Wordy Wednesday 444: Divided Into Columns 9 & Wordy Wednesday 445: Pent Words 89

WORDY WEDNESDAY #442
PATHFINDER 25 (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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cindy Heisler **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman *
Damon French **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Patrick Jordan *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #443
BUILD YOUR OWN PUZZLE (hint)

As of this writing, 5 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's a hint. 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 #444
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 9
(click here for a PDF version)
(click here for rules)

Bitterness __ __ __ __ ___ __ __

           47 24 31 86 100 62 56

Camelion product __ __ __ __ __ ___ __

                 16 84 66 53 74 107 26

Symbol on a music staff, perhaps __ __ __ __

                                 58 07 43 75

Texas NBA team: 2 wds. __ __ __ __ ___ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                       87 10 34 22 106 49 81 57 76 27 19 65 99 91 03

Faulty __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ___ __

       51 80 64 54 30 25 95 104 17

Woolly females ___ __ __ __

               105 93 63 04

Like sandpaper __ __ __ __ __ __

               90 60 38 45 37 29

____ Five-0 __ __ __ __ __ __

            78 68 42 85 21 05

Texas NBA team: 2 wds. __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ___ __ __

                       28 79 92 41 33 02 72 83 48 23 15 101 46 36

Course for speeding cars, say __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                              44 67 70 20 09 98 13

Board game that’s an ancestor of Othello ___ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                         102 11 69 59 18 40 01

Texas NBA team: 3 wds. __ __ __ __ __ ___ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ___

                       61 97 06 14 32 108 73 96 12 35 88 39 50 52 103

Treble speaker __ __ __ __ __ __ __

               89 55 71 77 08 94 82

WORDY WEDNESDAY #445
PENT WORDS 89
(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 Noisy device used to warn ships of hazards / ____ de cologne

2 Grocery shopper’s aid / Fiona of the Shrek movies is one

3 ____ collie / Dispense a beverage, for example

4 Wombs / Winner

5 Sports official, briefly / Treachery against one’s country’s government

6 ____ waffle / Guadalajara gold

7 A reddish brown hue / ____, Please (2013 video game)

8 Asiatic wild ass / Yearn (for)

9 The county seat of Ector County, Texas / Danish toy brand

10 Streep of Out of Africa / Not at all secret

PENTOMINOES:

* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* Six Feet ____ (2001-2005 HBO series)

* ____ force

* Gold brick

* Regions

* Witch’s prop

* Seize forcefully, as authority

* Parts of fishing rods

* “Part-Time ____” (Stevie Wonder hit)

* The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo ____

* Early wireless communications device

* Certain literary composition

* Enormous

* A leaf of a book

* ____ Jacks (cereal)

* Scandinavian

* Important historical time period

* Approaches

* Apt word spelled by the initials of the names of the Possessors, five spectral characters fought in Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 6-letter word for "Tinker ____ Soldier Spy"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 443: Build Your Own Puzzle

WORDY WEDNESDAY #441
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
James Haddad **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Damon French **
John Bulten *
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #442
PATHFINDER 25 (hint)

As of this writing, 11 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 #443
BUILD YOUR OWN PUZZLE
(click here for a PDF version)

Because sometimes the “author” is too lazy to finish doing it.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 7-letter word for "Board game that’s an ancestor of Othello"?
* What's a 5-letter word for "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo ____"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Three Words V! (RESULTS!)

It's time for the results of this contest!

Wordy Wednesday 442: Pathfinder 25

WORDY WEDNESDAY #439
PUT A RING ON IT (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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cindy Heisler **
Cole Kendall **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
M. Sean Molley **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman *
Alex Sisti **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #440
PENT WORDS 88 (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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cindy Heisler **
Cole Kendall **
James Haddad **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #441
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 8 (hint)

As of this writing, 10 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 #442
PATHFINDER 25
(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 City whose initials form the two-letter postal abbreviation for the state it’s in (4 10)

2 Chest of drawers (6)

3 Certain clergy member (6)

3 Curves defined by a directrix and a focus (9)

4 Laying away (7)

5 Fixed charges (4)

6 Certain meteorological device (4 5)

7 Downright easy (10)

8 American Revolutionary War battle site (6 4)

9 Angelic figure (6)

10 Cruel (6)

11 A Visit from St. ____ (8)

12 Boring tool (5)

13 1994 SNES game where players race to assemble jigsaw puzzles (6)

14 My ____ Academia (4)

14 Item at the top of a car seat (8)

15 What a computer might display when it fails to complete an operation (5 7)

16 For fear that (4)

17 One of two music options in the classic NES puzzle game Dr. Mario, the other being “Fever” (5)

17 Arizona has a “Grand” one (6)

18 Go back to a previous state (6)

18 Tiny slip of paper accompanying a purchase, often (7)

19 “____ Breath You Take” (The Police hit) (5)

20 Denmark’s only neighbor (7)

21 Certain literary composition (5)

22 “Sorry, that’s impossible for me!” (2 3 2)

23 Honesty (6)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A puzzle that I was too lazy to finish making!

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Three Words V! (Week 6 update - FINAL UPDATE!)

For full rules, see here.

Note: Unless otherwise specified, "vowel" and "consonant" are defined as per National Puzzlers League rules, since those are the rules my readers seem to want to go along with. This means that A, E, I, O, U, and Y are vowels, and the other 20 letters are consonants.

Week 0:

The set of all 4-letter words which start with a vowel: ONE
The set of all words ending with a letter strictly after Q alphabetically (RSTUVWXYZ): TWO

Week 1:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose second letter appears in the words "PANIC ROOM": TWO

[John Bulten] The set of all words whose first letter appears in the word "CAMPERS": ONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words containing the letter R: TWO

Week 2:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose second-to-last letter appears in the words "THE GREAT ESCAPE": TWO

[John Bulten] The set of all words with an even number of letters: TWO

Week 3:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose third letter appears in the words "FIGHT CLUB": ONE

[John Bulten] The set of all words with an even number of vowels: TWO

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words containing three or more vowels: ONE

[Penni Bulten] The set of all words which have a vowel as the second to last letter: NONE

Week 4:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words ending with a letter in "SPACEBALLS": ALL

[John Bulten] The set of all words containing L, M, or N: ONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words whose first letter appears in "BULTEN": NONE

Week 5:

[Cody McWilliams] The set of all words that contain at least one string of two or more consecutive vowels: TWO

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words in the American Oxford 5000 (this list plus this list): ALL

Week 6:

[Grant Fikes] The set of all 4- and 5-letter words in which all of the letters, with the possible exception of the first letter or the third letter (but not both), appear in the phrase "WHO GETS THE DRUMSTICK?": ALL

[John Bulten] [private guess of a set of 3 words]: ALL

[Kevin Orfield] [private guess of a set of 3 words]: ALL

Since the trio of words has been guessed, $12 has been donated to the Food Bank of West Central Texas!

Everyone now has one more week to guess the trio of words! Results will be announced on November 15.

Wordy Wednesday 441: Divided Into Columns 8

WORDY WEDNESDAY #438
HOGGLE (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 a hint. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Tyler Hinman *
Jason Boomer **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #439
PUT A RING ON IT (hint)

As of this writing, 14 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's a hint. 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 #440
PENT WORDS 88 (hint)

As of this writing, 11 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 #441
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 8
(click here for a PDF version)
(click here for rules)

Place for planes to take off and land __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                      39 73 58 91 06 46 85 20

Fluid that prevents an engine overheating __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                          17 22 96 69 51 03 45

Salad bit __ __ __ __ __ __ __

          61 70 76 56 34 50 30

Game show with ten contestants: 2 wds. __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                       54 43 07 29 02 16 74 24 60 41

Enormous cephalopod: 2 wds. __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                            92 82 31 86 37 10 23 57 42 66

Frozen spike __ __ __ __ __ __

             64 35 89 18 11 67

First letter, as of a name __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                           72 93 81 48 08 40 36

Large dog with an apricot, brindle, or fawn coat __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                                 78 90 87 77 95 28 25

Like gneiss or schist __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                      12 63 38 94 52 79 04 68 21 32 71

Cheesy Mexican restaurant item __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                               55 27 88 33 14 62 75 47 09 65

Establishment in many a Western __ __ __ __ __ __

                                59 05 44 26 53 13

Billiards shot that pockets the cue ball __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                         80 84 83 15 19 49 01

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "One of two music options in the classic NES puzzle game Dr. Mario, the other being 'Fever'"?
* Patron Puzzle #90, which will be delivered on November 8, 2021, exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a Fill-In Crossword.

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Three Words V! (Week 5 update)

For full rules, see here.

Note: Unless otherwise specified, "vowel" and "consonant" are defined as per National Puzzlers League rules, since those are the rules my readers seem to want to go along with. This means that A, E, I, O, U, and Y are vowels, and the other 20 letters are consonants.

Week 0:

The set of all 4-letter words which start with a vowel: ONE
The set of all words ending with a letter strictly after Q alphabetically (RSTUVWXYZ): TWO

Week 1:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose second letter appears in the words "PANIC ROOM": TWO

[John Bulten] The set of all words whose first letter appears in the word "CAMPERS": ONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words containing the letter R: TWO

Week 2:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose second-to-last letter appears in the words "THE GREAT ESCAPE": TWO

[John Bulten] The set of all words with an even number of letters: TWO

Week 3:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose third letter appears in the words "FIGHT CLUB": ONE

[John Bulten] The set of all words with an even number of vowels: TWO

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words containing three or more vowels: ONE

[Penni Bulten] The set of all words which have a vowel as the second to last letter: NONE

Week 4:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words ending with a letter in "SPACEBALLS": ALL

[John Bulten] The set of all words containing L, M, or N: ONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words whose first letter appears in "BULTEN": NONE

Week 5:

[Cody McWilliams] The set of all words that contain at least one string of two or more consecutive vowels: TWO

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words in the American Oxford 5000 (this list plus this list): ALL

The money pool for the Food Bank of West Central Texas is now $12.

Submit more guesses!

Wordy Wednesday 439: Put a Ring on It & Wordy Wednesday 440: Pent Words 88

WORDY WEDNESDAY #437
WE HAVE EVERYTHING WRONG! (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:
Bonnie Veenschoten *
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Jason Boomer **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #438
HOGGLE (hint)

As of this writing, 4 people have solved this puzzle. I warned you that this one was tough, so absolutely avail yourself of this hint. 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 #439
PUT A RING ON IT
(click here for a PDF version)
(click here for a PUZ version)

WORDY WEDNESDAY #440
PENT WORDS 88
(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 “Report: Facebook Crashed After ____ Zuckerberg Failed CAPTCHA One Too Many Times” (headline from Christian satirical news site The Babylon Bee) / Crisp apple variety after which Apple’s failed gaming console was named

2 Gosling of Drive (2011) / Certain spotted cat

3 “____ or treat!” / Snares for animals

4 Cremated remains / Be real

5 Certain spotted cat / Rowing implement

6 Make ____ (correct a mistake) / ____ Stew (children’s book by Bill Wallace)

7 Low digit / Kidnappers

8 Not closed / Large-eared fox

9 43,560 square feet / Computer nerd, say

10 Male organ of a flower / Edible container at an ice cream parlor

PENTOMINOES:

* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* ____ of drawers

* ____ lazuli

* Board game related to Gomoku in which you can win either by aligning five of your pieces or by capturing five pairs of your opponent’s pieces

* Subdivision of an act

* ____ noir (wine)

* Brief film appearance, perhaps

* Japanese egg noodles

* Counterparts of ventricles

* Sanka offering

* Maid of ____

* “We Didn’t ____ the Fire” (Billy Joel hit)

* Sharon of $5 a Day (2008)

* Leonard Marx, familiarly

* “Don't ____ it until you've tried it!”

* British currency units

* Become wed

* Charlie of Two and a Half Men

* Laurie of The Hustler (1961)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's an 11-letter word for "Like gneiss or schist"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Three Words V! (Week 4 update)

For full rules, see here.

Note: Unless otherwise specified, "vowel" and "consonant" are defined as per National Puzzlers League rules, since those are the rules my readers seem to want to go along with. This means that A, E, I, O, U, and Y are vowels, and the other 20 letters are consonants.

Week 0:

The set of all 4-letter words which start with a vowel: ONE
The set of all words ending with a letter strictly after Q alphabetically (RSTUVWXYZ): TWO

Week 1:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose second letter appears in the words "PANIC ROOM": TWO

[John Bulten] The set of all words whose first letter appears in the word "CAMPERS": ONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words containing the letter R: TWO

Week 2:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose second-to-last letter appears in the words "THE GREAT ESCAPE": TWO

[John Bulten] The set of all words with an even number of letters: TWO

Week 3:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose third letter appears in the words "FIGHT CLUB": ONE

[John Bulten] The set of all words with an even number of vowels: TWO

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words containing three or more vowels: ONE

[Penni Bulten] The set of all words which have a vowel as the second to last letter: NONE

Week 4:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words ending with a letter in "SPACEBALLS": ALL

[John Bulten] The set of all words containing L, M, or N: ONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words whose first letter appears in "BULTEN": NONE

The money pool for the Food Bank of West Central Texas is now $14.

The Penni has dropped. . . but will the penny drop soon, as well?

Submit more guesses!

Wordy Wednesday 438: Hoggle

WORDY WEDNESDAY #436
SECTION SIX 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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cindy Heisler **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter *
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #437
WE HAVE EVERYTHING WRONG! (hint)

As of this writing, 8 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's a hint. 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 #438
HOGGLE
(click here for a PDF version)

[The illustration is by Tintinabar. This artist credit is not part of the puzzle.]

Oh no! The Three Little Pigs grabbed some pigpens and pigpaper to play Hoggle (a word game you’ve probably played, but in their native language), but the Big Bad Wolf huffed, and puffed, and blew mud all over their game! Luckily, the porcine brothers remember some of the words they were able to find. Can you reconstruct the board?

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A meta crossword!
* What's a 5-letter word for "Board game related to Gomoku in which you can win either by aligning five of your pieces or by capturing five pairs of your opponent’s pieces"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Three Words V! (Week 3 update)

For full rules, see here.

Note: Unless otherwise specified, "vowel" and "consonant" are defined as per National Puzzlers League rules, since those are the rules my readers seem to want to go along with. This means that A, E, I, O, U, and Y are vowels, and the other 20 letters are consonants.

Week 0:

The set of all 4-letter words which start with a vowel: ONE
The set of all words ending with a letter strictly after Q alphabetically (RSTUVWXYZ): TWO

Week 1:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose second letter appears in the words "PANIC ROOM": TWO

[John Bulten] The set of all words whose first letter appears in the word "CAMPERS": ONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words containing the letter R: TWO

Week 2:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose second-to-last letter appears in the words "THE GREAT ESCAPE": TWO

[John Bulten] The set of all words with an even number of letters: TWO

Week 3:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose third letter appears in the words "FIGHT CLUB": ONE

[John Bulten] The set of all words with an even number of vowels: TWO

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words containing three or more vowels: ONE

[Penni Bulten] The set of all words which have a vowel as the second to last letter: NONE

The money pool for the Food Bank of West Central Texas is now $16.

Kevin Orfield, methinks it's time to start inviting other people surnamed Orfield. This contest has become a family affair!

Submit more guesses!

Wordy Wednesday 437: We Have Everything Wrong!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #434
TOUCHWORD 23 (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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cindy Heisler **
Cole Kendall **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Patrick Jordan **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #435
PENT WORDS 87 (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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cindy Heisler **
Cole Kendall **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #436
SECTION SIX 43 (hint)

As of this writing, 9 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 #437
WE HAVE EVERYTHING WRONG!
(click here for a PDF version)

Some villainous characters have thrown down the gauntlet, challenging us to fix their facts! What do we need to do to defeat the villains?

=============================================================================

FU EJXZEHY SC EBU GFJH, MDEUOHC FGY UWYF FLH BDH WGZC BMW EGNLHYEHGBU

TWJXLEUEGN F *AFTO FGY *AEZZ.

=============================================================================

VOPY IW LYN PIFU DFITOPNT SU *EVNFSPE SK ZFIXU HQ *YEXANQNK SU LYN KLELN IW

HIFNTIV.

=============================================================================

YVIJ S JSFTDJSFNMSK LDVGLDMFNPD, FTD GTSLD IY S XICEF IV S ASRDK NG MSKKDX S

*RDJNCN.

=============================================================================

HKKUAENSP OU H YCDD-LSUYS ECOCAPCSO IDUPHS, NT NO’I PUO OU FC KDCHS, NO’I PUO

OU FC LSUOOCE.

=============================================================================

*ZXCGZ *ZRHWPCFA XFZ *LGEEGXF *XFZBOTPF JXDPRTEA UEXABZ QWB JBZBOXE XLBFQT

*DREZBO XFZ WRDBORT.

=============================================================================

QOU *MUQKTJH GJMJRUIJUR “*QOU *ZDUUM’R *XPGAJQ” WUBJFQR P XJIT VOC JR ZDJQU

UHQIPCIWJMPIL PQ BTPLJMX AJMXC.

=============================================================================

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A puzzle that none of my Patreon supporters have solved yet! Can you outsmart them?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Three Words V! (Week 2 update)

For full rules, see here.

Note: Unless otherwise specified, "vowel" and "consonant" are defined as per National Puzzlers League rules, since those are the rules my readers seem to want to go along with. This means that A, E, I, O, U, and Y are vowels, and the other 20 letters are consonants.

Week 0:

The set of all 4-letter words which start with a vowel: ONE
The set of all words ending with a letter strictly after Q alphabetically (RSTUVWXYZ): TWO

Week 1:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose second letter appears in the words "PANIC ROOM": TWO

[John Bulten] The set of all words whose first letter appears in the word "CAMPERS": ONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words containing the letter R: TWO

Week 2:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose second-to-last letter appears in the words "THE GREAT ESCAPE": TWO

[John Bulten] The set of all words with an even number of letters: TWO

The money pool for the Food Bank of West Central Texas is now $18.

Submit more guesses!

Wordy Wednesday 436: Section Six 43

WORDY WEDNESDAY #433
HEX PATHFINDER 27 (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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cindy Heisler **
James Haddad *
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Mary Maynard **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #434
TOUCHWORD 23 (hint)

As of this writing, 12 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 #435
PENT WORDS 87 (hint)

As of this writing, 11 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 #436
SECTION SIX 43
(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 Color similar to fuchsia

2 Records video footage

3 City on the Han River

4 Staunch

5 Make an out-of-court agreement, say

6 ____ cherry

Ring 2

* Omit, as a pronounced sound

* Feats

* Drive the getaway car, for example

* It connects two bones

* Far from respectable

Ring 3

* Place for a pump on a ship, perhaps

* “Sweet Love” singer Baker

* On the ____ (accurate)

* Afghanistan’s area: 2 wds.

Ring 4

* Not corporeal, as an asset

* “When all is ____ and done. . .”

* Philadelphia architect Thomas U. Walter designed the one on the Capitol Building

Ring 5

* Hammer’s target

* Material deposited by water

Ring 6

* Quaid who appeared in Movie 43 (2013)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A puzzle that has everything wrong!
* Patron Puzzle #89, which will be delivered on October 8, 2021, exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a Diagramless Crossword.

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Three Words V! (Week 1 update)

For full rules, see here.

Note: Unless otherwise specified, "vowel" and "consonant" are defined as per National Puzzlers League rules, since those are the rules my readers seem to want to go along with. This means that A, E, I, O, U, and Y are vowels, and the other 20 letters are consonants.

Week 0:

The set of all 4-letter words which start with a vowel: ONE
The set of all words ending with a letter strictly after Q alphabetically (RSTUVWXYZ): TWO

Week 1:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose second letter appears in the words "PANIC ROOM": TWO

[John Bulten] The set of all words whose first letter appears in the word "CAMPERS": ONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words containing the letter R: TWO

The money pool for the Food Bank of West Central Texas is now $20.

Submit more guesses!

Wordy Wednesday 434: Touchword 23 & Wordy Wednesday 435: Pent Words 87

WORDY WEDNESDAY #432
TOUCHWORD 22 (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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cindy Heisler **
Cole Kendall **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Mary Maynard **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Patrick Jordan **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #433
HEX PATHFINDER 27 (hint)

As of this writing, 11 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 #434
TOUCHWORD 23
(click here for a PDF version)

In a crossword, words cross each other; in this puzzle, they merely touch. More specifically, all answers read across, and 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.

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

1 Game played by painter Marcel Duchamp / Lays under the sun or in a bed, say / Prisoner

2 Bill Clinton’s daughter / Star Trek II: The Wrath of ____ / Items on a fishing boat

3 Iridescent mineral / Asian timber tree / It connects a horse and carriage

4 Bridget Riley’s specialty: 2 wds. / Beat with a whip / Author Hemingway

5 Twilight ____ (My Little Pony character) / ____ butter / Tidy

6 Smug facial expression / Pianist John / Newspaper posting regarding a job opening, perhaps: 2 wds.

7 Islamic empire / Totally crushed the hopes of

8 Senator famously found to be between 1/1024 and 1/64 Native American: 2 wds.

9 Public square / Underneath / Temptress

10 Blueprint / Violin relative / Egyptian god of the underworld

11 Move with a springing gait / Construction toy brand / Hindu garments

12 Pontiac model introduced in 1973 as a luxury/sport sedan: 2 wds. / An obsession with oneself

13 Seize / What beavers build / Neighbor of Moldova and Ukraine

14 Gift of gratitude / Colombo’s country: 2 wds.

15 “____ Kiss” (Faith Hill song) / Fork or spoon, say / “You ____ My Dreams” (Hall & Oates song)

WORDY WEDNESDAY #435
PENT WORDS 87
(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 Toaster ____ (Pillsbury product) / Diet cola brand

2 Astound / Super Smash Bros. ____ (2008 Wii game)

3 Golf ball feature / Brogan, for one

4 “____ to Joy” / Coiled tube in the ear

5 2016 board game named after an agricultural implement / Drift, as a smell

6 ____ on Pop (Dr. Seuss book) / The edible part of a carrot, for one

7 Ronald who was California’s governor from 1967 through 1975 / Aviator Sikorsky

8 Street where Mr. Hooper lived / Miami-____ County, FL

9 A shade of red / Sax-playing Simpson

10 Bird’s home / Turn away from sin

PENTOMINOES:

* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* Emulate a goat or a sheep

* 1979 film with the tagline, “In space no one can hear you scream”

* Play a guitar, say

* ə

* Subdivision of an act

* Barcelona bye-bye

* Airline that, in 2021, promised to fine employees who choose not to get vaccinated against the “B.1.617.2 variant” of coronavirus

* Young knights in training

* Fruit Stripe mascot Yipes, for one

* More than enough

* Θ

* Pointed, as a gun

* Come up

* Routine task

* ____ throat

* Duck Commander offering

* Tine

* Trick or ____

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 6-letter word for "Quaid who appeared in Movie 43 (2013)"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Three Words V!

NEW: The results page from the last contest includes a strategy guide that might help you out!

I am thinking of three distinct English words that are at least 2 letters long and no more than 15 letters long. All of the words are valid in Scrabble according to https://scrabble.merriam.com/. Your goal is to guess them. Everyone who guesses the trio of words correctly by the time the contest is over will be entered for a chance to win a gift card for Grandmaster Puzzles worth $10, plus a surprise gift featuring a fox/badger character that veterans of this blog might remember. Additionally, one random person who meaningfully participates in this contest (either by making a public guess at any time or by correctly guessing the word trio) will win the same prize package in a second random drawing.

Once per week, each and every single person reading this blog post is allowed to e-mail a set of words to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. To give me more time to prepare the weekly posts (in case of a freak statewide power outage, for example), the deadline to guarantee your guess being accepted is 12:01 AM Central time each Sunday. If it is a set of at least 10 words or it is defined by a property of the words rather than an explicit list, I will publicly post on this blog (on the following Monday at 12:01 AM Central time) whether NONE, ONE, TWO, or ALL of my words are in that set. If it is a set of 9 words or fewer and you list the words explicitly (that is, you guess "{CINQ, QADI, QAID, QATS, QOPH}" rather than "the set of all Scrabble-legal 4-letter words with a Q and not a U"), I will privately give you the same information in an email sometime that Sunday.

I reserve the right to reject any guess if it is impossible for the average reader (who doesn't know what my words are already) to determine whether or not any given word is in your set within a relatively short amount of time. This is a difficult quality to define empirically, but valid guesses would include "the set of all words starting with a letter in the word PRIME" or "the set of all words with a prime number of distinct letters", and invalid guesses would include "the set of the three words Grant is thinking of" and "the set of all words still in at least one possible word trio given the information publicly available right now, and which, if the words in that set were listed and numbered alphabetically starting from 1, would have prime indices". Keep it simple!

Once someone has guessed the trio of words (that is, submitted to me a set of exactly three words and gotten a result of ALL), one last weekly update will be posted on this blog, including one last hint from me, and then people who haven't guessed the words yet will have one more week to try to do so and be entered in the prize drawing. NEW: My final hint will be posted as a spoiler, so you can refrain from looking at it if you so choose. You must highlight the text with your mouse to see it. Practice on this text: You did it! Good job! The deadline for this final week will be 12:01 AM Central time on the following Monday (that is, the aforementioned 12:01 AM Sunday deadline will not be applied). The rules for private guesses still apply (you must explicitly list the three words you are guessing, not define them uniquely by some convoluted property).

This contest will also benefit the Food Bank of West Central Texas. The money pool will start at $22, the amount left over from the previous contest, and then go down $2 for every weekly update that has gone by without someone guessing the trio of words. (Exception: the value cannot go below $2.) The money pool will be donated once the words are guessed. Even if you aren't interested in the prize drawing, your participation may help someone else solve the words faster and thus help charity!

To kick things off, I'll make two guesses for you, chosen from among the guesses that were made in Let's Guess Three Words IV!. Note: Unless otherwise specified, "vowel" and "consonant" are defined as per National Puzzlers League rules, since those are the rules my readers seem to want to go along with. This means that A, E, I, O, U, and Y are vowels, and the other 20 letters are consonants.

The set of all 4-letter words which start with a vowel: ONE
The set of all words ending with a letter strictly after Q alphabetically (RSTUVWXYZ): TWO

Good luck, and happy guessing!

Wordy Wednesday 433: Hex Pathfinder 27

WORDY WEDNESDAY #431
CRYPTICROSTIC 14 (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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cole Kendall **
James Haddad **
Karen Spencer **
Tyler Hinman **
Dan Schwartz **
Jay Miller **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Lindsey Shultz **
Meg Duvall **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #432
TOUCHWORD 22 (hint)

As of this writing, 13 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 #433
HEX PATHFINDER 27
(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.

1W Popular fundraising event for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals in which participants play games for 24 hours (9, 2 wds.)

2SW Vicious (6)

3NE Late television personality who, in his 1990 wedding to wife Jean, phrased his vows, “The answer is. . . yes” (10, 2 wds.)

4E Instrument for Ravi Shankar (5)

5W Wild ass of Asia (6)

6NE Remove slack (7)

6NE Grumman fighter aircraft with a feline name (8)

7W Burglary (5)

8SW Sixpence None the ____ (Christian rock band) (6)

9SE Marine animal resembling a dolphin (8)

10NE Historical period marked by the advent of blacksmithing (7, 2 wds.)

11E 1982 hit for Toto (11, 2 wds.)

12NE The value of one’s assets minus the value of one’s liabilities (8, 2 wds.)

13E Hunting prey stealthily, perhaps (10, 3 wds.)

14SE ____ of consciousness (6)

15SW Keep a close eye on, as someone suspicious (7)

16W Shine (7)

17NW Reptiles lithographer (6)

18NW Claims (8)

19NE Causes pain for (4)

20SE Road encircling an urban area (7)

21SW 2019 biopic about an English fantasy author (7)

22W Schedule (6)

23E It starts with Palm Sunday (8, 2 wds.)

24E More frigid (5)

25SE Government employee (12, 2 wds.)

26NE Position from which a thing is seen (12, 2 wds.)

27NE Shout from an excited roller coaster passenger (4)

28SW Deplaned (4)

29W Character who could be described as ewes-less? (12, 2 wds., hyph.)

30E Long-snouted beetles (7)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 15-letter, 2-word answer for "Senator famously found to be between 1/1024 and 1/64 Native American"?
* What's a 5-letter word for "Fruit Stripe mascot Yipes, for one"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Three Words IV! (RESULTS!)

It's time for the results of this contest!

Wordy Wednesday 432: Touchword 22

WORDY WEDNESDAY #430
PENT WORDS 86 (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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cindy Heisler **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter *
Tyler Hinman **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #431
CRYPTICROSTIC 14 (hint)

As of this writing, 14 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 #432
TOUCHWORD 22
(click here for a PDF version)

In a crossword, words cross each other; in this puzzle, they merely touch. More specifically, all answers read across, and 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.

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

1 Humanities and related college studies: 2 wds. / ____ shooting

2 Partners of gizzards / What finally breaks one’s patience and endurance: 2 wds.

3 U-turns / Criminal

4 Paper quantity / The ____ McCoy / Cognitive scientist Hofstadter

5 Trotted about playfully / Horn-shaped corn chip brand

6 One reselling tickets at steep prices / 12 Angry Men (1957) actor with a notable environmental activist son: 2 wds.

7 Agriculturist and rock band namesake Jethro / Gossip blogger Hilton / Space Jam: A New ____

8 Flower whose name is used as an acronym for Calvinist doctrine / All ____ and no steak / Off-color

9 Long, narrow pieces, as of bacon / Big name in polo shirts / Rough ____

10 There are two in a full count / Sweeney ____: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street / Angel ____ (toilet paper brand)

11 Most well-groomed, as hair / Xbox One, for one

12 Away from the wind / Like some training / Available at a reduced price: 2 wds.

13 ____ vera / A province of Indonesia / Carter’s veep

14 Certain single-celled organism / Name shared by a yellow candy and a vodka cocktail: 2 wds.

15 Notification to the public of an abducted child: 2 wds. / Razor-sharpening need

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 7-letter word for "2019 biopic about an English fantasy author"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!