentence" as one def for "time"

sure

alternatively, "What prisoners do" as a def

that's promising

Remit -> free?

although, I don't suppose that "free time" is a good expression to use in a clue for time.....

prisoners can be sentenced for a lifetime

What prisoners do to halve the maximum sentence? (4)

or What prisoners do, halving the maximum sentence? (4)

unfortunately, it seems too easy

because there's only one maximum sentence, and also because it might not even be true (I think I've heard of some people being sentenced for multiple lifetimes)

yeah i don't see "maximum penalty" being interpreted as "lifetime"... isn't there a death penalty in many parts of the world?

argh, forgot to transform one letter in my grid and it's back to square one... head, meet desk

sneak peek before it hits the trash: 1

8:38 PM

greek? or russian

english, greek and russian

ah, yes, Deusovi's favorite

oh well that's coming up, but with a new grid that's months away still :)

I mean

I have a sudoku ready

but I have to find at least 9 other puzzles

big meta?

8:40 PM

meta meta into meta meta, ideally

that is pretty meta

potentially meta meta into wordsearch to guide the meta meta

thus, I'm thinking of reducing it to meta into meta meta meta

a few more reductions and you can just post the sudoku!

lol

let that wait until the "mark of the beast" one is solved

and until we come up with a good "time" one

I'm thinking about "What prisoners do" and concealing "victim erotica"

"for victim empowerment"?

"Yeti, meet XYZ"

what prisoners do in joint, i'm explaining

word order sounds like yoda-speak, though

9:00 PM

After we returned with brothers, one follows secretly (3, 4) - US< + B ROS + A

sigh, that's not time

9:20 PM

0

Q: Groovy puzzle, man!

This is my first crack at making a Connect Wall puzzle - I designed it to hopefully be relatively straightforward and gentle, and an introduction to this type of puzzle for new solvers like me! To solve this puzzle, divide these words into four groups based on something they have in common. You'l...

10:01 PM

@GarethMcCaughan This probably isn't it, but maybe NOBLE? NOBLE = grand ≈ smart as in clothes (sort of), and it's CH-free {"NO! BLECH!" = ugh}. ("And" is then a definition-wordplay connector.)

Gareth McCaughan

10:33 PM

That is, indeed, not in any way what I had in mind :-).

10:46 PM

maybe "smart" as in "burn, ache, or hurt"

11:01 PM

1

Q: Share the field among 4 sons

A rich famer has a large estate in the shape of an irregular squarish octogon. In the middle he has a rectangular retention basin for storing water. He is getting old and discusses with his wife about passing the land to his children. - I want to split the land in four identical parts, one for ...

geometry dissection

11:52 PM

(-sl)ICK

now to figure out how child = steam locomotive

oh, but ICK is 3 letters - shame

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Aug '2018

The Sphinx's Lair

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