Wordy Wednesday 423: Pathfinder 23 & Wordy Wednesday 424: Codewords 15

WORDY WEDNESDAY #421
SNAKE CRISSCROSS 17 (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:
Cindy Heisler **
Cole Kendall **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman *
Jason Boomer **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #422
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 7 (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!

LAST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH = DOUBLE WORDY WEDNESDAYS!
WORDY WEDNESDAY #423
PATHFINDER 23
(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 Mollusc-flavored vegetable juice brand (7)

2 Be generous (6)

2 Purple-wearing member of a fictional foursome (9)

3 Trigger (3 3)

4 Skor ingredient (6)

5 A noble gas (5)

6 Like many an interjection (11)

7 Absolutely serious (2-8)

8 Boxing arena (4)

9 The Satanic ____ (Salman Rushdie novel) (6)

10 Beginning point (5)

11 Ancient harp relatives (5)

12 Word before “column” or “wheel” (8)

13 “When in ____. . .” (4)

14 1975 hit for David Bowie (4)

15 Openings through which gas can escape (5)

16 One using the beta version of software (6)

17 As the ____ flies (4)

18 Simple ____ (rock band) (4)

18 Braid (5)

19 Boom’s support (4)

19 Island of ____ Toys (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer location) (6)

20 Soccer team number (6)

21 Up (5)

22 Conceited (4)

22 Old Dominion tourism slogan (8 2 3 6)

23 Dome-shaped dwellings (6)

24 The second-most populous Massachusetts city (9)

25 Like a binder where the pages can be rearranged (5-4)

WORDY WEDNESDAY #424
CODEWORDS 15
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron Kyle Nils. Support me on Patreon at the Super Fan level ($5/month) and solve the monthly Patron Puzzle for a chance to suggest a seed word for a future puzzle, or at the Ultra Fan level ($20/month) to suggest one seed word every month!

In the crossword puzzle above, every letter is represented by an integer from 1 through 26. You must decipher the code to reveal the words.

Arrange the letters in the shaded spaces to spell the final answer, an eight-letter word.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "____ Cowboy (1980 film with Debra Winger as Sissy)"?
* Patron Puzzle #87, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a Vocabulary Fun Pack.

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