Wordy Wednesday 657: Logicrossword 16

WORDY WEDNESDAY #655
PENT WORDS 131 (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 **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Russ Kale **
İnci Kıran **
Kevin Orfield **
Marie desJardins **
Patrick Jordan *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #656
ANACROSSWORD 45 (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 #657
LOGICROSSWORD 16
(click here for a PDF version)

Blacken some cells in the grid and fill the rest with letters to form words. Hereafter, a “word” refers to any string of two or more consecutive letters reading from left to right or top to bottom, bounded on both sides by black cells or the edge of the grid. All words are Scrabble-legal and appear in the NASPA Word List 2023 Edition (NWL2023). A list of all acceptable 2-letter words is provided as a solving aid; all of the words which are not on this list and not mentioned in the clues should be familiar to most solvers. Use the clues, logic, and your vocabulary to find the solution.

Arrange the letters in the highlighted cells to get the final answer, a single Scrabble-legal word. (If any of the highlighted cells are blackened, then the final answer will be less than 8 letters long.)
AA AB AD AE AG AH AI AL AM AN AR AS AT AW AX AY BA BE BI BO BY DA DE DO ED EF EH EL EM EN ER ES ET EW EX FA FE GI GO HA HE HI HM HO ID IF IN IS IT JO KA KI LA LI LO MA ME MI MM MO MU MY NA NE NO NU OD OE OF OH OI OK OM ON OP OR OS OW OX OY PA PE PI PO QI RE SH SI SO TA TE TI TO UH UM UN UP US UT WE WO XI XU YA YE YO ZA 

• No two black cells share an edge. All the white cells are connected through their edges. No word is repeated in the grid.
• Row 1 contains two 4-letter words; the first letter of the one on the left is the same as the last letter of the one on the right.
• Row 3 contains a word whose first letter is V.
• Row 4 contains the word IDENT.
• Row 5 contains a word whose first letter is S.
• Row 7 contains the word ODEON and exactly two black cells.
• Row 9 contains the word DE, which intersects two words with a combined total of 9 letters.
• Column A contains a 6-letter word.
• Column B contains the word IF.
• Column G contains the word MASHIE.
• The word SI reading across intersects the word OES reading down at cell H3.
• The word MISE reading across intersects the word MU reading down.
• The word OATH intersects the word TEASE.
• The words HO and OK appear somewhere in the grid.
• Two 8-letter words with the same last letter appear somewhere in the grid.
• Cells D2 and F1 contain the same letter, but that letter does not appear anywhere else in the grid.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What footwear brand is mentioned in a Run-D.M.C. hit?

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