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!

Contest: Let's Guess Three Words IV! (Week 5 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 words in which the second letter is a vowel: ONE
The set of all words containing a string of three or more consecutive consonants (e.g. THREE) and/or a string of two or more consecutive vowels (e.g. THREE): TWO

Week 1:

[Buster Beachside] The set of all words containing exactly four letters, exactly three of which are consonants: NONE

[Cody McWilliams] The set of all words that end with a vowel: NONE

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose first letter appears in the words "SPEED RACER": TWO

[John Bulten] The set of all words ending with a letter strictly after Q alphabetically (RSTUVWXYZ): NONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words in which a letter appears more than once: TWO

[Kyle Nils] The set of all words which begin with a letter found in the words "FOOD BANK": ONE

Week 2:

[BentFork06] The set of all 4-letter words which start with a vowel: NONE

[Buster Beachside] The set of all 5-letter words: NONE

[Cody McWilliams] The set of all the words that contain the bigram PH: NONE

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose second-to-last letter appears in the words "RAIN MAN": ALL

[John Bulten] The set of all words in which the fifth letter exists and is a consonant other than S: ONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words containing exactly two vowels: ONE

[Kyle Nils] The set of all words that contain 3 or more vowels: TWO

[Sam Levitin] The set of all words in which all vowels are in alphabetical order (examples: FACETIOUSLY, BABOON, HMM): ONE

[Spheniscine] The set of all words with at least three vowels: TWO

Week 3:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose third letter appears in the words "PERFECT BLUE": NONE

[John Bulten] The set of all words with an even number of letters greater than five: ONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words of odd length (3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, or 15): TWO

[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length less than or equal to 5 letters: NONE

Week 4:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose fourth letter appears in "A MAN ESCAPED": ONE

[John Bulten] The set of all words whose fourth-to-last letter appears in "GOLDEN TAN": ALL

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words beginning with a letter in the first half of the alphabet: ONE

[Kyle Nils] The set of all words that have a third letter found in "SUNSHINE DAY": ALL

[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length 6, 7, or 8: TWO

Week 5:

[Grant Fikes] The set of all words with a total of exactly five occurrences of letters that do not appear in "THE THREE R'S": ALL

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

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words in the American English version of The Oxford 3000 (https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/external/pdf/wordlists/oxford-3000-5000/American_Oxford_3000.pdf): TWO

[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length 9 or 10: ONE

Since the trio of words has been guessed, $50 has been donated to the Food Bank of West Central Texas, and the remaining $22 in the money pool will carry over to the next contest!

Everyone now has one more week to guess the trio of words! Results will be announced on September 20, and then Let's Guess Three Words V will start on September 27.

Wordy Wednesday 431: Crypticrostic 14

WORDY WEDNESDAY #428
HEX PATHFINDER 26 (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 **
Brian Cross **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #429
CRYPTICROSTIC 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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
James Haddad **
Karen Spencer **
Tyler Hinman **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #430
PENT WORDS 86 (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 #431
CRYPTICROSTIC 14
(click here for a PDF version)
(click here for rules)

The answer is enumerated (3 3 5).

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39

A useful transportation option, primarily! __ __ __ __

                                           18 25 04 31

Boss is part of telethon choir __ __ __ __ __ __

                               23 20 22 34 01 10

“Color a length of tree trunk” overheard in discussion __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                                       08 33 12 19 15 07 02 38

Disgusting unkempt substance! __ __ __ __

                              29 16 06 13

Rationality of black cuckoo in pigpen __ __ __ __ __ __

                                      39 21 28 05 11 36                                            

Spiritual leader derides garments __ __ __ __ __ __

                                  26 32 24 30 37 35

Tune I remix is “Come Together” __ __ __ __ __

                                09 03 27 17 14

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What 12 Angry Men (1957) actor has a notable environmental activist son?

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

Contest: Let's Guess Three Words IV! (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 words in which the second letter is a vowel: ONE
The set of all words containing a string of three or more consecutive consonants (e.g. THREE) and/or a string of two or more consecutive vowels (e.g. THREE): TWO

Week 1:

[Buster Beachside] The set of all words containing exactly four letters, exactly three of which are consonants: NONE

[Cody McWilliams] The set of all words that end with a vowel: NONE

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose first letter appears in the words "SPEED RACER": TWO

[John Bulten] The set of all words ending with a letter strictly after Q alphabetically (RSTUVWXYZ): NONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words in which a letter appears more than once: TWO

[Kyle Nils] The set of all words which begin with a letter found in the words "FOOD BANK": ONE

Week 2:

[BentFork06] The set of all 4-letter words which start with a vowel: NONE

[Buster Beachside] The set of all 5-letter words: NONE

[Cody McWilliams] The set of all the words that contain the bigram PH: NONE

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose second-to-last letter appears in the words "RAIN MAN": ALL

[John Bulten] The set of all words in which the fifth letter exists and is a consonant other than S: ONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words containing exactly two vowels: ONE

[Kyle Nils] The set of all words that contain 3 or more vowels: TWO

[Sam Levitin] The set of all words in which all vowels are in alphabetical order (examples: FACETIOUSLY, BABOON, HMM): ONE

[Spheniscine] The set of all words with at least three vowels: TWO

Week 3:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose third letter appears in the words "PERFECT BLUE": NONE

[John Bulten] The set of all words with an even number of letters greater than five: ONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words of odd length (3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, or 15): TWO

[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length less than or equal to 5 letters: NONE

Week 4:

[Izak Bulten] The set of all words whose fourth letter appears in "A MAN ESCAPED": ONE

[John Bulten] The set of all words whose fourth-to-last letter appears in "GOLDEN TAN": ALL

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words beginning with a letter in the first half of the alphabet: ONE

[Kyle Nils] The set of all words that have a third letter found in "SUNSHINE DAY": ALL

[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length 6, 7, or 8: TWO

The money pool for the Food Bank of West Central Texas is now $72. (Reminder: up to $50 will be donated for this contest, and the excess will carry over to the next one.)

Submit more guesses!

Wordy Wednesday 430: Pent Words 86

WORDY WEDNESDAY #427
PATHFINDER 24 (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 **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Kyle Nils **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Patrick Jordan *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #428
HEX PATHFINDER 26 (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 #429
CRYPTICROSTIC 13 (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 #430
PENT WORDS 86
(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 Oregon’s state fruit / Classic Ravel composition which almost became the title theme for The Legend of Zelda
2 Close buddy / 2002-2003 sci-fi series created by Joss Whedon
3 Noisy item on an ambulance / “Little ____ Coupe” (The Beach Boys hit)
4 Window covering / Couches
5 “____!... I Did It Again” (Britney Spears hit) / Steal repeatedly in small amounts
6 “____ to be Stupid” (Weird Al song) / Insect of the order Dermaptera
7 ____ Lake (the largest of New York’s Finger Lakes) / Texas ____ University
8 Setting of many a joke / Negative mark earned through a misdeed
9 Two Mules for ____ Sara (1970 western film) / Nixon’s nixin’
10 Former Italian currency unit / Fastening line

PENTOMINOES:
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* Terminate
* Terminated
* Tiny little Wonka candies
* Ann ____, Michigan
* Word before “diamond” or “sugar”
* Tropical mammal whose secretion is used in perfume
* Analyze
* Do the ____ Thing (1989 film)
* A washer cycle
* Love & ____ Drugs (2010 film)
* Pesto ingredient
* “What’s it all about, ____?” (Cher lyric)
* It's about 39.37 inches
* Do lawn care, perhaps
* Expressionist painter Neiman
* Beverage brand that sponsors the bus of the Carolina Hurricanes
* ____ flare
* Beyond angry

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A Crypticrostic!

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