Wordy Wednesday 637: Codewords 31

WORDY WEDNESDAY #635
PENT WORDS 127 (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 **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Russ Kale **
CP80 **
Kevin Orfield **
Marie desJardins **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Squishmallows United **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #636
SECTION SIX 63 (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 #637
CODEWORDS 31
(click here for a PDF version)
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 an 11-letter, 2-word answer for "The scientific study of apparently random behavior"?

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

Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 9, Episode 8 (Meta): And Bingo Wasn't His Game-O

PREVIOUS EPISODES
Introduction (what these puzzles are and why they're called "Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 9"): click here
Episode 1 (This One's for the Dogs!): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 17 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 4 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 2 (Scintillating Sci-Fi): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 18 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 3 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 3 (Hopefully Not "Sew" Much Harder): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 18 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 3 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 4 (Why Can't We Be Friends?): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 19 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 5 (Musical Letter Chairs): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 20 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 1 person solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 6 (Perplexing Pearls): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 16 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 1 person solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 7 (Love Connection): puzzle PDF, hint PDF (new!)
* 17 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece.
 
The total number of points scored is 6600. Thus, the current money pool for Palm Beach County Food Bank is $66.00. Three anonymous benefactors have agreed to match this donation, meaning that Palm Beach County Food Bank will actually receive $264.00. If you haven't already, you may solve the above puzzles for 25 points each, possibly with the aid of the hint. These 7 answers will also be necessary for solving the meta below.

KEVIN’S PUZZLES AT HOME
SEASON 9, EPISODE 8 (META):
AND BINGO WASN’T HIS GAME-O
Kevin hasn't had very good luck in his last seven games of bingo; despite using a different card in each game, he always seemed to wind up one space away from a winning line. What game should Kevin play next if he wants to turn things around?

(This illustration by Tintinabar is not part of the puzzle. Any resemblance between this Kevin and the one who runs www.kevinspuzzles.com is purely coincidental.)

Submit your answer to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com for 150 points, and stay tuned next week for Episode 8's hint, and then the week after for all of the solutions. Good luck!

Wordy Wednesday 636: Section Six 63

WORDY WEDNESDAY #634
MINI TOUCHWORD 2 (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 **
Cole Kendall **
Derek Allen **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Russ Kale **
CP80 **
Kevin Orfield **
Marie desJardins **
Patrick Jordan **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Squishmallows United **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #635
PENT WORDS 127 (hint)
As of this writing, 15 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 #636
SECTION SIX 63
(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 Ringing kitchen gadget
2 The universe
3 Extreme
4 Michelin product
5 Relevant
6 Explosive that is thrown

Ring 2
• Cowell of America’s Got Talent
• The calm before the ____
• Yield
• Real number without a fractional component
• Treaty

Ring 3
• Large striped feline
• Enthusiastic
• Systems made up of microphones and loudspeakers
• Symbols on a music staff

Ring 4
• Certain male choir member
• Dispute
• Jamaican music genre associated with Bob Marley

Ring 5
• Snorkel’s rank in Beetle Bailey
• ____ beer

Ring 6
• ____ 63 (name of a NATO assault rifle, and not the 63rd person to use marijuana)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .
* A Codewords!

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

Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 9, Episode 7: Love Connection

PREVIOUS EPISODES
Introduction (what these puzzles are and why they're called "Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 9"): click here
Episode 1 (This One's for the Dogs!): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 17 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 4 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 2 (Scintillating Sci-Fi): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 18 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 3 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 3 (Hopefully Not "Sew" Much Harder): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 18 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 3 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 4 (Why Can't We Be Friends?): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 19 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 5 (Musical Letter Chairs): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 20 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 1 person solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 6 (Perplexing Pearls): puzzle PDF, hint PDF (new!)
* 16 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece. 
 
The total number of points scored is 5725. Thus, the current money pool for Palm Beach County Food Bank is $57.25. Three anonymous benefactors have agreed to match this donation, meaning that Palm Beach County Food Bank will actually receive $229.00. If you haven't already, you may solve the above puzzles for 25 points each, possibly with the aid of the hint.

KEVIN’S PUZZLES AT HOME
SEASON 9, EPISODE 7:
LOVE CONNECTION
While Kevin is content to stick with puzzles and stay away from romance, he can’t help but be fascinated when the people around him pair up and make meaningful connections.

(This illustration by Tintinabar is not part of the puzzle. Any resemblance between this Kevin and the one who runs www.kevinspuzzles.com is purely coincidental.)

Submit your answer to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com for 50 points, and stay tuned next week for Episode 7's hint and Episode 8's puzzle, a meta requiring the 7 previous answers to be solved. Good luck!

Wordy Wednesday 635: Pent Words 127

WORDY WEDNESDAY #633
FRAMELINKS 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 **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Michael Lebowitz *
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Marie desJardins **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Squishmallows United **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #634
MINI TOUCHWORD 2 (hint)
As of this writing, 17 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 #635
PENT WORDS 127
(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 Quantity with magnitude, but not direction / Shopping center
2 President who’s the namesake of a dam / Gull relative
3 Walks leisurely / “Cut me ____ slack!”
4 Hit with the foot / Robinson ____ (Daniel Defoe novel)
5 Make into law / Masked vigilante created by Johnston McCulley
6 The largest organ in the human body / Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis ____
7 Title role for Bruce Boxleitner in a 1982 sci-fi flick / Delivered a blow to
8 Ribald / Post that supports a sail
9 Nimble / Genghis Khan was one
10 “All ____ the Watchtower” / Cleanse of soap
PENTOMINOES:
• HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
• THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
• Wrinkle-removing implements
• Tim of Home Improvement
• Smiles
• Surrounded by
• “____ Your Groove Thing” (hit song for Peaches & Herb)
• “The ____ is in the mail”
• Interrogate
• Place to get your hair done
• Partitions into regions
• Juliet’s lover
• The outermost part of a loaf of bread
• Consecrate
• Committed robbery
• Mistake
• Clever trick
• Beeping clock feature
• Plainly manifest
• Play a guitar

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .
* What is Snorkel’s rank in Beetle Bailey?

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

Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 9, Episode 6: Perplexing Pearls

PREVIOUS EPISODES
Introduction (what these puzzles are and why they're called "Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 9"): click here
Episode 1 (This One's for the Dogs!): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 17 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 4 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 2 (Scintillating Sci-Fi): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 18 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 3 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 3 (Hopefully Not "Sew" Much Harder): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 18 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 3 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 4 (Why Can't We Be Friends?): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 19 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 1 person solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 5 (Musical Letter Chairs): puzzle PDF, hint PDF (new!)
* 20 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece. 
 
The total number of points scored is 4600. Thus, the current money pool for Palm Beach County Food Bank is $46.00. Three anonymous benefactors have agreed to match this donation, meaning that Palm Beach County Food Bank will actually receive $184.00. If you haven't already, you may solve the above puzzles for 25 points each, possibly with the aid of the hint.

KEVIN’S PUZZLES AT HOME
SEASON 9, EPISODE 6:
PERPLEXING PEARLS
Can you help Kevin make a chain using these black and white pearls?

(This illustration by Tintinabar is not part of the puzzle. Any resemblance between this Kevin and the one who runs www.kevinspuzzles.com is purely coincidental.)

Submit your answer to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com for 50 points, and stay tuned next week for Episode 6's hint and Episode 7's puzzle. Good luck!

Wordy Wednesday 634: Mini Touchword 2

WORDY WEDNESDAY #632
MINI TOUCHWORD (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 **
Cole Kendall **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Marie desJardins **
Patrick Jordan **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Squishmallows United **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #633
FRAMELINKS 26 (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 #634
MINI TOUCHWORD 2
(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. (If you want more of these puzzles, the author offers the Touchword subscription service Outside the Fox Puzzles.) Arrange the letters in the shaded squares to form the final answer, a Scrabble-legal (unhyphenated, uncapitalized, etc.) 6-letter word.
1 Poker hand just below a full house / Type of cuisine associated with Louisiana
2 Close grouping, as of stars or galaxies / Lack of difficulty
3 Linkin Park vocalist Bennington / Foundation
4 Cheese named after a village in Somerset / Porgy and ____
5 ____ & Crazy Kids (1990-1992 Nickelodeon game show) / Makes moist
6 Quaker who founded the city of Philadelphia: 2 wds.
7 “Thanks a ____!” / Localized aching sensation
8 Wisconsin’s capital / Water container fetched by Jack and Jill
9 Vegetable of the mustard family / “____ showers bring May flowers”
10 Divides / Pence’s successor
11 Plead the ____ (refuse to testify against oneself) / Christmas songs

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .
* What's a 5-letter word for "'____ Your Groove Thing' (hit song for Peaches & Herb)"?
* Patron Puzzle #129, which will be delivered on February 8, 2025, exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a Super Pent Words.

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

Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 9, Episode 5: Musical Letter Chairs

PREVIOUS EPISODES
Introduction (what these puzzles are and why they're called "Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 9"): click here
Episode 1 (This One's for the Dogs!): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 17 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 2 (Scintillating Sci-Fi): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 18 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 1 person solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 3 (Hopefully Not "Sew" Much Harder): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 18 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 1 person solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 4 (Why Can't We Be Friends?): puzzle PDF, hint PDF (new!)
* 19 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece. 
 
The total number of points scored is 3700. Thus, the current money pool for Palm Beach County Food Bank is $37.00. Three anonymous benefactors have agreed to match this donation, meaning that Palm Beach County Food Bank will actually receive $148.00. If you haven't already, you may solve the above puzzles for 25 points each, possibly with the aid of the hint.

KEVIN’S PUZZLES AT HOME
SEASON 9, EPISODE 5:
MUSICAL LETTER CHAIRS
As a pup, Kevin enjoyed this party game in which players scramble to get seated and not get eliminated.

COLUMN A
1. Sewing strand
2. Parody
3. Fourth-year college student
4. A type of skiing
5. Climb, as a mountain
6. Snickers ingredient
7. Dire
8. Apparel
9. Indicator light
10. Rotated, as a crank
11. Was home to
12. Jasper’s partner in crime in 101 Dalmatians
 
COLUMN B
• Exterminator’s target
• Distinguishing quality
• Inputs a phone number
• Passenger car in a three-box configuration
• Be in agreement
• Indian stringed instrument
• Drench
• Absolutely apparent
• Tricks of the ____
• Loud, unpleasant sound
• Emaciated
• Not over

COLUMN C
• Washington bills
• Skipjack or albacore
• Moved smoothly along a surface
• ____ monster (venomous lizard)
• Jack and Jill’s water holder
• Lyric poems
• A couple’s romantic night out
• “____ My Love (To Your New Lover)” (Adele song)
• Acidic in taste
• McDonald’s logo feature
• Elder Futhark symbol
• Mix, as ingredients

(This illustration by Tintinabar is not part of the puzzle. Any resemblance between this Kevin and the one who runs www.kevinspuzzles.com is purely coincidental.)

Submit your answer to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com for 50 points, and stay tuned next week for Episode 5's hint and Episode 6's puzzle. Good luck!

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