Wordy Wednesday 628: Codewords 30

WORDY WEDNESDAY #626
SECTION SIX 62 (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 **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Randy Rogers *
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #627
ANACROSSWORD 42 (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 #628
CODEWORDS 30
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron Jeri Feaster. 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. . .

* A Logicrossword!

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

Wordy Wednesday 627: Anacrossword 42

WORDY WEDNESDAY #625
PENT WORDS 125 (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 **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Nan **
Randy Rogers *
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #626
SECTION SIX 62 (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 #627
ANACROSSWORD 42
(click here for a PDF version)
(click here for rules)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron Jeri Feaster. 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!

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
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 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83

• “New ____” (Patti LaBelle song)
• Alligator pear
• ____ condor
• Cured cooked sausage
• ____ over heels
• Nonsense
• Equine name of a root vegetable
• Tiny amount
• Address at a political convention
• Florida’s official state marine mammal
• Water-filled trench surrounding a castle
• Polygon with four congruent sides
• Shoe with a high thin heel
• The Girl with the Dragon ____

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A Codewords!

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

Wordy Wednesday 626: Section Six 62

WORDY WEDNESDAY #624
LOGICROSSWORD 12 (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:
Derek Allen **
Michael Lebowitz *
Randy Rogers **
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #625
PENT WORDS 125 (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 #626
SECTION SIX 26
(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 starred spaces to form the final answer, a Scrabble-legal (unhyphenated, uncapitalized, etc.) 6-letter word.

Ring 1
1 Kevin who played the atheist philosophy professor in God’s Not Dead (2014)
2 Seat in a park
3 Meticulously refurbish, as a car
4 “Gimme ____” (Rolling Stones hit)
5 Movement associated with Andy Warhol: 2 wds.
6 ____ Peninsula (peninsula comprising Spain and Portugal)

Ring 2
• New ____, India
• Snoozed
• Surgical procedures
• Big name in online vacation rentals
• Solemn promise

Ring 3
• Get oneself cleaned up
• High point of a small mound of earth
• Fanatical devotee to a political faction
• Metallic element whose symbol is Fe

Ring 4
• Dried grape
• Bordello
• Certain African mammal, briefly

Ring 5
• It means “tray planting” in Japanese
• Not rude at all

Ring 6
• City on the Mexican border located at the western end of U.S. Highway 62: 2 wds.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What is Florida’s official state marine mammal?

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

Wordy Wednesday 625: Pent Words 125

WORDY WEDNESDAY #623
CODEWORDS 29 (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 **
Cathy Bowen **
Derek Allen **
Michael Lebowitz **
Randy Rogers *
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #624
LOGICROSSWORD 12 (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 #625
PENT WORDS 125
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron Cathy Bowen. 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 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 1959-1965 TV series starring Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates / Storage container
2 Dah’s counterpart / Challenge
3 Large body of water / Upright part between stair treads
4 Casing for a knife blade / Dog-biting insect
5 Platter carried by a waiter / Read carefully
6 Cartoonist Disney / Tibetan mountain guide
7 Fashion designer Giorgio / Closed circuit
8 Spiky desert plant / At any time
9 One who belongs to a club / Hand over ____
10 Cult of the ____ (2022 roguelike video game) / The third-most populated city in Colorado
PENTOMINOES:
• HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
• THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
• Overly excited
• Overly excited
• Rage
• Windows version after XP
• Structure on which sacrifices are offered
• “____ lips sink ships”
• “____ Ga Ga” (1984 Queen song)
• A potato is one
• “You Make Me Wanna…” singer
• Venomous African snake
• National ____ Association (gun rights group)
• Red ledger entry
• Rub out, as pencil marks
• Hummingbirds’ homes
• Barbarian portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger
• Plastic drinking implement
• Swindler
• Humped mammal

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 6-letter, 2-word answer for "City on the Mexican border located at the western end of U.S. Highway 62"?
Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!

Outside the Fox Puzzles: Triple Crown Fox Derby #1 (RESULTS!)

The 1st triannual Triple Crown Fox Derby from two weeks ago has concluded. Click here for a PDF of all the puzzle solutions. The contest results follow.

22 foxes qualified for the first race, the Kittucky Derby, by solving all three puzzles. Race results:
Gate 1: Foxy McFoxface, Michael J. Fox
Gate 2: Endless Foxtabilities
Gate 3: Neighsayer, Paul
Gate 4: Bright Tail, Not a Werewolf
Gate 5: John Quincy Adams
Gate 6: Fox in Socks
Gate 7: Derek
Gate 8: Mesquite, Paprika, Vixen for a Fight
Gate 9: Sandy
Gate 10: Alex, Finn Shenanigan
Gate 11: Sean Ryan Fox
Gate 14: Kit Katsune
Gate 17: Vivica A. Fox
Gate 21: Granny Fox
Gate 28: Ferris Homer Swiper Carlson
Gate 42: Oxxo

Endless Foxtabilities had a bit of difficulty qualifying for this race, as a PNG of the LITS solution was not attached correctly in the initial email. Luckily, a follow-up email resolved this issue. 10 other foxes finished; gate 8 was the most crowded, with 3 foxes.

24 foxes qualified for the second race, the Sneakness Stakes, by solving two puzzles. Race results:

Gate 2: Endless Foxtabilities, Foxy McFoxface, Michael J. Fox
Gate 4: Mesquite, Neighsayer, Not a Werewolf, Paul
Gate 5: Bright Tail
Gate 6: Fox in Socks, Kitsune
Gate 7: Derek
Gate 8: Vixen for a Fight
Gate 9: Sandy, Sir Fluffington
Gate 12: Sean Ryan Fox
Gate 13: Paprika
Gate 14: Alex, Finn Shenanigan, Kit Katsune
Gate 16: John Quincy Adams
Gate 17: Vivica A. Fox
Gate 21: Granny Fox
Gate 28: Ferris Homer Swiper Carlson
Gate 42: Oxxo

Shocking, none of these foxes were bold enough to try gate 1 (or 3), which would have changed the race outcome significantly. Besides the winner Bright Tail, 9 other foxes finished; gate 4 was the most crowded, with 4 foxes.

 

24 foxes qualified for the third race, the Tailmont Stakes, by solving one puzzle. Race results:

Gate 1: Vixen for a Fight
Gate 2: Endless Foxtabilities, Mesquite
Gate 3: Foxy McFoxface, Michael J. Fox
Gate 4: Not a Werewolf
Gate 5: Neighsayer, Paul
Gate 6: Bright Tail, Finn Shenanigan, Fox in Socks, Kitsune
Gate 7: Derek
Gate 9: Sandy, Sir Fluffington
Gate 13: Sean Ryan Fox
Gate 14: Kit Katsune
Gate 16: Alex
Gate 17: Paprika, Vivica A. Fox
Gate 21: Granny Fox
Gate 28: Ferris Homer Swiper Carlson
Gate 29: John Quincy Adams
Gate 42: Oxxo
Vixen for a Fight, whose gate 1 strategy paid off handsomely, was the second-to-last fox entered (hours before the deadline); 10 other foxes finished, including Mesquite at gate 2 who would have won without this last-minute entry; gate 6 was the most crowded, with 3 foxes (though it would have been 4 foxes had Bright Tail not been busy celebrating at the Sneakness Stakes winner's podium).

The three winners, Ken Crowell, Spheniscine Kynosoura, and Tamara Brenner, will soon be contacted about redeeming their prizes. Thanks to you all for participating! The 2nd triannual Triple Crown Fox Derby will be held on March 17, 2025. Perhaps the participants will have a better idea of how many other participants there will be this time, and factor that into their strategies. . .