What's New in the PF Username Game Part III?

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    Game Part iii
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Discussion Overview

The thread revolves around a game where participants create and solve cryptic clues related to the usernames of members on Physics Forums. The discussion includes various levels of difficulty in the clues, with participants engaging in both guessing and explaining their reasoning behind the answers. The scope is primarily recreational and community-oriented, focusing on wordplay and lateral thinking.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Participants propose various cryptic clues for usernames, such as "in much ado, calculus lives" and "mini rod, twisted."
  • Some participants successfully identify usernames and provide explanations, like "kurdt" from "bad turk with half a grand" and "hypatia" from "\sqrt{adj^2+opp^2}~@~Iowa."
  • There are discussions about the difficulty of the clues, with some participants expressing feelings of being outclassed or finding the game challenging.
  • Multiple participants suggest different interpretations or solutions for the clues, leading to a mix of correct and incorrect guesses.
  • Some clues remain unsolved, indicating ongoing exploration and engagement with the game.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the enjoyment of the game and the challenge it presents, but there are multiple competing views on the solutions to the clues, with no consensus reached on all answers.

Contextual Notes

Some clues may depend on specific knowledge of usernames or wordplay techniques, and there are unresolved interpretations of certain clues that could lead to different answers.

Who May Find This Useful

Members of the Physics Forums community interested in word games, cryptic puzzles, and username trivia may find this discussion engaging.

  • #31
rewebster said:
11. chemisttree ---i.e., e.g.
Correct answer, but you lost me on the "e.g."
 
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  • #32
20. Halls of Ivy
 
  • #33
Gokul43201 said:
Correct answer, but you lost me on the "e.g."

for example
 
  • #34
turbo-1 said:
20. Halls of Ivy
Correct.

If I didn't screw up terribly, that's almost a direct translation.

rewebster said:
for example
I'm still lost. Can you post the complete explanation?
 
  • #35
I was using the 'i.e.' 'for (an) example' (e.g.) for your latin shortened abbreviations in the clue.
 
  • #36
Gokul43201 said:
i. Cosmic bomb
Answer = Astronuc [cosmic -> astro; bomb -> nuke -> nuc][/color]
:smile: And I've been reading his name as astro-nuck (rhymes with buck) all this time. :redface:

This is going to be tougher to adjust to than T and Y. :biggrin:
 
  • #37
14.EnumaElish (use me in hal)
16. DaveC (hid a vector)
 
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  • #38
13. I'm guessing it's Moonbear.

Bone mro (that's bone marrow with its war lost) -> Moonbear (after winning an 'a'(?) and rearranged)

8. Morose, without the 'r'.
 
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  • #39
19. gravenewworld - swaps a 'g' for a 'b'
 
  • #40
1. Doc Al---(somewhere in there is...)
 
  • #41
wow. You people are all much much smarter than me. I have no idea how you guys figured out some of these clues.
 
  • #42
gravenewworld said:
wow. You people are all much much smarter than me. I have no idea how you guys figured out some of these clues.

For starters, try some cryptic crossword.
 
  • #43
OK! This is extremely difficult! I'm practicing though!
 
  • #44
neutrino said:
14.EnumaElish (use me in hal)
16. DaveC (hid a vector)

neutrino said:
13. I'm guessing it's Moonbear.

Bone mro (that's bone marrow with its war lost) -> Moonbear (after winning an 'a'(?) and rearranged)

8. Morose, without the 'r'.

BobG said:
19. gravenewworld - swaps a 'g' for a 'b'

rewebster said:
1. Doc Al---(somewhere in there is...)
All correct! Let me update the list to see what, if anything, is left standing.
 
  • #45
So, here's the update (names at the end are the folks that solved the clues):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. in much ado, calculus lives = Doc Al [hidden clue: adocalculus] rewebster

2. mini rod, twisted = moridin [anagram of "mini rod"] rewebster

3. mashed up w/ mashing tooth = wolram [mashing tooth = molar; w + molar --> wolram, after some jumbling] turbo

4. only country with map on flag loses its pee = cyrus [cyprus - p] turbo

5. best we err funnily = rewebster [anagram of "best we err"] MIH

6. bad turk with half a grand = kurdt [half a grand = 500 = D (Roman numerals), d + turk --> after rearranging] George

7. \sqrt{adj^2+opp^2}~@~Iowa = hypatia [hyp (from Pythagoras' theorem) + at + IA] kurdt

8. gloomy, without a right = moose [right = R, gloomy = morose; morose - r -> moose] neutrino

9. strange lover loses all resistance...and inductance = evo [lover - r (resistance) - l (inductance)] Astro

10. She's him? But that's completely backwards! = MIH ["him" backwards] rewebster

11. strangely, he's Mr. T, shortly, that is, etcetera = chemisttree ["that is" = i.e., "etcetera" = etc, he's mr t + ie + etc -> chemisttree after reworking] rewebster

12. derrick lacks that which could make it human = dick [to err is human, derrick - err -> dick] solved by George

13. bone marrow loses war but wins a skirmish = moonbear [bonemarrow - war + a -> moonbear after jumbling] neutrino

14. use me in HAL; then reformat = enumaelish [anagram of "use me in hal"] neutrino

15. Indian essence hydrates, they say = russ watters [russ ~ ras = essence in sanskrit, hydrates -> waters ~ watters] rewebster

16. hid a vector within = DaveC [hidden clue: hidavector] solved by neutrino

17. Cheerleading slogan for the King of Blues is messed up = BobG [King of Blues = B. B. King, anagram of "Go, BB"] turbo

18. found in Decatur, Boise and Maine =turbo [hidden clue: decaturboise; also turbo-1 lives in Maine] rewebster

19. Huxley does a Brother Gibb swap, we hear = gravenewworld [Brother Gibb = B G, Aldous Huxley's book Brave New World with B swapped for G] BobG

20. la salle de lierre, and many more = HallsofIvy [straight translation, I hope] turbo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That leaves only 18, which is pretty difficult and requires esoteric knowledge of Sanskrit. From this point on, feel free to make up your own clues and post them for others to solve. If doing so, make sure you number them correctly so as to make referencing and compiling less messy.
 
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  • #46
18---turbo
 
  • #47
rewebster said:
18---turbo
Correct!

I'll edit this into the previous update.
 
  • #48
How did I miss my own name? Maine should have given it away - there's hardly anybody up here.:smile:
 
  • #49
Well, I don't know sanskrit---

but russ_watters is a guess-----whether 'russ' has anything to do with sanskrit (watters=hydrates)

one other possibility is (less likely maybe):

15. In(dian e)ssence hydrates, they say
 
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  • #50
turbo-1 said:
How did I miss my own name? Maine should have given it away - there's hardly anybody up here.:smile:


I missed mine too---(oh, well)
 
  • #51
15 has been making me think of adding "hoo" to "attar" etc to come up with an anagram, but I think now that I've been barking up the wrong tree.

15=honestrosewater
 
  • #52
turbo-1 said:
15 has been making me think of adding "hoo" to "attar" etc to come up with an anagram, but I think now that I've been barking up the wrong tree.

15=honestrosewater

sounds better than mine

_____________

how many other (blank)water(s) are there?

__________________

another facet I was thinking of was: hydrates= name containing OH/HO/HOH

_______________

here's another one:

spacetiger

tiger=an essence of India
space=water in sanskrit?
 
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  • #53
rewebster said:
Well, I don't know sanskrit---

but russ_watters is a guess-----whether 'russ' has anything to do with sanskrit (watters=hydrates)
This is actually correct. In Sanskrit, essence (or flavor) = ras (pronounced exactly like Russ). You might know this if you are into Asian cooking.
 
  • #54
Anyone else want to come up with some clues?

Seeing as how most everything so far has been fairly rapidly cracked, I think I'll try out a few difficult ones now...
 
  • #55
21. how a Roman sentry may begin to question a lurker underscores the heart of its translation by Shakespeare

22. carelessly cram a man, for a Sec.

23. bottoms of Nimes must count

24. ji\sqrt{2\pi} \delta^{(1)} (k)

25. the Stooge of the Commandments leads the Greek sharpdull


Please provide COMPLETE explanations for these (of the kind found in the updates). You get no brownie points for getting the correct name, but you will get half a brownie point for the correct name and most of the explanation! :-p
 
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  • #56
It's probably a good idea to Wiki/Google around a bit, for clues 20 through 30. I've mixed in little doses of trivia with the wordplay.

For clues 26 through 30, there are two separate routes to cracking each clue, both leading to the same person. So, that should make them a lot easier to crack! :wink:

Example: angry cohort changes directory
Answer: chroot [1. chroot = anagram of cohort; 2. chroot = unix/linux command for changing root directory][/color] <---select to read

All clear?

26. Not derived from terrible X gradalis?

27. Two-faced gatekeeper is mostly an @$$#0!3
. (pardon the language :redface:)

28. Fly trades one for a different fly's killing machine.

29. Old Indian teacher of natural laws has seen Gore jog clumsily!

30. Mr. anser, in trouble.
 
  • #57
24. Math Is Hard =)
 
  • #58
SpitfireAce said:
24. Math Is Hard =)
Ha ha! No, that's not what I intended.
 
  • #59
27--Janus---roman god
 
  • #60
27=Janus

You beat me out rewebster. I was looking for something esoteric, like an anagram of Isimud, when the "anus" part popped out.
 
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