How does the PF Username Game work?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a forum game where participants create and solve cryptic clues related to the usernames of various members on Physics Forums. The game involves different levels of difficulty and employs various cryptic puzzle techniques, including anagrams, hidden clues, and wordplay. Participants share their guesses and explanations for the clues presented.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant outlines the rules of the game, explaining the types of clues that will be used and the format for answering.
  • Several participants express excitement about the game and share their experiences with cryptic puzzles.
  • Clues are presented, with some participants attempting to solve them and providing explanations for their answers.
  • Some participants suggest potential answers to the clues, while others express uncertainty or difficulty in solving them.
  • Participants correct and refine each other's guesses, discussing the reasoning behind their interpretations of the clues.
  • New clues are introduced throughout the discussion, with varying levels of difficulty noted by participants.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion features multiple competing views as participants propose different answers to the clues. There is no consensus on all clues, as some remain unsolved or are interpreted differently by various participants.

Contextual Notes

Some clues are noted to be particularly challenging, and participants mention the possibility of using external resources to assist in solving them. There are indications that some clues may have been repeated from previous rounds, but this is not confirmed.

Who May Find This Useful

Participants interested in cryptic puzzles, word games, and community engagement within the Physics Forums may find this discussion enjoyable and engaging.

  • #31
Kurdt said:
7 Am I hot inside?
That wins you the best mih (other than the real one, she knew the answer too) award!
 
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  • #32
Gokul43201 said:
Do you have an explanation?

My answer probably isn't cryptic enough, but: chromium has chemical symbol cr, then 'is too' makes cristo.
 
  • #33
Is 18 Danger? Just another anagram.

And is 17 Artman? M and N = MAN and the art part of part? :-p
 
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  • #34
18 is Andre: 'longer DNA' is ErDNA, which when read backwards is Andre.

(It's quite obvious I don't know what ErDNA is but it at least exists, as per google!)
 
  • #35
I think you have it cristo. I was trying to think of an andrew somebody and I totally forgot andre :redface:

Sorry Andre.
 
  • #36
14. Borek. Mendeleev's Scandium is Ekaboron and lacking AN O it is an anagram of Borek.
 
  • #37
Gokul43201 said:
10. A way hot tum

That will be red hot belly. 98.

And I got myself, but Kurdt beat me.
 
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  • #38
cristo said:
My answer probably isn't cryptic enough, but: chromium has chemical symbol cr, then 'is too' makes cristo.
Close enough. You're also supposed to make it lose an O, so that cristoo becomes cristo.

Kurdt said:
And is 17 Artman? M and N = MAN and the art part of part? :-p
Close, but it's simpler even than that. Take another look at it.

cristo said:
18 is Andre: 'longer DNA' is ErDNA, which when read backwards is Andre.

(It's quite obvious I don't know what ErDNA is but it at least exists, as per google!)
Correct.

Kurdt said:
14. Borek. Mendeleev's Scandium is Ekaboron and lacking AN O it is an anagram of Borek.
Good job.

Borek said:
That will be red hot belly. 98.

And I got myself, but Kurdt beat me.
Yes, it's Redbelly.

Okay, let me post a summary and more clues...
 
  • #39
21. Same clue as 10, strangely

22. Eta prime?

23. Is my junior New York Democrat insane?

24. kcascti crmnfe

25. Other AZ Sen. follows chariot racer's dad?
 
  • #40
neutrino, you are back in the game now, with a new limit of 3 solves.
 
  • #41
HOW THINGS STAND (clues in bold are as yet unsolved):

1. Dangerous brakemen. - solved by neutrino
Answer = Berkeman: anagram of "brakemen"

2. Be a moron, silly! - solved by neutrino
Answer = Moonbear: anagram of "be a moron"

3. Mosul chai. - solved by MIH
Answer = kurdt: Mosul is a town in Kurdistan, chai = tea -> T, kurd + t = kurdt

4. Cut SONAR, then put it back together. - solved by fuzzyfelt
Answer = Astronuc: anagram of "cut sonar"

5. Recall the tropical herb. - solved by neutrino
Answer = lisab: trpoical herb = basil, reverse it to get lisab

6. A weather vane scholar, in hiding - solved by neutrino
Answer = vanesch: hidden clue vane scholar

7. Am I hot inside? - solved by kurdt
Answer = MIH: Am I hot (hidden clue)

8. AP: Prez. screwed up! - solved by neutrino
Answer = Zapper: anagram of "AP Prez"

9. The Terrible ruler of the ocean, we hear. - solved by MIH
Answer = Ivan Seeking: Ivan is from Ivan the Terrible (first Tsar of Russia), and "ruler of the ocean" = sea king, which sounds like (hence, "we hear") Seeking

10. A way hot tum - solved by Borek
Answer = Redbelly: "way hot", as in red hot, and "tum" = tummy = belly ( I know it's kinda lame, but's its part of a set-up)

11. My God! Be physical, but in shorts. - solved by Borek
Answer = mgb phys: "short" forms of "My God", "be" and "physical" are MG (like in OMG), B and phys

12. They whip it good, but not half grand - solved by fuzzyfelt
Answer = Evo: "Whip it" is a single by the band Devo, half grand = D in Roman numerals, Devo - D = Evo

13. Living under the lighthouse, she was a martyr to logic. - solved by fuzzyfelt
Answer = hypatia: direct clue; look up Hypatia (alt. Hyapatia) of Alexandria, if you don't know the story

14. Somehow, Mendeleev's Scandium is lacking an O. - solved by kurdt
Answer = Borek: Mendeleev predicted the existence of the element Scandium, and named it Ekaboron; ekaboron - "an o" = ekbor = Borek, after unscrambling

15. Chromium is too! - solved by cristo
Answer = cristo: Chromium = Cr, so "Cr is too". Is what too? Is lacking an O, naturally. So, cristoo - o = cristo

16. "No, not any!" he rages.

17. In part, M and N are the middle letters.

18. In longer DNA, he is transcribed backwards. - solved by cristo
Answer = Andre: in "longer dna" is erdna, which reversed, makes andre

19. Antonius, who wanted your aures.

20. It is not beneath him to interact like -(1/r)e-mr

21. Same clue as 10, strangely

22. Eta prime?

23. Is my junior New York Democrat insane? - solved by neutrino
Answer = jimmysnyder: anagram of is+my+jr+NY+dem

24. kcascti crmnfe

25. Other AZ Sen. follows chariot racer's dad?
 
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  • #42
Gokul43201 said:
neutrino, you are back in the game now, with a new limit of 3 solves.

Thank you, sir.

5. lisab. Recalling, i.e., reversing basil - the tropical herb.
23. jimmysnyder: anagram of is my jr ny dem. (Nice way of including "current affairs" :) )
 
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  • #43
Gokul43201 said:
11. My God! Be physical, but in shorts.

Terribly obvious.

My God! Be physical
 
  • #44
Oll korrect! My previous update has been re-updated to reflect the changes.
 
  • #45
Gokul43201 said:
22. Eta prime?

That's one of the mesons. Chi? But honestly, I am stabbing in the dark.
 
  • #46
Borek said:
That's one of the mesons. Chi? But honestly, I am stabbing in the dark.
Good stab. Eta prime is sometimes called the Chi meson.

Incidentally, Chi is not the only meson in PF.
 
  • #47
24. Chemistree? Bad guess I think.
 
  • #48
Do you have an explanation?

I think you're on the right track - you just have to look more carefully.
 
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  • #49
Gokul43201 said:
20. It is not beneath him to interact like -(1/r)e-mr

LowlyPion

Lowly from "not beneath him" and Pion from the Yukawa interaction -(1/r)e-mr.
 
  • #50
26. Heels broke in the evening - returned.

27. Eetu, for a Fin.

28. First course at the the atomic cafe?

29. μα'θημα: know front to back.

30. Meh ... cooties is gone, somehow.
 
  • #51
George Jones said:
LowlyPion

Lowly from "not beneath him" and Pion from the Yukawa interaction -(1/r)e-mr.
Right ho, George.
 
  • #52
Gokul43201 said:
Do you have an explanation?

I think you're on the right track - you just have to look more carefully.

Vanadium 50. Va is missing from the line of elements.
 
  • #53
Gokul43201 said:
Good stab. Eta prime is sometimes called the Chi meson.
Too right. Only my mum calls me "Eta" (That's a girly name, anyway).

And 29 is "Mathwonk" (finally that class in Greek paid off).
 
  • #54
chaoseverlasting said:
Vanadium 50. Va is missing from the line of elements.
I think you meant V (not Va), but yes, that's right.
 
  • #55
Gokul43201 said:
29. μα'θημα: know front to back.

mathwonk

"know," front to back, is "wonk."

I am classically illiterate. When I use an on-line translator for "math," I get "μαθηματικά."

Edit: scooped by a meson.
 
  • #56
You're using 20th century Greek. I went back a few years to dig up the original.
 
  • #57
Gokul43201 said:
You're using 20th century Greek. I went back a few years to dig up the original.

I was wondering what to do with the last two characters. :-p
 
  • #58
Gokul43201 said:
27. Eetu, for a Fin.

edward
 
  • #59
Gokul43201 said:
28. First course at the the atomic cafe?

Proton Soup

A proton is ionized hydrogen, the first atomic element, and soup is often the first course at a cafe.
 
  • #60
HOW THINGS STAND (clues in bold are as yet unsolved):

1. Dangerous brakemen. - solved by neutrino
Answer = Berkeman: anagram of "brakemen"

2. Be a moron, silly! - solved by neutrino
Answer = Moonbear: anagram of "be a moron"

3. Mosul chai. - solved by MIH
Answer = kurdt: Mosul is a town in Kurdistan, chai = tea -> T, kurd + t = kurdt

4. Cut SONAR, then put it back together. - solved by fuzzyfelt
Answer = Astronuc: anagram of "cut sonar"

5. Recall the tropical herb. - solved by neutrino
Answer = lisab: trpoical herb = basil, reverse it to get lisab

6. A weather vane scholar, in hiding - solved by neutrino
Answer = vanesch: hidden clue vane scholar

7. Am I hot inside? - solved by kurdt
Answer = MIH: Am I hot (hidden clue)

8. AP: Prez. screwed up! - solved by neutrino
Answer = Zapper: anagram of "AP Prez"

9. The Terrible ruler of the ocean, we hear. - solved by MIH
Answer = Ivan Seeking: Ivan is from Ivan the Terrible (first Tsar of Russia), and "ruler of the ocean" = sea king, which sounds like (hence, "we hear") Seeking

10. A way hot tum - solved by Borek
Answer = Redbelly: "way hot", as in red hot, and "tum" = tummy = belly ( I know it's kinda lame, but's its part of a set-up)

11. My God! Be physical, but in shorts. - solved by Borek
Answer = mgb phys: "short" forms of "My God", "be" and "physical" are MG (like in OMG), B and phys

12. They whip it good, but not half grand - solved by fuzzyfelt
Answer = Evo: "Whip it" is a single by the band Devo, half grand = D in Roman numerals, Devo - D = Evo

13. Living under the lighthouse, she was a martyr to logic. - solved by fuzzyfelt
Answer = hypatia: direct clue; look up Hypatia (alt. Hyapatia) of Alexandria, if you don't know the story

14. Somehow, Mendeleev's Scandium is lacking an O. - solved by kurdt
Answer = Borek: Mendeleev predicted the existence of the element Scandium, and named it Ekaboron; ekaboron - "an o" = ekbor = Borek, after unscrambling

15. Chromium is too! - solved by cristo
Answer = cristo: Chromium = Cr, so "Cr is too". Is what too? Is lacking an O, naturally. So, cristoo - o = cristo

16. "No, not any!" he rages.

17. In part, M and N are the middle letters.

18. In longer DNA, he is transcribed backwards. - solved by cristo
Answer = Andre: in "longer dna" is erdna, which reversed, makes andre

19. Antonius, who wanted your aures.

20. It is not beneath him to interact like -(1/r)e-mr - solved by George
Answer = LowlyPion: the expression is the famous Yukawa potential - see wiki, and being lowly, there's not much that's "beneath him"

21. Same clue as 10, strangely

22. Eta prime? - solved by Borek
Answer = Chi Meson: The Eta Prime is a subatomic particle sometimes referred to as the Chi Meson.

23. Is my junior New York Democrat insane? - solved by neutrino
Answer = jimmysnyder: anagram of is+my+jr+NY+dem

24. kcascti crmnfe - solved by chaoseverlasting
Answer = Vanadium: K, Ca, Sc, Ti, [missing] V [/missing], Cr, Mn, Fe are elements of the 4th period, and V is Vanadium

25. Other AZ Sen. follows chariot racer's dad?

26. Heels broke in the afternoon - returned.

27. Eetu, for a Fin. - solve by George
Answer = Edward: See wiki -> Edward, in other languages

28. First course at the the atomic cafe? - solved by George
Answer = Proton Soup (self explanatory)

29. μα'θημα: know front to back. - solved by Chi Meson (explanation from George)
Answer = Mathwonk: The Greek μάθημα (máthēma) is the origin of the word math(ematics), and you get wonk if you turn "back" the word "know"

30. Meh ... cooties is gone, somehow.

Note: I've made a small change in 26.
 
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