Wordy Wednesday 681: Touchword 34

WORDY WEDNESDAY #679
CODEWORDS 32 (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:
Cathy Bowen **
Derek Allen **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Marie desJardins **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #680
PENT WORDS 136 (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 #681
TOUCHWORD 34
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron Russ Kale. 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!

Every row has one or more answers clued in order. 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.) 8-letter word.

1 Make a decision / Repugnant / Burt who played Robin in the 1960’s
2 Utter confusion / Smallest / Word on a road sign
3 Delicate and breakable / Angels in the ____ (1994 baseball film)
4 Quite cold / From ____ to nuts / Result of heavy rains
5 Sitcom whence the song “Smelly Cat” / Leader of the Catholic Church / Spoils of war
6 Murder on the ____ Express / “Once ____ a midnight dreary. . .” / The Hateful ____ (2015 film)
7 Shallot relative / Large brass instrument / Equine sounds
8 He played the father in the Spy Kids films: 2 wds.
9 A voice in a choir / Aslan is one / ____ Bureau of Investigation
10 Ball-and-chain weapon / Bestow / Ellipse-shaped
11 Delicate and breakable / It’s just below the mouth / Display excessive subservience
12 Romp / Turning point / Scottish-Highland dance
13 Absurd / Fee paid on a loan
14 Birds’ perches / Direction at 315 degrees
15 Sigmas’ predecessors / A voice in a choir / Oppose successfully

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 4-letter word for “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak ____”?

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

Wordy Wednesday 680: Pent Words 136

WORDY WEDNESDAY #678
LETRAVEX 4 (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:
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis *
Randy Rogers **
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #679
CODEWORDS 32 (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 #680
PENT WORDS 136
(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 Grown-up / Not smooth
2 Substance in a culture medium / Six-legged bug
3 Lament / One wearing a mortarboard, briefly
4 Space vehicle designed to touch down on a celestial body / 12-month period
5 Mollusk with a ribbed shell / Colorant
6 “It’s Only a ____ Moon” / ____ Us (2018 online multiplayer game)
7 Sexually pure / Corrode with acid
8 Garners / Cowboy’s rope
9 American Dragon: Jake ____ (2005-2007 animated series) / Loving touch
10 One of the Great Lakes / Fixture in a sink
PENTOMINOES:
• HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
• THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
• Mel who voiced Bugs Bunny
• Cleanse of soap
• Sorrow
• Tartar ____
• Saying
• Extreme
• Strict
• Miniature representation, as of a plane
• Prepared
• The Phantom of the ____
• Unaccompanied
• Like James Rolfe’s “Video Game Nerd” character
• Nucleus of trained personnel
• “Working ____ Hero” (John Lennon song)
• Letter before beta
• Frighten
• Morally should
• Impressionist painter Claude

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 15-letter, 2-word answer for "He played the father in the Spy Kids films"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 679: Codewords 32

WORDY WEDNESDAY #677
ANACROSSWORD 46 (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:
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis *
Randy Rogers *
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #678
LETRAVEX 4 (hint)

As of this writing, 8 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 #679
CODEWORDS 32
(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 a 5-letter word for "'Working ____ Hero' (John Lennon song)"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 678: Letravex 4

WORDY WEDNESDAY #676
SUDOKUROSTIC 10 (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:
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis ** 
Randy Rogers *
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #677
ANACROSSWORD 46 (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 #678
LETRAVEX 4
(click here for a PDF version)

Write the 4-letter clue answers in the square tiles in the grid, one letter per triangle, so that adjacent triangles across tiles have the same letter. Each answer reads clockwise, starting in the triangle indicated by the arrow. Answers are alphabetized; you must determine which answer goes in which tile. The letters on the grid’s perimeter will spell the final answer, a song title, going clockwise from the leftmost triangle on the top edge.

• Not hot ←
• Element with the symbol Pb →
• Pole on a ship ↓
• Baseball glove ↑
• “The first ____ the angel did say. . .” ↓
• Overly curious ↑
• Cincinnati’s state ↑
• Character played by an actor →
• Sheet on a ship ↑
• South Asian woman’s garment ↑
• Kill ↓
• Yellow vehicle in New York City →
• Printed words ←
• Makes a knot ←
• Command to a horse to stop ←
• Stir-frying utensils →

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A Codewords!

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

Wordy Wednesday 677: Anacrossword 46

WORDY WEDNESDAY #675
PENT WORDS 135 (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:
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis *
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Marie desJardins **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Spheniscine Kynosoura **
SquishmallowsUnited **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #676
SUDOKUROSTIC 10 (hint)

As of this writing, 10 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 #677
ANACROSSWORD 46
(click here for a PDF version)
(click here for rules)

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
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 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92
• Long-snouted tropical raccoon relative
• Ruthlessly competitive
• Certain church officer
• Social media space in which opposing viewpoints aren’t encountered: 2 wds.
• Structure built by bees
• Author of Opticks and Principia: 2 wds.
• Trademarked name for the board game Reversi
• Fluid in an air conditioner
• African hunting expedition
• Beyond minuscule
• Word on a doormat
• Take on a date at an expensive restaurant, perhaps: 3 wds.
• State that leads the United States in cranberry production

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 4-letter word for "'The first ____ the angel did say. . .'"?
* Patron Puzzle #139, which will be delivered on December 8, 2025, exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a Logicrossword.

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