Wordy Wednesday 226: Section Six 22

WORDY WEDNESDAY #224

PATHFINDER 8 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey **
Jack Bross **
Adam Weaver *
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten **
Michael Avanessian **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #225

PENT WORDS 45 (hint)

As of this writing, 7 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #226

SECTION SIX 22

(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle's grid has six rings and six sections. Each ring contains a series of words placed end to end, reading either clockwise or counterclockwise; all the words in a given ring will read in the same direction. Ring 1 (the outer ring) contains six answers that read clockwise; the starting spaces are numbered in the grid. Clues for the answers in the remaining rings are given in order, but their starting points and direction are for you to determine. The sections (separated by the heavy lines radiating from the center) will help you place the inner rings: in a given section, each ring segment contains all but one of the letters in the next segment outward. In other words, a section's outermost segment contains six letters; the next segment inward contains five of those six letters in some order; and so on, until only one of the original six letters remains.

Arrange the letters in the six starred spaces to form the final answer, a 6-letter word.

Ring 1
1 Pressing
2 Record publishing company
3 Mock
4 Withstand
5 "Take It to the ____" (The Eagles song)
6 Manufacturer of the Macan and the Cayenne

Ring 2
* Bring into a country from another
* Extraordinarily powerful or difficult
* Curve over the letter "n" in some Spanish words
* NYPD ____ (1993-2005 crime drama series)
* Sent a telegraph

Ring 3
* Fit for consumption
* Cherry-pick
* One who owes
* The ____ of Venice

Ring 4
* Bully
* Clear as a ____
* Abstaining from sex

Ring 5
* Manga about Ichigo Kurosaki (and not about cleaning products, apparently)
* Word that's used nine times in Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass", each time preceded by "no"

Ring 6
* Catch-22 author Joseph

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What Montoya was played by Mandy Patinkin?
* What's an 8-letter word for "What you call a three-humped camel, as per Disney’s Zootopia"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 225: Pent Words 45

WORDY WEDNESDAY #222

LETTER LENDING LIBRARY 2 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey **
Jack Bross **
Adam Weaver **
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten *
Michael Avanessian **
Nick Imholte **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #223

LETTER LENDING LIBRARY 3 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey **
Jack Bross **
Adam Weaver **
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten *
Michael Avanessian **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #224

PATHFINDER 8 (hint)

As of this writing, 6 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #225

PENT WORDS 45

(click here for a PDF version)

In this puzzle, you must divide the grid into pentominoes (regions containing five cells each), and write a letter in each cell. The rows, reading from left to right, will contain the words hinted at by the ACROSS clues. The letters in the pentominoes, in reading order (left to right starting with the top row), will form the words hinted at by the PENTOMINOES clues; these clues are presented in no particular order. (In the example, the rows spell PLANT, SHARE, and BITES, and the pentominoes spell the words PLANS, TREES, and HABIT.) Use the ACROSS answers to determine where the pentominoes are.

ACROSS (two answers per row):
1 Inlets flanked by cliffs / Amazon smart speaker brand
2 Book, as a hotel room / Tai ____
3 Charles Dickens, for one / ____ Window (Hitchcock film)
4 The Curse of Monkey ____ (game in which "We'll surely avoid scurvy if we all eat an orange") / Modify, as text
5 Ignited / Surname of the composer of Jeopardy!'s famous "Think!" music
6 Type of tree in a legend about George Washington /  ____ enterprise
7 Way over there / Stuff made with chopped cabbage
8 ____ & Euphrates (board game designed by Reiner Knizia) / Huron or Erie, for example
9 Stoppable of Kim Possible / Country sometimes unofficially called Burma
10 A Night at the ____ (Queen album) / Unclean house
   
PENTOMINOES:
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* Absolutely covered in filth
* Big name in rental trucks
* Handed over
* Port-au-Prince's country
* Slowly fermented beer
* It may be alphabetical
* Ostinato phrases in rock music
* Group of singers in a church
* Terminator: The ____ Connor Chronicles (2008-2009 TV series)
* Easily broken
* Mouse on The Simpsons
* Cliché
* "Every Rose Has Its ____" (Poison song)
* Camel relative with no hump
* More modern
* National ____ Writing Month (November event)
* Vegetable from which deep-fried rings are made
* Cut off completely

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 7-letter word for "Manufacturer of the Macan and the Cayenne"?
* Patron Puzzle #40, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters ($1 or more per month), is a Framelinks.
* Patreon supporters ($1 or more per month) will also receive issue #3 of Fox & Badger Magazine! A twelve-puzzle meta awaits your solving in "The Patron-Suggested Answer Issue", where patrons have suggested words to use as final answers!

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 224: Pathfinder 8

WORDY WEDNESDAY #221

LETTER LENDING LIBRARY (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey **
Jack Bross **
M. Sean Molley **
Adam Weaver **
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten **
Michael Avanessian **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #222

LETTER LENDING LIBRARY 2 (hint)

As of this writing, 8 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #223

LETTER LENDING LIBRARY 3 (hint)

As of this writing, 7 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #224

PATHFINDER 8

(click here for a PDF version)

In this puzzle, each answer starts in the correspondingly numbered square, goes in some direction, and makes one or more right-angled turns as it winds through the grid. When you have finished, every letter will be used in exactly two entries.

Rearrange the letters in the shaded spaces to get the final answer, an 8-letter word.

1 Giant computer used commercially to do many things at once (9)
2 Water artificially (8)
3 Furrowed tubular pasta (8)
4 Passionate (6)
5 Surrender (4)
5 Ukrainian peninsula (6)
6 1998 Nintendo accessory that lets you take photographs in four – count ‘em, four! – colors (4 3 6)
7 “____ to the Music” (Doobie Brothers song) (6)
8 Its first episode is titled “Death Has a Shadow” (6 3)
9 Item that may be horseshoe-shaped (6)
10 Awestruck (6)
11 Follows instructions (5)
12 The use of a Christ figure in literature, for example (9)
13 Frank who invented a machine for resurfacing ice (7)
14 Stuff in a dryer filter (4)
15 Much-hated import car also known as the Zastava Koral (4)
16 Last name of a cartoon character voiced by Jim Backus (5)
17 Tryptophan is this type of acid (5)
18 Dominance (9)
19 Nation whose flag has 22 copies of the Arabic phrase “Allahu akbar” (4)
20 Al Hirschfeld’s daughter whose name he often hid in his art (4)
21 ____ pack (weapon in Ghostbusters) (6)
22 Netgear item (6)
23 “The Ridiculously Long Lasting Gum” (6)
23 Far from prodigal (6)
24 Organ to which the Fallopian tubes connect (6)
25 Type of hat or sled (8)
26 Mind-____ (8)
27 Specialized vocabulary for a particular field (5)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "National ____ Writing Month (November event)"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 222: Letter Lending Library 2 & Wordy Wednesday 223: Letter Lending Library 3

WORDY WEDNESDAY #220

PENT WORDS 44 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey **
Jack Bross **
M. Sean Molley **
Adam Weaver **
Bryce Herdt *
John Bulten *
Michael Avanessian *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #221

LETTER LENDING LIBRARY (hint)

As of this writing, 8 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

LAST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH = DOUBLE WORDY WEDNESDAYS!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #222

LETTER LENDING LIBRARY 2

(click here for a PDF version)

These words are lending their letters out for you to read. Write the clued 7-letter words in column A. Then drop one letter from each word and rearrange the rest to get a 6-letter word that goes in column B. Drop one more letter and rearrange what's left to get a 5-letter word to write in column C. The words in column C are clued in order, but you must determine where the words go in the other columns.

The letters thus dropped, reading down the leftmost column and then the rightmost column, will spell the final answer, a book title.

COLUMN A
* Do a mailman's job
* Foretell
* Julie of The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins
* Kitchen appliance
* Like some consent
* Male moose features
* Most pallid
* Straw mattresses
* The felonious taking of personal goods

COLUMN B
* Afternoon nap
* "____ is Coming" (first episode of HBO's Game of Thrones)
* Milk-Bone products
* Mitsubishi model that debuted in 1973
* Nonsense
* Piece of ammo for a home improvement "gun"
* The ____ of Wrath
* Toward the rear of a ship
* Trapped

COLUMN C
1. Not active
2. Pigpens
3. La Traviata composer
4. Tall lifting machine
5. Beetle Bailey's Orville P. Snorkel, familiarly
6. German artist Max
7. Surname of Fred Flintstone's employer
8. Button next to Select on the NES controller
9. A type of car or chair

WORDY WEDNESDAY #223

LETTER LENDING LIBRARY 3

(click here for a PDF version)

These words are lending their letters out for you to read. Write the clued 8-letter words in column A. Then drop one letter from each word and rearrange the rest to get a 7-letter word that goes in column B. Drop one more letter and rearrange what's left to get a 6-letter word to write in column C. The words in column C are clued in order, but you must determine where the words go in the other columns.

The letters thus dropped, reading down the leftmost column and then the rightmost column, will spell the final answer, a book title.

COLUMN A

* Abridge

* In calculus, it can be definite or indefinite 

* Like some illnesses

* One hoping to commit property insurance fraud, often

* People being taught how to do a job

* Places to store food

* Reduces the size of, as someone's ego

* Serves as a substitute for

* Supplied water to

* Those who make things

COLUMN B

* ____ Gulf War

* Igneous rock of which some countertops are made

* Legendary six-limbed creature which has inspired many a furry

* Made up of filaments

* One who buys tickets and sells them at ridiculously inflated prices

* Roller ____

* Tall, slender mosque feature

* The Importance of Being ____

* Took part in a banquet

* Uses a colander

COLUMN C

1. Tranquilize

2. Begrudge

3. Liquid consumed by hummingbirds

4. "____ You In This Storm" (song by the Christian band Casting Crowns)

5. Military pilots

6. Approximately 3.26 light years

7. G or R, for example

8. Team that couldn't use their home stadium in the 2005 NFL season due to damage from Hurricane Katrina

9. Symbols which resemble circumflexes

10. Famine

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 6-letter word for "____ pack (weapon in Ghostbusters)"?
* Patron Puzzle #39, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters ($5 or more per month), is a Snake Crisscross.

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

The Joy of Puzzling: Touchword (RESULTS!)

I received 4 entries to Part I and 6 entries to Part II of The Joy Of Puzzling: Touchword. Here are the results!

Wordy Wednesday 221: Letter Lending Library

WORDY WEDNESDAY #219

SIMPLE LOOP 3 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey **
Giovanni Pagano **
Jack Bross **
Bryce Herdt **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #220

PENT WORDS 44 (hint)

As of this writing, 6 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #221

LETTER LENDING LIBRARY

(click here for a PDF version)

(A sequel to WW198.)
These words are lending their letters out for you to read. Write the clued 6-letter words in column A. Then drop one letter from each word and rearrange the rest to get a 5-letter word that goes in column B. Drop one more letter and rearrange what's left to get a 4-letter word to write in column C. The words in column C are clued in order, but you must determine where the words go in the other columns.

The letters thus dropped, reading down the leftmost column and then the rightmost column, will spell the final answer, a book title.

COLUMN A
* Attempts
* Desires what someone else has
* Least feral
* “Of ____!” (phrase uttered by M. Bison in a meme)
* Small magnifiers
* Tailor’s need
* Whitaker in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
* Word before “engine” or “party”
COLUMN B
* A doctor measures it in beats per minute
* Circulatory system features
* Fox in the Sonic the Hedgehog games
* “Hardware ____” (Weird Al song)
* “I ____ It Through the Grapevine”
* Not glossy
* Scorches
* Wake up
COLUMN C
1. ____ grinder
2. Simba’s uncle
3. ____ cream
4. Series of items
5. Tool with jaws
6. Certain lagomorph
7. And
8. Type of learning based on repetition

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* Two more Letter Lending Library puzzles!

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 220: Pent Words 44

WORDY WEDNESDAY #218

MISSING LINKS 2 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey **
Giovanni Pagano **
Jack Bross **
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #219

SIMPLE LOOP 3 (hint)

As of this writing, 5 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #220

PENT WORDS 44

(click here for a PDF version)

In this puzzle, you must divide the grid into pentominoes (regions containing five cells each), and write a letter in each cell. The rows, reading from left to right, will contain the words hinted at by the ACROSS clues. The letters in the pentominoes, in reading order (left to right starting with the top row), will form the words hinted at by the PENTOMINOES clues; these clues are presented in no particular order. (In the example, the rows spell PLANT, SHARE, and BITES, and the pentominoes spell the words PLANS, TREES, and HABIT.) Use the ACROSS answers to determine where the pentominoes are.

ACROSS (two answers per row):
1 Chelmsford's county / Country singer Adkins
2 Musical work that helps a soloist practice a particular skill / Not domesticated
3 Chance / Agnes Moorehead's Bewitched role
4 Spike-shaped mass of frozen water / Sword handle
5 ____ out a living / One being recognized
6 Delegate to a duty / Name of the bird in Disney's Aladdin
7 Matilda author Roald / The capital of Texas
8 1979 film directed by Ridley Scott / You'll never see them in professional Super Smash Bros. tournaments
9 Intrepidly-named clothing brand: 2 wds. / "My Country, 'Tis of ____"
10 2015 Marvel film: hyph. / Atlas Shrugged protagonist John

PENTOMINOES:
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* The Very Hungry Caterpillar author Eric
* Boredom
* Lift
* Planet that doesn't correspond to a movement in The Planets
* Martial art with bamboo swords
* Hebrew letter that, when spun on a dreidel, entitles the player to the entire pot
* Spine-chilling
* Website whose logo's first letter is red
* Fill with joy
* Easter Island's country
* City in southern Turkey
* Put off
* Bonus
* Genre of Japanese graphic novels and comic books
* 2017 Marvel film
* Angry
* Beginning
* "Wake Up Little ____" (Everly Brothers song)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 6-letter word for "'Of ____!' (phrase uttered by M. Bison in a meme)"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 219: Simple Loop 3

WORDY WEDNESDAY #216

SECTION SIX 21 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey *
Jack Bross **
M. Sean Molley **
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #217

DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 4 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey *
Jack Bross **
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #218

MISSING LINKS 2 (hint)

As of this writing, 5 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

THE JOY OF PUZZLING: TOUCHWORD!

Have you ever wished that you could write word puzzles? My new series, The Joy of Puzzling, will teach you how, and even invite you to try your hand at it yourself! Note that the puzzle-solving and puzzle-writing halves of the contest are separate, and you can enter one without entering the other. You don't even have to write a puzzle to win; you can test-solve and proofread someone else's puzzle and get the same prize as the constructor. Have fun!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #219

SIMPLE LOOP 3

(click here for a PDF version)

(A sequel to WW88.)

Draw a single path of horizontal and vertical segments that returns to where it started, and which passes through all of the cells exactly once (with the exception of cells containing the letter E, which may not be passed through). See the example on the right. Start from cell A1 and read clockwise for a hint to the final answer.

Crossword constructors’ favorite refrigerator brand ___ __ __ __ __
                                                    C10 G8 J5 E4 H6
Dessert with fruit and ice cream topped with __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
   a liqueur sauce: 2 wds.                   I4 C8 F9 E1 A5 G6 J9 G2 D9 G1 D3 C4 H9
Container for discounted items: 2 wds. __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ___
                                       G3 A6 I8 H8 I3 D5 B2 C9 B6 B10
Hitchcock film that displays its title __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ___ __ __ ___ __
   over a phone: 4 wds.                D7 C2 E6 G5 G7 A1 F4 B8 I2 J10 E3 J2 F10 F1
Mortal Kombat finishing move __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                             J1 I7 B3 E9 H5 F8 B9 C5
Apiary inhabitant __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                  C3 B5 I5 A4 H4 F6 C1 J4
Film that introduced Diego the saber-toothed tiger: 2 wds. __ __ __ ___ __ __
                                                           H7 A3 F3 I10 B1 F7
Once Upon a Time in the West director Sergio __ __ __ ___ __
                                             D2 J8 F2 G10 A8
Lounge around __ __ __ __
              D8 H2 D1 A7
Bulbous vegetable __ __ __ __ __
                  E2 J3 J6 H3 D6
Anomalous value in a data set __ __ ___ __ __ __ __
                              A9 H1 E10 J7 B4 E5 G4
Rav4 maker __ ___ __ __ __ __
           C6 A10 F5 E8 I9 G9
“Do ____ others. . .” ___ __ ___ __
                      D10 E7 H10 D4
A Pagan religion __ __ __ __ __
                 I6 A2 C7 B7 I1

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "Hebrew letter that, when spun on a dreidel, entitles the player to the entire pot"?
* Patron Puzzle #38, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters ($1 or more per month), is a pair of Codewords.

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 218: Missing Links 2

WORDY WEDNESDAY #214

SNAKE CRISSCROSS (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey **
Jack Bross **
James Sinnett **
Bryce Herdt **
Jason Boomer **
John Bulten **
Rusty the Wolf **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #215

PENT WORDS 43 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey **
Jack Bross **
M. Sean Molley **
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #216

SECTION SIX 21 (hint)

As of this writing, 5 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #217

DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 4 (hint)

As of this writing, 4 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

THE JOY OF PUZZLING: TOUCHWORD!

Have you ever wished that you could write word puzzles? My new series, The Joy of Puzzling, will teach you how, and even invite you to try your hand at it yourself! Note that the puzzle-solving and puzzle-writing halves of the contest are separate, and you can enter one without entering the other. Have fun!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #218

MISSING LINKS 2

(click here for a PDF version)

Write words in the blanks, one letter per square, so that every pair of consecutive words, reading from left to right, forms a compound word or a phrase. The highlighted squares will spell two more words; the final answer is the two-word phrase that goes between those words.

Dummy __ __ __ __ __ __ __

      50 65 09 58 21 06 32

“Friday” singer Rebecca __ __ __ __ __

                        77 73 15 60 71

Owen Wilson’s Texas birthplace __ __ __ __ __ __

                               51 69 07 36 41 23

Yolky libation __ __ __ __ __ __

               18 34 27 03 59 39

Object of a difficult and long quest __ __ __ __ __

                                     67 80 08 52 56

Ungulate feature __ __ __ __

                 45 29 33 72

Athletic man’s need __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                    68 53 14 61 12 44 05 78 38

Inimitable __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

           17 04 81 10 40 62 35 30

Woodwind in "Ruby Tuesday" by The Rolling Stones __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                                 16 02 70 47 79 25 11 49

Item for Dennis the Menace __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                           42 82 24 19 01 75 28 55 13

Potency __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

        43 20 46 26 66 54 31 76

Unruly __ __ __ __ __ __ __

       48 74 63 64 37 22 57

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's an 8-letter word for "Mortal Kombat finishing move"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

The Joy of Puzzling: Touchword (CONTEST!)

In this two-part contest, you'll get to solve a puzzle, learn how it was made, and try your hand at making your own puzzle!

Part I. Solve a Puzzle!

THE JOY OF PUZZLING: TOUCHWORD

(click here for a PDF version)

In a crossword, words cross each other; in this puzzle, they merely touch. More specifically, every letter shares an edge with at least one identical letter either immediately above or immediately below. The top and bottom rows are considered adjacent. (You can think of it as a diagramless, cylindrical Share-A-Letter puzzle.)

Arrange the letters in the shaded spaces to form the final answer, an 8-letter word. After solving, go to tinyurl.com/tjop-[answer], replacing [answer] with the answer, to learn how this puzzle was constructed and get tips on constructing your own!

1 Certain / With !, animated series about patriarch Stan Smith: 2 wds.
2 Some party decorations / Like unposed photography
3 Opposite of weakness / Substitute: hyph.
4 The Rite of ____ (Stravinsky work) / θ / Supreme Norse god
5 Orange-colored peach relative / Systematized
6 "Chattahoochee" singer Jackson / Perpetrate, as a crime / Chaos
7 A type of custard / Speeds of musical works / One of 31 at Baskin-Robbins
8 ____ of foot / Trade fair / Develop
9 Puffs rival / Neither fish nor ____ / Alabama lead singer Randy
10 One thousand grams / Foam dart gun brand / Bloated
11 Baloo's occupation in TaleSpin / Large vessels like Noah's / Blob of sour cream, for example
12 Former monetary unit of Spain / ____ out a living (barely squeaked by) / Pry
13 Button next to Power on the NES / Key beliefs / 12 hours after midnight
14 Grint who played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter flicks / Novelist Shreve / The ____, the Witch and the Wardrobe
15 Title role for Christopher Reeve / Salad dressing variety with garlic and oregano

Send your answer to the above puzzle to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com before 11:59 PM Central time on May 25, 2018 to enter Part I of the contest. After the deadline, one random entrant with the correct answer will win a signed copy of the April 2018 issue of Games World of Puzzles, which includes a Touchword by me!

IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO CONSTRUCT A PUZZLE TO ENTER THIS PART OF THE CONTEST.

Part II. Make a Puzzle!

Now you get to write your own Touchword puzzle! To learn how I made the above puzzle, go to tinyurl.com/tjop-[answer], replacing "[answer]" in the URL with the puzzle's final answer in lowercase letters. It is not necessary, however, to watch this video or even solve the above puzzle to enter this part of the contest. Your puzzle must obey all of these rules:

* The puzzle must obey Touchword rules.
* The puzzle must be 15x15.
* All entries must be at least 4 letters long.
* No entry may be repeated. (Having the same 15-letter entry in all 15 rows technically satisfies the above rules, but is such a lame puzzle that I will refuse to acknowledge its existence.)
* Unlike the puzzle above, there is no need to select 8 cells to anagram to a final answer.

You are allowed to seek the assistance of one test-solver to make sure the puzzle you send me doesn't have any typos, inaccurate clues, or other bad things I won't like, and to ensure the puzzle is fun to solve. To increase my chances that I receive high-quality puzzles without typos, the test-solver is eligible for the same prize as the constructor! Teamwork makes the dream work, as they say.

Send your completed puzzle, its answer, and the e-mail address of your test-solver (if you had one) to devjoe@gmail.com [NOT TO ME!!!], before 11:59 PM Central time on May 25, 2018. The puzzle and its answer should be in plaintext, with the clues for each row separated by slashes or line breaks. After the deadline, /dev/joe will then send the puzzles to me in random order and with no bylines. I will judge which puzzle I like best; its constructor and its test-solver (if any) will both win signed copies of the Spring 2015 issue of Will Shortz's Wordplay and the August 2017 and April 2018 issues of Games World of Puzzles, which include puzzles by me! The winning entry (and honorable mentions, at my discretion) will also be reproduced on my blog for my readers' enjoyment. The following things are likely to win me over:

* Fresh entries.
* Interesting overlaps.
* Interesting clues.
* PG-ratedness.

The following things will not win me over:

* Too many obscurities. (Don't use the Portuguese word for "tablecloth" or the names of about half a dozen characters from manga comics that only about 100 people read. Even obscurities that I happen to know will be frowned upon if I don't expect my blog audience to know them. I believe the best puzzles give the solver a fair shot at solving the puzzle with their own wits!)
* R-rated things (I want to reproduce the winning entry on this highly PG-rated blog, so none of George Carlin's seven dirty words, for instance, should be in the clues or the answers).
* Etymological relatives, especially obvious ones like two compound words that share a root word in common, are frowned upon. (BLACKBOARD and BACKBOARD is not an interesting overlap.)
* Submitting the puzzle to me instead of to /dev/joe is an absolute no-no! No matter how good your puzzle is, if I know who wrote it, I cannot trust my judgment to be completely impartial. Seeing the entries without knowing who wrote them ensures that the prize goes to the puzzle I like the best, and not the person I like the best. So again, DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR PUZZLES TO ME!!!

You may only submit one puzzle, but you can change it at any time before the deadline. You may be the test-solver for any number of other entrants.

Good luck, and happy constructing!

Wordy Wednesday 216: Section Six 21 & Wordy Wednesday 217: Divided Into Columns 4

WORDY WEDNESDAY #212

TOUCHWORD 6 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey **
Jack Bross **
James Sinnett **
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #213

HEX PATHFINDER 13 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey **
Jack Bross **
James Sinnett **
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #214

SNAKE CRISSCROSS (hint)

As of this writing, 8 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #215

PENT WORDS 43 (hint)

As of this writing, 6 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

DOUBLE WORDY WEDNESDAYS ALL MONTH!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #216

SECTION SIX 21

(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle's grid has six rings and six sections. Each ring contains a series of words placed end to end, reading either clockwise or counterclockwise; all the words in a given ring will read in the same direction. Ring 1 (the outer ring) contains six answers that read clockwise; the starting spaces are numbered in the grid. Clues for the answers in the remaining rings are given in order, but their starting points and direction are for you to determine. The sections (separated by the heavy lines radiating from the center) will help you place the inner rings: in a given section, each ring segment contains all but one of the letters in the next segment outward. In other words, a section's outermost segment contains six letters; the next segment inward contains five of those six letters in some order; and so on, until only one of the original six letters remains.

Arrange the letters in the six starred spaces to form the final answer, a 6-letter word.

Ring 1
1 Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov
2 Mint that drives felines crazy
3 Jesse Eisenberg's role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: 2 wds.
4 High cards in poker
5 Jiggly semi-transparent dessert item
6 Whole step, in music

Ring 2
* Churchgoer's interjection
* Whooping ____
* Cash Cab vehicle
* Excessive amount
* Choice

Ring 3
* Resident of North Carolina: 2 wds.
* Canonize
* Leftover bit
* Banish, as from a school

Ring 4
* Military pilots
* One capable of extrasensory communication
* For fear that

Ring 5
* No longer fresh
* Wood-eating insect

Ring 6
* 21 Jump ____ (1987-1991 TV series)

WORDY WEDNESDAY #217

DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 4

(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron M. Sean Molley. Support me on Patreon at the $5 per month level and solve the monthly Patron Puzzle for a chance to suggest a seed word for a future puzzle, or at the $20 per month level to suggest one seed word every month!

Note: The symbol † indicates headlines from the Christian satirical news site The Babylon Bee.

Aggravate __ __ __ __ __

          47 61 71 74 46

† “Evangelicals Abandon Trump In Droves After He __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

   Says McDonald’s Is Better Than ____”: hyph.   33 69 31 82 81 36 28 51 15

Item in a convenience store pack __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                 16 56 37 84 44 09 42 63 65

A girl plays with one in a famous 1964 Presidential ad __ __ __ __ __

                                                       22 76 54 29 45

The only island country larger than Madagascar __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                               73 20 50 55 34 67 03 06 08

Famed female soccer player: 2 wds. __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                   43 24 79 30 40 86 77

† “‘____ Of The Christ’ Sequel To Feature Jesus Helping __ __ __ __ __ __ __

   Founders Establish America”                          14 64 75 62 38 41 19

A spice or an orange yellow color __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                  83 72 27 10 17 02 57

† “Social Justice Warrior Dislocates ____ Trying To Pat __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

   Self On Back”                                        78 53 13 21 01 49 48 25

Like some steel __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                07 68 26 23 60 66 80 32 18

Does strenuous work __ __ __ __ __

                    04 58 85 39 11

Song advising the listener to “give the past a slip”: 2 wds. __ __ __ __ __ __

                                                             52 05 12 35 70 59

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 9-letter word for "Item for Dennis the Menace"?
* Patron Puzzle #37, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters ($5 or more per month), is a Pathfinder.

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 214: Snake Crisscross & Wordy Wednesday 215: Pent Words 43

WORDY WEDNESDAY #210

PENT WORDS 42 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey **
James Sinnett **
M. Sean Molley **
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #211

PATHFINDER 7 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey **
Jack Bross **
James Sinnett **
M. Sean Molley **
Bryce Herdt **
Deusovi **
John Bulten **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #212

TOUCHWORD 6 (hint)

As of this writing, 7 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #213

HEX PATHFINDER 13 (hint)

As of this writing, 7 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

DOUBLE WORDY WEDNESDAYS ALL MONTH LONG!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #214

SNAKE CRISSCROSS

(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle's crisscross grid contains entries which read across and down as normal; these words are defined in alphabetical order by length under the heading “Crisscross Words.” The grid also contains a number of “snakes”: areas which follow a single clear path. Each of these snakes contains an entry which snakes from one end of the path to the other. These entries are defined under the heading “Snake Words”, and are also clued in alphabetical order by length. You must determine how the grid is divided into snakes; no two snakes overlap.

Arrange the letters in the highlighted cells to form the final answer, an 8-letter word.

CRISSCROSS WORDS
3 LETTERS
Tavern offering
Ernie known as “The Big Easy”
Egg cells
Throne
Number of frames in a bowling game
4 LETTERS
Expresses disapproval, perhaps
Color pattern for blending in with surroundings
Scorch
Game show where contestants had 24 hours to study material they’d be quizzed on
Trial version of software
Chap
Expert
Emcee
Bill of fare
Bites
Proboscis
Was in debt
Circus venue
Promote
5 LETTERS
Green ____ (1965-1971 sitcom)
Clean oneself
Scoundrel
En ____ (on the way)
Ken who investigated the Clinton administration
6 LETTERS
Bleeds
7 LETTERS
Passage from one place to another
8 LETTERS
Alienate
Uneducated
Sound at a comedy club
Baseball player, nicknamed “Charlie Hustle”, who was banned for betting on games: 2 wds.
Possible course of events
9 LETTERS
Ensure

SNAKE WORDS
5 LETTERS
Pleasant smell
Prophet
María del Rosario Mercedes Pilar Martínez Molina Baez, more familiarly
____ the Matrix (2003 video game)
Casper is a friendly one
Christopher of This Is Spinal Tap
Kelly of One Tree Hill
Banished
Asian noodle variety
Some mixed precipitation
Apparatus in a submarine
6 LETTERS
Lansbury of Murder, She Wrote
Declared openly
____ on a Dime (HGTV series)
Eluded on foot
Powerful
Socially unacceptable things
7 LETTERS
Sticky substance used in roofing and soaps: 2 wds.
8 LETTERS
Shape of the moon, sometimes
12 LETTERS
Straight

WORDY WEDNESDAY #215

PENT WORDS 43

(click here for a PDF version)

In this puzzle, you must divide the grid into pentominoes (regions containing five cells each), and write a letter in each cell. The rows, reading from left to right, will contain the words hinted at by the ACROSS clues. The letters in the pentominoes, in reading order (left to right starting with the top row), will form the words hinted at by the PENTOMINOES clues; these clues are presented in no particular order. (In the example, the rows spell PLANT, SHARE, and BITES, and the pentominoes spell the words PLANS, TREES, and HABIT.) Use the ACROSS answers to determine where the pentominoes are.

ACROSS (two answers per row):
1 Total ____ (1990 sci-fi film) / Guns & ____ (magazine devoted to firearms)
2 Cutlery brand made famous in infomercials / Range
3 Spit / Allergic reaction of sorts
4 Bird associated with carrying babies / Bit of gossip
5 Textile made from cellulose / ____ acid
6 Move about aimlessly / "____ Ride" (Foghat song)
7 Be apprehensive about / Hawkeye State native
8 ____ Pie (Nestlé ice cream brand) / The front of a ship
9 Not fair, as a baseball / Gleam
10 Reverberate / ____-eye dog

PENTOMINOES:
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* I Have No ____, and I Must Scream (1995 video game)
* 1994 movie about a seal who befriends a girl
* Monetary unit of Norway
* The Suez, for one
* Authored
* What Kuzco is turned into in The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
* What you might do to a wet towel
* It's made from animal tusks
* Jaq in Cinderella (1950), for example
* ____ & Martin's Laugh-In
* Single-masted boat
* One of the five basic tastes
* Philbin who popularized the catchphrase, "Is that your final answer?"
* Selected
* Bones next to ulnae
* John Landis who patented a jar
* Colonel Jack author Daniel
* ____ poll

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 6-letter word for "Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov"?
* What's a 6-letter, 2-word answer for "Song advising the listener to 'give the past a slip'"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 212: Touchword 6 and Wordy Wednesday 213: Hex Pathfinder 13

WORDY WEDNESDAY #208

ANACROSSWORD 15 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey **
Jack Bross **
James Sinnett **
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #209

PATHFINDER 6 (answer)

Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Anthony Bailey **
Jack Bross **
James Sinnett **
M. Sean Molley **
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #210

PENT WORDS 42 (hint)

As of this writing, 7 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #211

PATHFINDER 7 (hint)

As of this writing, 8 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

DOUBLE WORDY WEDNESDAYS ALL MONTH LONG!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #212

TOUCHWORD 6

(click here for a PDF version)

In a crossword, words cross each other; in this puzzle, they merely touch. More specifically, every letter shares an edge with at least one identical letter either immediately above or immediately below. The top and bottom rows are considered adjacent. (You can think of it as a diagramless, cylindrical Share-A-Letter puzzle.)

Arrange the letters in the shaded spaces to form the final answer, an 8-letter word.

1 Daft Punk song containing 261 instances of the word "it" in under 3 minutes / Makes a mistake
2 Astronomer or Penny Arcade character Brahe / Of a bygone era / Roman goddess of agriculture
3 Tropical storm in the China sea / Sets of false teeth
4 Subatomic particle with one or more strange quarks / ____ and potatoes / Exploits
5 Bob of The Ghost Breakers (1940) / Elbow ____ / French painter Henri
6 Cowboy's greeting / The “Oxford” one irks, annoys, and aggravates some people / A dishwasher cycle
7 Obscene / Ending passage of a piece of music / React to a painful video, perhaps
8 Substance with a pH level greater than 7 / Substance with a pH level less than 7 / Measure of a large land area
9 Prophet who married a prostitute / Spin ____ (1996-2002 sitcom) / Jim Jacobs/Warren Casey musical
10 Word before "run" or "stretch" / Out of practice / Metamorphic rock with bands
11 Upper arm bone / They’re used for painting handicap symbols on parking spots
12 Jackman who played Wolverine / It wakes everyone up on a farm / Blue Öyster ____
13 Overwatch character McCree's favorite time of day: 2 wds. / Path of flowing electricity
14 About one-sixth of an inch, in typography / Boy band whose name sometimes has an asterisk in front of it / The largest airline in Spain
15 Nuts in praline candy / He said, "All pitchers are liars or crybabies": 2 wds.

WORDY WEDNESDAY #213

HEX PATHFINDER 13

(click here for a PDF version)

In this puzzle, each answer starts in the correspondingly numbered hexagon and winds through the grid, starting in the indicated direction. When you have finished, every letter will be used in exactly two entries.

Rearrange the letters in the shaded spaces to get the final answer, a 7-letter word.

1E Hit song for The Who (12, 2 wds.)
2NW Balance beam user (7)
3NW Brand of artificial playing surface (9)
3SW Lower in rank (5)
4SE The Little ____ (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry work) (6)
5W “____ the Broken Road” (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band song covered by Rascal Flatts) (5)
6NE Used cigarette ends (5)
7NW Monetary units formerly used in Cannes (6)
8NE Subdivision of an act (5)
9E JFK and others (8)
10NW Capture with a hand (4)
10E Former Ohio senator John (5)
11NW Not short (4)
12NW Tool for some artists (6)
13SE “____ Discretion Iz Advised” (N.W.A song) (8)
14SE Former Dallas Cowboy Tony (4)
15NE Hair salon offering (5)
15NE Animal that can supposedly suck the contents out of an egg while leaving the shell intact (6)
16NW Come into view (6)
17W Surmise (5)
18E Max Keeble's Big ____ (2001 Disney movie) (4)
18E Most frequent value in a data set (4)
19W Popular dating app (6)
20W Grammatical construction that’s guaranteed to endlessly annoy certain people (15, 2 wds.)
21W Moonstone, for one (8)
22NE Stuff between bricks (6)
23E “Phooey!” (4)
24SW Taking out the trash, for one (5)
24SW TV chef Julia (5)
25SE Role for Christopher Biggins in I, Claudius (4)
26SW F. H. Bradley, philosophically (8)
27E ____ Waters (Danielle Steel novel) (7)
28W Foreordain (7)
29NW Muslim mystic (4)
30E Inhibit the growth of (5)
31SE Piece attaching a door to a doorframe (5)
32SW Up to the point that (5)
33W “On This Night of a Thousand Stars” musical (5)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 4-letter word for "Game show where contestants had 24 hours to study material they’d be quizzed on"?
* What's a 5-letter word for "Philbin who popularized the catchphrase, 'Is that your final answer?'"
* Patron Puzzle #36, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters ($1 or more per month) on or before April 15, is a Snake Crisscross. If you aren't already supporting me on Patreon, consider doing so to gain access to awesome bonus puzzles!

Wordy Wednesday 210: Pent Words 42 & Wordy Wednesday 211: Pathfinder 7

WORDY WEDNESDAY #208

ANACROSSWORD 15 (hint)

As of this writing, 7 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #209

PATHFINDER 6 (hint)

As of this writing, 7 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

DOUBLE WORDY WEDNESDAYS ALL MONTH LONG!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #210

PENT WORDS 42

(click here for a PDF version)

In this puzzle, you must divide the grid into pentominoes (regions containing five cells each), and write a letter in each cell. The rows, reading from left to right, will contain the words hinted at by the ACROSS clues. The letters in the pentominoes, in reading order (left to right starting with the top row), will form the words hinted at by the PENTOMINOES clues; these clues are presented in no particular order. (In the example, the rows spell PLANT, SHARE, and BITES, and the pentominoes spell the words PLANS, TREES, and HABIT.) Use the ACROSS answers to determine where the pentominoes are.

ACROSS (two answers per row):
1 "Pentagon Recommends Nation Play Through All ‘____’ Video Games In Preparation For Imminent Nuclear Apocalypse" (headline from Christian satirical news site The Babylon Bee) / Like many unsafe winter roads
2 Devastate / ____ House (American restaurant chain)
3 Do not overlook / Elbow ____
4 Hasbro war game / Charm
5 More uncanny / Facial feature for which Jay Leno is famous
6 A trigonometric function / ____ Runner (1983 Brøderbund video game)
7 Crackle and Pop's partner / Say again
8 Bodily disorder / Ketchum of the Pokémon anime
9 Alight / Bother
10 By ____ of (because of) / Car carrying a coffin
   
PENTOMINOES:
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* "Multi-Campus Church Debuts New 3D Experience To Make It Feel Like Pastor Is Actually ____" (Babylon Bee headline)
* It borders Oman and Saudi Arabia
* Not domesticated
* Military surveillance, briefly
* Cassettes
* Unwanted sound
* Permit
* Ted Cassidy's The Addams Family role
* "____ in Heaven" (Eric Clapton song)
* Flabbergast
* Singer Minaj
* Emulate Romeo and Juliet, perhaps
* Third of a third
* Concepts
* Make corrections to
* Month whose birthstone is the diamond
* City on the Mohawk River
* Copal, for example

WORDY WEDNESDAY #211

PATHFINDER 7

(click here for a PDF version)

In this puzzle, each answer starts in the correspondingly numbered square, goes in some direction, and makes one or more right-angled turns as it winds through the grid. When you have finished, every letter will be used in exactly two entries.

Rearrange the letters in the shaded spaces to get the final answer, an 8-letter word.

1 Asteroid ____ (4)

1 1999 movie based on a 1976 Isaac Asimov story (12 3)
2 It begins, “We believe in one God. . .” (6 5)
3 Michelle Obama's alma mater (9)
4 Pertaining to the sense of smell (9)
5 Did some calculus, perhaps (10)
6 Brand of cooler named after a marine animal (4)
7 Gardener’s container (9)
8 Misty of Hee Haw (4)
9 Implement for Roger Federer (6 6)
10 Fashion designer Burch (4)
11 Last Call with ____ Daly (6)
12 Elliot of Open Season (2006), for one (4)
13 Whistling kitchen item (9)
14 Avis rival (5)
15 The Old Farmer’s ____ (7)
16 Goal (6)
17 Meal-ending courses (8)
18 Proofreading symbols indicating where something needs to be added (6)
19 Statue carved by Pygmalion in Greek myth (7)
19 Top-tier chess player (11)
20 Hydrochloric ____ (4)
21 ____ House (book publisher) (6)
22 The Godfather soundtrack composer Rota (4)
23 Michael Sembello song in Flashdance (6)
24 Trouble (8)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* Who said, "All pitchers are liars or crybabies"?
* What's a 6-letter word for "The Little ____ (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry work)"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!