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Question

At the library, cryptic rebuses read a book on self-reference.

If you're unsure how cryptic rebuses work, you may want to check out this primer.

*I don't own any of the images from which I drew in making these puzzles. Where possible I tried to use public domain images. I believe I may be using the rest in accordance with fair use.

^vote already for the tastefully depicted fractal – humn Jan 18 '17 at 15:59 — humn, Jan 18 '17 at 15:59

Gareth McCaughan · Accepted Answer · 2017-01-19T12:42:42.257

9

1 (found by Ankoganit):

paradox = "rap" backwards + ado + X

2 (found by M Oehm, conjectural but probably right):

symbols = cymbals heard, "heard" being clued by a herd

3:

play within a play (note: this device is in fact used in both the specific plays appearing in the rebus)

4:

rebus = (rex-x) + "sub" backwards (a sub is an under-water vehicle)

5 (found by Neil W):

nest = N + E + S + first letter of "to"

6:

Droste phenomenon ("droste" = "sorted" sorted)

7:

braid = br/aid.

8:

knot = k + "not" backwards (because 2000 lbs = a ton)

9:

breaking the fourth wall

Perhaps 10 might be

just "square" (because the number displayed is a square, and it is displayed within a square box)?

11 (found by Ankoganit):

M C Escher (MC + anag of "cheers")

12 (found by Ankoganit):

strange loop (anag of "poor tangles")

edited Jan 19 '17 at 12:42

answered Jan 18 '17 at 15:17

Gareth McCaughan

119,120
7
313
454

2

11 is probably M C Escher (MC=announcer, cheers wildly(anag.)=Escher). – Ankoganit Jan 18 '17 at 15:27
Ah, yes. I thought the picture looked familiar. Do you want to make your own answer, or shall I start editing other people's suggestions into mine and possible communitiwikify it? – Gareth McCaughan Jan 18 '17 at 15:28
Feel free to edit (I don't feel like writing up an answer write now xD) :) – Ankoganit Jan 18 '17 at 15:29
2

Aha, 1 is PAR( rap=knock<)+ADO(fuss)+X(10) – Ankoganit Jan 18 '17 at 15:31
(and please please don't CW just because of me, I'll feel forever guilty of depriving you of rep) – Ankoganit Jan 18 '17 at 15:32
Dammit, I was heading in that direction (but much slower than you). Thanks! – Gareth McCaughan Jan 18 '17 at 15:32
1

I'm not exactly starving for rep :-). – Gareth McCaughan Jan 18 '17 at 15:33
2

12 is Strange loop (anag. of poor tangles ; odd+noose) – Ankoganit Jan 18 '17 at 15:36
@Ankoganit Um, What's the anagram indicator there? – Sid Jan 18 '17 at 15:39
@Sid The first 'poor'. – Ankoganit Jan 18 '17 at 15:39
10 may be something to do with "IM SQUARE" as 999=IM and, well, the box is indeed square – Rubio Jan 18 '17 at 16:05
@Rubio, Gareth is correct in his answer to 10; the intended answer was just "square"... – DyingIsFun Jan 18 '17 at 16:08
So they are "Cymbals he(a)rd" and the definition is the symbols in the bottom row? – M Oehm Jan 19 '17 at 11:11
Um, maybe. That doesn't seem to me like the sort of phrase that ought to be the answer to a puzzle, though (it's like, I dunno, "boys went" or "book bought" or "green dustjacket"), and its only meta-ness would be that the clue happens to have symbols in it. So I'm hoping for something more compelling. – Gareth McCaughan Jan 19 '17 at 11:25
(Not that I can think of anything better, it seems.) – Gareth McCaughan Jan 19 '17 at 11:26
Oh, I thought that the solution would be "symbols" and the wordplay/rebus "cymbals heard". Maybe the metaness lies in the homophone indicator being homophonic as well. – M Oehm Jan 19 '17 at 11:35
Oh, I see. That makes a good deal more sense (and if I'd read your earlier comment with more care I wouldn't have misunderstood; sorry). It's probably right. I'm not terribly keen on the iterated homophone construction, but that's a matter of taste. (No! it's a matter of hearing!) – Gareth McCaughan Jan 19 '17 at 11:38
@GarethMcCaughan 5: N(orth) E(ast) S(outh) T(o)-start = NEST = home – Neil W Jan 19 '17 at 12:26
Ooo. That's probably right. I suppose the connection with the theme is that recursion is kinda like nesting (as in e.g. the nested squares in the Droste panel). Thanks! – Gareth McCaughan Jan 19 '17 at 12:41
Good job! For what it's worth, the intended wordplay of 2 was "CYMBALS OVER HE(a)RD". – DyingIsFun Jan 19 '17 at 12:52

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