Wordy Wednesday 69: Honeycomb & Wordy Wednesday 70: Pent Words 14

WORDY WEDNESDAY #67

DIVIDED INTO 100 CELLS 2 (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil 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:
Brian Michalowski **
Christian H.P. **
Giovanni Pagano **
Jack Bross **
Mark Tilford **
Adam Weaver **
Bryce Herdt **
Izak Bulten *
John Bulten **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
yyw **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #68

CROSSWORD OF EVEN MORE INTEGERS (hint)

As of this writing, 7 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's a hint. Send your solutions 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 #69

HONEYCOMB

(click here for a PDF version)

Each answer is 6 letters long, and is to be entered clockwise or counterclockwise around the correspondingly numbered black cell; the direction and starting point of each answer is for you to determine.
Arrange the letters in the 8 shaded cells to form the final answer word.

1. Round collectible glass object
2. Johnny-come-____
3. Word between “mulatto” and “mosquito” in Nirvana's “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
4. Apprentice of sorts
5. Actor Gary
6. Socratic ____
7. Absolutely despise
8. Character on The Magic School Bus who's constantly wishing he'd stayed home today
9. It might be used as a chew toy
10. Zapp Brannigan's favorite fabric on Futurama
11. Certain pool toy
12. Sweatshirt that covers your head
13. Philosopher Dennett
14. It borders California
15. Model Evelyn
16. Wildcat of Africa
17. Get even for
18. Ramsay of Hell's Kitchen
19. ____ theater
20. Capital of Austria
21. Mount of ____ (Biblical location)
22. ____, Stills & Nash
23. Product 19, for one
24. It borders California
25. Pay no attention to
26. Supposed object of “the surgeon's photo” (actually a toy submarine with a fake serpent head attached)
27. Axis & ____
28. Repeated word in the song “Rawhide”
29. Like Fifty Shades of Grey
30. “It is worth ____ that. . .”
31. Step down
32. A city in Ukraine or in Texas
33. Keeper
34. Felt sorry for
35. Lyricist Taupin
36. Gave a curious look
37. Small canine with a predisposition towards using humans as a seat, perhaps

WORDY WEDNESDAY #70

PENT WORDS 14

(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 above, 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 Rib / Becomes less hot
2 Ready, willing, and ____ / Island that's part of New York
3 Big name in beer / Looking 4 Myself singer
4 What's My ____? / What seasons do
5 She starred alongside Bea, Estelle, and Rue / Island that's part of Texas
6 TV series with Michael Emerson as Benjamin Linus / Popular fur for coats
7 Is victorious / Arizona senator John
8 Improvise a bookmark, perhaps: hyph. / ____ rock
9 ____ and void / Novel title character Gray
10 Vehicle in the board game Ticket to Ride / Classical composer Georges

PENTOMINOES:
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* Highly energetic
* Tree whose pod tastes similar to chocolate
* Country singer Black
* Location of the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities
* Enjoy the roses, perhaps
* "____ once was a man from Nantucket. . ."
* Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner's stage name
* Mod's higher-up in a forum's hierarchy
* Pulitzer ____
* Build
* Prop for Bob Ross
* Suddenly ____ (old NBC sitcom)
* Empty, as a bathtub
* ____ Rica
* Verboten
* As Above, So ____ (2014 horror film)
* Foodstuff favored by Homer Simpson
* Fashion designer and former actress Ashley

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What character from Star Wars was voiced by Frank Oz?
* Patron Puzzle #5, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters ($5 or more per month), is a pair of Codewords. 58 words await your deciphering.

Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 68: Crossword of Even More Integers

WORDY WEDNESDAY #66

SECTION SIX 6 (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil 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:
Christian H.P. **
Edderiofer He **
Giovanni Pagano **
Jack Bross **
M. Sean Molley **
Mark Tilford **
Adam Weaver **
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
yyw *

WORDY WEDNESDAY #67

DIVIDED INTO 100 CELLS 2 (hint)

As of this writing, 11 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your solutions 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 #68

CROSSWORD OF EVEN MORE INTEGERS

(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. Once you're done, look for the puzzle's final answer, a nine-letter word.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* Which character on The Magic School Bus constantly wishes he'd stayed home?
* It's a fifth Wednesday double feature! What kind of vehicle is in the board game Ticket to Ride?

Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 67: Divided Into 100 Cells 2

WORDY WEDNESDAY #65

PENT WORDS 13 (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil 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:
Christian H.P. **
Giovanni Pagano **
Mark Tilford **
Adam Weaver **
Bryce Herdt **
Izak Bulten **
John Bulten **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
yyw **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #66

SECTION SIX 6 (hint)

As of this writing, 11 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your solutions 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 #67

DIVIDED INTO 100 CELLS 2

(click here for a PDF version)

“____ ship!”: A10 J6 H5 C4 C6 F10 G1
Canid whose fur changes color with the seasons: 2 wds.: F9 D1 G3 E7 D3 J8 B9 A7 A2
Dr. Bunsen Honeydew's assistant: E1 F3 H2 G4 A5 F8
Cryptocurrency featuring a Shiba Inu : D7 G7 A4 B3 B1 I9 E10 J2
Bakery staple: C5 E9 E5 D4 I4
18 of them appear in the above grid in word search fashion (and scientists know of 100 more): I6 F5 H9 C10 C3 I10 J3 H8
“____ minds need to know” (tabloid slogan): J10 E6 I2 D9 C8 A9 G2 C2 H4
Actress Dakota: C7 J5 G9 A6 H10 H3 A8
Like the U.S. Government: E2 J1 I5 G5 I8 D2 J4
A camel's can store up to 80 pounds of fat: F2 B8 H1 B4
Scar is one: G6 E8 D8 J9
City that hosted the Summer Olympic Games three times: D6 A1 H6 I1 D5 G8
Fast and ____: F7 B6 F1 F4 H7
Emulate a cat, perhaps: B5 I3 E3 B10
Religious leader who's educated in halacha: B2 C1 F6 D10 I7
Popular music genre in Louisiana: E4 A3 G10 C9 B7 J7

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* The numbers 1 through 26: back by popular demand! (Disclaimer: popular demand may be completely fabricated)

Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 66: Section Six 6

WORDY WEDNESDAY #64

CHESS WORDS 2 (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil 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:
Christian H.P. *
Giovanni Pagano **
Jack Bross **
Mark Tilford **
Adam Weaver **
Bryce Herdt **
Izak Bulten **
John Bulten *
Jack Lance **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
yyw **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #65

PENT WORDS 13 (hint)

10 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your solutions 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 #66

SECTION SIX 6

(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 six starred spaces to form the final answer.

Ring 1
1 State where Tempe (home of patron Daren Crevan) is located
2 Ravine formed by water erosion
3 Capital of the Bahamas
4 It merged with Mobil
5 ABC drama set in Tennessee
6 Dry

Ring 2
* It keeps your car from going off the road
* They may be illegal
* The Piltdown Man, for one
* A type of harassment
* A synthetic material, or a fashion magazine

Ring 3
* Pretty sneaky way to win Connect Four
* Many an Android device
* Sandbar
* Goneril's father

Ring 4
* A bobcat, for example
* Item in a beachcomber's collection
* Toothless, for one

Ring 5
* Breathed out
* Torture

Ring 6
* Super Mario ____ (2007 video game)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a six-letter word for "City that hosted the Summer Olympic Games three times"?

Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 65: Pent Words 13

WORDY WEDNESDAY #63

FRAMELINKS 3 (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil 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:
Christian H.P. *
Giovanni Pagano **
Jack Bross **
Mark Tilford **
Adam Weaver **
Bryce Herdt **
Izak Bulten **
Jack Lance **
John Bulten **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
yyw **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #64

CHESS WORDS 2 (hint)

As of this writing, 10 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your solutions 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 #65

PENT WORDS 13

(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 above, 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 Boeing attack helicopter / Word with "arrêt" on some Canadian signs
2 Ford's rival / Console for the upcoming Super Mario Maker: 2 wds.
3 Do a maid's job, perhaps / Like coin flips
4 Bully / Cheat
5 Every so ____ / A facial cosmetic
6 With The, HBO series set in Baltimore / Bother
7 Half the title of a sitcom starring Tia and Tamera Mowry / Baby back ____
8 Flexible / Filled with gusto
9 Hurt / Sprockets
10 "Cliffs of ____" (Eric Johnson instrumental) / Imbecile

PENTOMINOES:
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* ____ of drawers
* Infamous June 28, 1997 biter
* ____ and spices
* Knight's protection
* They may be brushed
* Jack Chick offering
* A harmonium, for example
* Hilton whose real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr.
* Arab vessels
* Attempts
* Some are geodesic
* Not together
* Illegal drug made from certain poppies
* Musical genre for Muddy Waters
* Front of a magazine
* Over the ____ (2006 Dreamworks film)
* Ancient Greek poem centered around Achilles
* Physicist Schrödinger

BEAT MY WORLD RECORD!

This past week, I set my fourth world record on RecordSetter by performing the 21 card trick in 57.98 seconds. The 21 card trick is a classic mathematical card trick requiring no sleight of hand (I first learned the trick in Planet Dexter's Card Zone: Extraordinary Things to Do With Dexterized Cards, published in 1995, meaning I was likely a single digit in age), but performing it quickly requires a modicum of skill in picking up and dealing cards. Odds are you've seen the trick before, but if you haven't, here's a Wikipedia article explaining the method.

Can you perform this trick faster than me? I am offering a prize to the first person to give me video evidence of performing the 21 card trick in under 50 seconds. What's the prize? Nothing too exciting; just access to all 4 Patron Puzzles posted thus far and the privilege of suggesting a word for me to incorporate into a future Wordy Wednesday puzzle. Even if you're a patron on my Patreon already and have seen all 4 Patron Puzzles, the opportunity to suggest words for me to use doesn't come around often (unless you support me at the $20 level, in which case it comes around once a month). Plus, setting world records gives you a vague sense of accomplishment! I want to see my record beaten!

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A lot of video games came out in 2007, but this puzzle is centered around only one of them. . . .

Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 64: Chess Words 2

WORDY WEDNESDAY #62

IT'S A SMALL CROSSWORD (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the puzzle, or here for a hint. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Giovanni Pagano **
Jack Bross **
Mark Tilford **
Adam Weaver **
Bo Green **
Bryce Herdt **
gpaolopasco **
Izak Bulten **
Jack Lance *
John Bulten **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
yyw **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #63

FRAMELINKS 3 (hint)

As of this writing, 10 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your solutions 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 #64

CHESS WORDS 2

(click here for a PDF version)

Eight 8-letter words are scrambled on the chessboard. Each chess piece starts on the first letter of one of the words, and can be moved across the board via standard chess moves to spell the rest of the word. Every square is used exactly once. The chess pieces move as follows:
King: one space in any of the eight directions
Rook: any number of spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction
Bishop: any number of spaces in a diagonal direction
Queen: any number of spaces in any of the eight directions
Knight: two spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction and then one space in a perpendicular direction

Arrange the letters in the 8 starred blanks to form the final answer word.

         Queen: O  __ __ __ __ __ __ __          King: P  __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                d1                **                   e1                ** 
Queen's Bishop: N  __ __ __ __ __ __ __ King's Bishop: Q  __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                c1                **                   f1             **    
Queen's Knight: M  __ __ __ __ __ __ __ King's Knight: R  __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                b1                   **                g1             **    
  Queen's Rook: L  __ __ __ __ __ __ __   King's Rook: S  __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                a1                **                   h1                   **

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5 letter word for "Physicist Schrödinger"?
* Patron Puzzle #4, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters ($5 or more per month), is a 21x21 Framelinks. The rules are the same as in last week's puzzle; the grid's simply bigger. There are 133 letters waiting to be put in the correct spots to spell 77 words.

Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 63: Framelinks 3

WORDY WEDNESDAY #61

FOXGERYPTICS (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil 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:
Giovanni Pagano **
Jack Bross **
Mark Tilford **
Adam Weaver **
Ben Carter **
Bo Green **
Bryce Herdt **
Izak Bulten **
Jack Lance **
John Bulten **
Neelix **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
yyw **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #62

IT'S A SMALL CROSSWORD (hint)

As of this writing, 12 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's a hint. Send your solutions 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 #63

FRAMELINKS 3

(click here for a PDF version)

Fill in the empty squares in the diagram with the given letters to form common words.
Arrange the letters in the 8 shaded squares to form the final answer word.

AAAAA BBBBB C D EEEEEEEEEE FF G HHHH IIIII J K LLLLL M NN OOO PPPP Q RRRRRRR SSSSS TTTT WW X

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* Do you remember how chess pieces move? Spell 8-letter words with them!


Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 62: It's a Small Crossword

WORDY WEDNESDAY #59

DIVIDED INTO 100 CELLS (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil 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:
Giovanni Pagano **
Jack Bross **
Mark Tilford **
Adam Weaver **
Bryce Herdt **
Izak Bulten *
John Bulten **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
yyw **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #60

PENT WORDS 12 (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil 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:
Giovanni Pagano **
M. Sean Molley **
Mark Tilford **
Adam Weaver **
Bo Green *
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten **
Ryan Faley **
yyw **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #61

FOXGERYPTICS (hint)

As of this writing, 9 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your solutions 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 #62

IT'S A SMALL CROSSWORD

(click here for a PDF version)

(click here for a PUZ version)

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Alex Boisvert's Puz to PDF is doing odd things to this crossword. In the PDF version, the clues starting with 47-Down ended up on a second page; in the PNG version, they're outright missing. Setting "Grid position" to "Top right" causes all the clues to fit, but some of them overlap the crossword grid. Yuck.

The Wordy Wednesday answer is the title of a song from a Disney movie, relevant to the puzzle's theme.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* Framelinks 3! We give you the unchecked letters, and you fill in the rest!

Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 61: Foxgeryptics

WORDY WEDNESDAY #58

W_ _D S_ _RCH (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the puzzle, or here for a hint. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Giovanni Pagano *
Mark Tilford **
Adam Weaver **
Ben Carter **
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten *
Sam Levitin 1/2*

WORDY WEDNESDAY #59

DIVIDED INTO 100 SQUARES (hint)

9 people have solved this puzzle from last week. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your solutions 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 #60

PENT WORDS 12 (hint)

8 people have solved this puzzle from lat week. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your solutions 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 #61

FOXGERYPTICS

(click here for a PDF version)

These puzzles are based on Gryptics. Gryptics seem like a neat concept to me; however, they are sullied by the main difference between the difficulty levels being how many randomly-placed letters are given at the start. (They're not even symmetrical ones, and even the hardest puzzles have them.) Apparently, Les Foeldessy didn't succeed in getting his puzzles to the large audience he wanted to, because the website gryptics.com no longer exists.

Insert a single letter in each space of each grid so that each grid's five rows and five columns spells a word from left to right or top to bottom (including the letters outside the grid).

Arrange the letters in the shaded spaces to form the final answer, an eight-letter word.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* Whistle while you work on a meta crossword!

Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 59: Divided Into 100 Cells & Wordy Wednesday 60: Pent Words 12

WORDY WEDNESDAY #57

WORDS WITHOUT FRIENDS 2 (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the game version, here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Click here to see people's scores on the game version. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Christian Parker 618 **
Adam Weaver [no score] **
John Bulten [no score] **
Mark Tilford [no score] **
Ryan Faley [no score] **
Sam Levitin [no score] *
Note: As of this writing, Mark Tilford used the computer program he used for Words Without Friends to generate some solutions to the game, but he forgot to adjust the number of turns from 16 to 15, and the game he submitted didn't score over 597 points within the first 15 turns.

WORDY WEDNESDAY #58

W_ _D S_ _RCH (hint)

As of this writing, only 3 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's a very blatant hint. Send your solutions 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 #59

DIVIDED INTO 100 CELLS

(click here for a PDF version)

Draw a single path of horizontal and vertical segments that returns to where it started, and which passes through all of the cells exactly once (with the exception of cells containing the letter E, which may not be passed through). See the example on the right.

Quantity __ __ __ __ __ ___
         F6 B8 A2 F2 H6 I10
Television series exposing unfaithful significant others __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                                                         I2 C9 A5 B3 I7 E3 D8 E7
Irish ____ (popular cocktail) __ __ __ __ __ ___
                              A6 B2 G4 G9 C1 J10
Hardly wise __ __ __ __ __ __ __
            J8 F8 H8 H1 D7 I4 E4
Television series set in Kitchen Stadium: 2 wds. __ __ __ __ __ __ ___ __
                                                 D9 G1 C2 C4 F3 I9 G10 F9
An Old Testament prophet __ __ __ __ __ __
                         F4 B9 G2 H9 C6 I8
Rocket's platform __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                  E9 H4 J3 D5 F5 G3 J4 B7 E1
It's divided into parishes __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ___ __
                           B6 F1 A4 J2 H5 A9 G8 F10 G6
Phonograph part __ __ __ __ __ ___
                D4 J6 C8 C7 I5 C10
Mozart's Don Giovanni, for one ___ __ __ __ __
                               A10 B1 J1 C3 J5
Yellowish-green tropical fruit __ __ __ __ __ __
                               A3 D1 A8 J7 H2 D3
Didn't attend, as class __ __ __ __ ___ __ __
                        G7 I1 D6 A1 D10 H3 I6
Serene __ __ __ ___ __ __ ___ __
       G5 E6 B5 B10 I3 H7 E10 D2
Russian ____ (borzoi) __ __ __ ___ __ __ __ __ __
                      E5 E8 B4 H10 A7 J9 C5 E2 F7

WORDY WEDNESDAY #60

PENT WORDS 12

(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 above, 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 Item under a pillow, sometimes / ____ and dangerous
2 Not wordy / Pertaining to the schnoz
3 ____ and Omega (2010 film) / Yankee catcher in the National Baseball Hall of Fame
4 Cognizant / Retail chain for which Rosie O'Donnell was a spokesperson
5 Gray who played Sue Ellen Ewing on Dallas / Jules Verne's genre: hyph.
6 Deadly / Place for a sensei
7 More aged / It shades your eyes
8 Glass-cleaning brand / "Breaking Up Is ____ to Do" (Neil Sedaka song)
9 Jonah's successor / Orson Scott Card title character
10 Canis latrans, more familiarly / "Muskrat ____"

PENTOMINOES:
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* 16:9, for example
* Gold, silver, or bronze Olympic prize
* ____ Divas (reality television series)
* Roman gladiators fought in one
* Handle skillfully, as a weapon
* Operated a car
* "A rose by any ____ name. . ."
* Burn, as boiling water might
* Winner of the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
* Red ____ (raccoon relative)
* Varanasi's country
* Permit
* Lion's ____
* Maid Marian of Disney's Robin Hood, for one
* ____ Will Be Blood (2007 film)
* Sword with a curved blade
* Dr. Leonard with the nickname "Bones"
* Norwegian geographical feature

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* My take on a puzzle that dates back to 2010 (and whose website has ceased to exist, suggesting that the author didn't find much success with it).
* Patron Puzzle #3, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters ($5 or more per month), is a Siamese Twins crossword. 112 entries are to be entered into two 13x13 crossword grids; you must figure out which clue goes to which grid.

Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 58: W_ _D S_ _RCH

WORDY WEDNESDAY #56

SECTION SIX 5 (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil 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:
Giovanni Pagano **
Jack Bross **
M. Sean Molley **
Peter Abide **
Adam Weaver **
Ben Carter *
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten **
Mark Tilford **
Matt Burkemper **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #57

WORDS WITHOUT FRIENDS 2 (hint)

5 people have solved the puzzle version of last week's puzzle, and 1 person has scored over 597 points on the game version. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version of the puzzle version. Send your solutions 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 #58
W_ _D S_ _RCH

(click here for a PDF version)

To some people, the grid below will look like a mess of random words; to others, it will look like a mess of random letters. But it is most usefully viewed as a combination of both.
The answer is a single word (but not one of the words on the list below).

ABSENT, ALONE, AVOCADO, BEING, BEVIES, BRAVO, BREAD, BROTHER, CARGO, CHALICE, CLAIM, COBRA, CORGI, DEARIE, FREEDOM, FUTON, GOOSE, GYRE, HEEL, HEFTY, HERESY, LICORICE, MOVIE, ORPHAN, PHONE, REBORN, REMOTE, RIFE, RINSE, SEEM, SOCIAL, SPIFF, SPOIL, VERB, YODEL

REDHEAD64'S OBSCURE PUZZLE BLOG!

Ryan "Redhead64" Faley would probably like you to visit his blog and solve his latest Pent Words. Be warned: if you're not familiar with your pop culture and video games, you'll be looking things up all over the place (or giving up).

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A logic puzzle you will solve with E's. . . or rather, without them! Oh, and there are words, too.
* It's the fifth Wednesday of the month, so you get a double feature! Pent Words 12 includes guest appearances from Rosie O'Donnell, Neil Sedaka, and Orson Scott Card!

Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 57: Words Without Friends 2

WORDY WEDNESDAY #55

PENT WORDS 11 (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil 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:
Giovanni Pagano **
Jack Bross **
M. Sean Molley **
Peter Abide **
Adam Weaver **
Bryce Herdt **
John Bulten **
Mark Tilford **
Matt Burkemper *
Michael Madsen **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #56

SECTION SIX 5 (hint)

11 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your solutions 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 #57

WORDS WITHOUT FRIENDS 2

(click here for a PDF version)

This game of word solitaire is inspired by Solicross. Actually, it is Solicross. Don't sue me, Dell.

You have 15 turns to score as many points as possible by building words on the grid. Start by taking the first 7 letters from the LETTER LIST. Form an English word using two or more letters, and place it reading across (from left to right) or down (from top to bottom) in the grid, either starting in or ending in the shaded cell. On each successive turn, cross out the letters you used and replace them with the next letters from the LETTER LIST, and then play a new word using some or all of those letters. As in Scrabble, you can play at right angles to a previous word (either incorporating a letter from it or expanding it) or parallel to a previous word, but must adjoin some previous word; adjoining letters must always form words in crossword fashion, and all letters used in a single turn must be part of a single word.

Every turn, you score for the words you made on that turn. The score for a word is the sum of all the numbers it covers (whether those letters were played on that turn or not); multiple words formed in a single turn are added up together (with shared letters counting twice). If you use all 60 letters within 15 turns, give yourself 50 extra points.

All words will be checked against http://www.m-w.com/scrabble. (This means you can use words like TE and GI that you couldn't use last time!)

Any score of over 597 points will be considered a solution to this “game version”. Follow this link for the “puzzle version”, which indicates where to place the tiles to score exactly 597 points; you must merely figure out which words to form each turn.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A puzzle I wrote back in 2013! You know it must be a good puzzle if it hasn't seen the light of day for two years!

Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 56: Section Six 5

WORDY WEDNESDAY #54

SUDOKUROSSWORD (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the puzzle, or here for a hint. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Brian Michalowski **
Giovanni Pagano **
Jack Bross **
Jack Lance **
Peter Abide **
Adam Weaver **
Bo Green *
Bryce Herdt **
Izak Bulten *
John Bulten *
Kou T. **
Mark Tilford **
Michael Madsen **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
yyw **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #55

PENT WORDS 11 (hint)

11 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your solutions 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 #56

SECTION SIX 5

(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 six starred spaces to form the final answer.

Ring 1
1 First letter of the first 8 verses of Psalm 119, in Hebrew
2 What two rays sharing a vertex form
3 Fire starter, often
4 Rub out
5 Abrupt in an unfriendly manner
6 Type of number FedEx might give you

Ring 2
* Green ____ (sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor)
* Consume heartily, as an alcoholic beverage
* It may be made of pith
* Member of a shapeshifting race in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Ryan Faley, this clue's for you)
* Cobain of Nirvana

Ring 3
* Filling holes, perhaps
* The outer layer of a tooth
* Irritate, perhaps
* Jonny of Hanna-Barbera cartoons

Ring 4
* Famous antivirus brand
* Crouch
* Ancestry

Ring 5
* Website offering walkthroughs and cheats
* Long, bushy fox feature

Ring 6
* A bad reputation, for example

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A sequel to a certain Wordy Wednesday involving a 9x9 grid and a bunch of numbers. It'll be on time, too!


Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 55: Pent Words 11

WORDY WEDNESDAY #53

CROSSWORD OF MORE INTEGERS (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil 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 a hint. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Giovanni Pagano **
Jack Bross **
Peter Abide *
Adam Weaver **
Bryce Herdt *
Jack Lance **
John Bulten **
Mark Tilford **
Neelix **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
yyw **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #54

SUDOKUROSSWORD (hint)

12 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's a hint. Send your solutions 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 #55

PENT WORDS 11

(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 above, 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 Japan's and Canada's are red and white / O'Hara who voiced Belle in Beauty and the Beast
2 Rick of Saddleback Church / Nuisance
3 Employ / Acceptable
4 Emulates Romeo, perhaps / It hangs off a roof
5 Word on a wanted poster / What a closed fist might represent
6 Lynde of The Hollywood Squares / Mistake-accompanying interjection
7 Be a temptress / Trendy
8 New England team, colloquially / One in a bank, perhaps
9 Move a large piece of furniture, say / With The, film starring John Wayne as Davy Crockett
10 Mock, as an opponent / "God ____ the USA"

PENTOMINOES:
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* ____ 2000 (short-lived game show with The Creature instead of Bankrupt)
* Robin Hood's weapon of choice
* Ganders, for example
* Walk casually
* Arduous journeys
* Sag
* Tear producers
* Destruction and chaos
* Weapon with a spiked ball on a chain on a stick
* ____ Chocula
* Posthumous Janis Joplin album
* Santiago is its capital
* "The ____ that refreshes" (old Coca-Cola slogan)
* A sheriff might have one
* Nation bordering Portugal
* Sum
* "____ in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?"
* Macaroni, for example

PATREON UPDATE!

With 11 patrons giving $52 per month, I have reached my first Milestone Goal, and now I will start posting an extra Wordy Wednesday on the fifth Wednesday of every month with five Wednesdays! Those of you keeping score at home might note that this means, for the first time in this blog's history, there will be two Pent Words puzzles in the same month! Patrons also gain early access to the Wordy Wednesday puzzles and exclusive monthly Patron Puzzles, so if you want to make a monthly contribution to my tip jar, don't be shy. And if you don't want to make such a contribution, don't worry, I promise to keep these sales pitches minimal and only mostly annoying. :)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A very special puzzle that I hope Ryan Faley gets "around" to solving. (Speaking of Ryan Faley, his latest puzzle is a second Charadagrams inspired by one of my previous Wordy Wednesdays, so you may be interested in it.)


Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 54: Sudokurossword

WORDY WEDNESDAY #52

DECK DYNASTY (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil 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:
Giovanni Pagano **
Jack Bross **
Peter Abide *
Adam Weaver **
Bryce Herdt **
Jack Lance **
John Bulten *
Mark Tilford **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #53

CROSSWORD OF MORE INTEGERS (hint)

10 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here are three letters to get you started. Send your solutions 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 #54

SUDOKUROSSWORD

(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle comes in two parts. The first part is a sudoku, which you solve normally (the numbers 1-9 appear once in each row, column, and 3x3 box). Each row has a crossword clue next to it; the shaded cell corresponds to the crossword entry in which that answer belongs. (For example, a 5 means that the answer to that clue belongs in 5-Down in the crossword grid.) If you want to really challenge yourself, you can skip the sudoku entirely and try to fit in the crossword answers without knowing where they're supposed to go, but Ryan Faley wouldn't recommend that, and you won't get an extra star for doing so.

Anagram the highlighted letters in the crossword to obtain the final answer word.

RANDOM UPDATE: AN UN-TALENT CONTEST!

Do you have talent? No? Good! Please consider entering my BoardGameGeek's Not Talent contest on BoardGameGeek and posting a video of your lack of talent. So far, the only entrant is. . . me, with a video of an ambitious card routine that will leave you the exact opposite of speechless. Come on, guys! I want to see more entries! Whether your lack of talent involves singing poorly, dancing terribly, failing at magic, horrible stand-up comedy, or anything that you'd expect to see on America's Got Talent (except done better), I would love to see it. Once (if?) there are other entries, you can give them your thumbs up if you detect talent in them; the entry with the fewest thumbs wins!

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "____ 2000 (short-lived game show with The Creature instead of Bankrupt)"?
* Patron Puzzle #2, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters ($5 or more per month), is a Snake Crisscross, a puzzle type which (as far as I can tell) was invented by my good friend Craig Kasper. Crisscross words read from left to right or top to bottom as you'd expect; snake words read along bendy paths in the grid. Every letter is used in one snake word and one or two crisscross words; there are 85 words in all.

Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 53: Crossword of More Integers

WORDY WEDNESDAY #51

CRYPTOGRAM FUN PACK (answer)

It's been two weeks, so time to unveil the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the puzzle, or here for hints. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Giovanni Pagano **
Jack Bross **
Adam Weaver **
Bryce Herdt **
Izak Bulten *
Jack Lance **
John Bulten *
Kou T. **
Mark Tilford **
Neelix *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #52

DECK DYNASTY (hint)

9 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your solutions 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 #53

CROSSWORD OF MORE INTEGERS

(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. Once you're done, look for the puzzle's final answer, a nine-letter word (which isn't one of the three nine-letter words in the completed crossword).

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* An adaptation of one of Ryan Faley's ideas!

Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 52: Deck Dynasty

WORDY WEDNESDAY #51

CRYPTOGRAM FUN PACK! (hints)

9 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here are some hints. (These hints just might help you be a better cryptogram solver in general.) Send your solutions 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 #52

DECK DYNASTY

(click here for a PDF version)

 

A. Charles who founded a brokerage firm                 ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
                                                         ♠       ♡   ♣   ♢
2. Wastefully luxurious                                 ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
                                                             ♠   ♢   ♡       ♣
3. Setting for Ang Lee's “Eat Drink Man Woman”          ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
                                                             ♣   ♢   ♡       ♠
4. Nakedness                                            ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
                                                         ♢       ♠   ♡   ♣
5. ______ of S.H.I.E.L.D.                               ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
                                                         ♣   ♢       ♡   ♠
6. Explosive outburst                                   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
                                                         ♡       ♠   ♢       ♣
7. Act like a sponge                                    ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
                                                         ♣           ♢   ♡   ♠
8. Kind thing to do with a rented VHS tape              ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
                                                         ♣   ♠       ♡   ♢
9. Basketballer Kevin, or a Bug- and Steel-type Pokémon ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
                                                         ♡   ♠       ♢       ♣
10. Extremely wide, as a hole                           ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
                                                         ♢       ♠       ♣   ♡
J. Small, pointy beard                                  ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
                                                             ♠   ♢       ♣   ♡
Q. Pierre de Fermat's was famously too small            ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
                                                         ♢       ♣       ♡   ♠
K. Small monkey which is used in medical research       ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
                                                             ♠   ♢   ♣       ♡

PATREON UPDATE

10 patrons on my Patreon are currently pledging a combined total of $51 a month. Assuming none of my patrons reduce or cancel their pledges before the end of the month, I will start posting an extra puzzle on every month with 5 Wednesdays (including this upcoming month of July). Truly, this is an exciting development.

If you hate pushy sales pitches, then don't worry; I don't plan on including a "Patreon update" in every post. I just wanted to announce that there might be more puzzles on this blog every so often. :)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* Wordy Wednesday 53 tasks you with deciphering words, but this time, they're not in a sentence to help you out! Don't get cross!

Until next time, yappy solving!

Wordy Wednesday 51: Cryptogram Fun Pack!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #51

CRYPTOGRAM FUN PACK!

(click here for a PDF version)

Solve these six cryptograms; each has its own code, and each has a six-letter word missing. Words that are always capitalized (such as proper names) are indicated with asterisks (*), and words that are capitalized because of their presence in a title are indicated by carats (^). For example, ^Sir *Isaac *Newton's favorite film is “^Gravity”. Fit the six missing words into the crisscross grid and anagram the highlighted letters into the final answer word.

1. ABCD'E DBF GCEDFED-HIJAKLH EMJID KL DBF AJINO? *K PFNKFQF *M. *D. *PCILRS AJRNO BCQF ECKO DBFIF'E C ______ PJIL FQFIT SKLRDF.

2. ABCCD ECFGHFH IJJK FL MECLKD *NGOPJQEIRJQL SGFP E ______ GIHFJEK LA *RLK, FGFQGIR GF "^FPJ ^OCJEFGLI LA E ^KEN".

3. ABACDEFGD HIFJK *LMCD *NFCOIFD'K IMPA; QA NACRFCPAG OQA FNAISIL KFIL RCFP OQA TUMKKST KSOTFP "^______".

4. ABCD EBFGA HIDHJID KIDJGEJAL MANOP ______ NIBOA; NODHL QBBGA HMIQRJAD *DPPBA EBI NOADILNBO NOLB LBJALDIA.

5. ABCDEFGHIAJKC CLMCC *FKCD *______ NBMC ECKLCO IEPCC QFLC HENRH HALGKIFBCNGHKS, RAIE BN TCNUFPOS IN EAH ECFKIE.

6. ABCDE FDCGA HIJBDE KBKEFBL EJHDLMKNKO PJNGM PDNFNKO, PJNQJ RHSME RMQJHKNQHG ______ CEHOM THD RBDM THUBDHIGM.

PATREON UPDATE

9 patrons on my Patreon are currently pledging a combined total of $46 a month. If this total hits $50 or more at the end of the month, then I will start posting an extra puzzle on every month with 5 Wednesdays (including this upcoming month of July)! That's 4 or 5 extra free puzzles per year! If you enjoy these puzzles, I hope you will consider supporting me on Patreon; with your monthly pledge, you get such perks as early access to the Wordy Wednesday puzzles (M. Sean Molley has already solved WW55 and WW56) and exclusive Patron Puzzles (Patron Puzzle #1, Bricks and Mortar, is going out today). Thank you!

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* Wordy Wednesday 52 revolves around six-letter words and playing cards, because those two things go together, apparently.

Until next time, yappy solving!