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!

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