Patron Puzzles for Philanthropy: 11x11x11 Touchword & Patron Puzzles for Philanthropy Pack #3

This update to the Patron Puzzles for Philanthropy initiative is to announce the 11x11x11 Touchword pack & Patron Puzzles for Philanthropy Pack #3!

11x11x11 TOUCHWORD

Artwork by Toaster-Arts

This pack contains 11 11x11 miniature Touchword puzzles that will provide many minutes of enjoyment, for the price of US$2.50. In a crossword, words cross each other; in these puzzles, they merely touch. More specifically, 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. (Click here for a 15x15 example.)

PATRON PUZZLES FOR PHILANTHROPY PACK #3

Patron Puzzles for Philanthropy Pack #3 consists of Patron Puzzles #49-#72, which were all originally exclusive to Patreon supporters, for the price of US$10.

This time around, Patron Puzzles include the following:

* Four Codewords puzzles (example).

* Four large Snake Crisscross puzzles (example).

* Two 15x15 Pathfinder puzzle (example).

* Three diagramless crossword puzzles (example).

* A 21x21 Framelinks puzzle (example).

* A giant Anacrossword (example).

* And much more!

 

As a reminder, this is a charity initiative. Please e-mail me (glmathgrantATgmailDOTcom) a copy of your charitable receipt to my local food bank, the Food Bank of West Central Texas, to receive these puzzle packs. (It must be a new donation, dated no earlier than one day before you email me.) Click here for a list of all of the puzzle packs in this initiative. Happy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Two Words II! (RESULTS!)

It's time for the results of this contest!

Wordy Wednesday 348: Logicrossword 8 & Wordy Wednesday 349: Snake Crisscross 11

WORDY WEDNESDAY #346

SECTION SIX 34 (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 **
Cindy Heisler **
Joe Bernard **
Mark Ballinger **
Stephen Potter **
Jason Boomer **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #347

LOGICROSSWORD 7 (hint)

As of this writing, 1 person has 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!

FIFTH WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH = DOUBLE WORDY WEDNESDAYS!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #348

LOGICROSSWORD 8

(click here for a PDF version)

Blacken some cells in the grid below, and fill the rest with letters to form words left-to-right and top-to-bottom, crossword style. All words are Scrabble-legal (see scrabble.merriam.com); however, most of the words in the intended solution should be familiar.

Arrange the letters in the shaded cells to get the final answer, a single word. (If any of the shaded cells are blackened, then the final answer will be less than 8 letters long.)

* No two black cells share an edge. All the white cells are connected through their edges.
* The word FACETIOUS reading horizontally intersects the word RHYTHM reading vertically.
* The word ASHY reading horizontally intersects the words AAHS and THAE reading vertically.
* The word LOX intersects the word OXO.
* The word SYZYGY reads vertically.
* The words AY, HOOCH, OOH, and RYA appear somewhere.
* Row 3’s rightmost letter is the same as row 4’s leftmost letter.
* One of rows 1 through 7 contains a 4-letter word that ends in IKE.
* Column G contains a letter which appears only once in the grid.
* Two words intersect at A1 which end with the same letter; the horizontal word has an odd number of letters in it.

WORDY WEDNESDAY #349

SNAKE CRISSCROSS 11

(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle's crisscross grid contains entries which read across and down as normal; these words are defined in alphabetical order by length under the heading “Crisscross Words.” The grid also contains a number of “snakes”: areas which follow a single clear path. Each of these snakes contains an entry which snakes from one end of the path to the other. These entries are defined under the heading “Snake Words”, and are also clued in alphabetical order by length. You must determine how the grid is divided into snakes; no two snakes overlap.

Arrange the letters in the highlighted cells to form the final answer, an 8-letter word.

CRISSCROSS WORDS
3 LETTERS
____ of God
Donkey relative
Consumed
Transparent sheet used in animation
Electric ____
Douglas ____
That woman
Concealed
Spoil
____ neutrality
Partner of Wynken and Blynken
Race participant, perhaps
2011 film about a macaw named Blu
Joey created by A. A. Milne
4 LETTERS
Some hats
The Hunchback of Notre ____
____ jockey
____ of plenty
An Egyptian goddess
Has a brief sleep
Flow slowly
University namesake Roberts
It may be made of coral
Certain trailer, briefly
5 LETTERS
Absinthe ingredient
Sorrowful poem
Boxer Liston
Asparagus stalk
"____ Be Startin' Somethin'" (Michael Jackson song)
____ of Warcraft
6 LETTERS
India’s “Jana Gana Mana”, for one
Onion relatives
Infuriate
One obsessed with minute details
7 LETTERS
All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes author Maya
“____ Independence” (Björk song)
8 LETTERS
Forgave
Charm
9 LETTERS
Associated organization
Certain sweetener: 2 wds.
Four-winged insect
Electric Light ____ (rock band)
11 LETTERS
In dire need of laxative
SNAKE WORDS
5 LETTERS
Part of a battery where oxidation occurs
Wind ____
The protagonist in the 2001 video game Devil May Cry
Errol of The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)
Item for a watchmaker
Confused struggle
____ & Martin's Laugh-In
Mountain in the book of Exodus
“The final frontier”, as per Captain Kirk
Italian scooter brand
6 LETTERS
The birthplace of St. Francis
Don portrayed by Jon Hamm in Mad Men
“Octopus’s ____” (The Beatles song)
January birthstone
Spin
Miami ____ (newspaper)
____ 5 (rock band)
A light purple
Flowery
Derides
Evening party
7 LETTERS
Atlanta’s NFL team
8 LETTERS
Alienate
10 LETTERS
Economic system that commies loathe
12 LETTERS
1950 book credited with introducing the word “nerd”: 5 wds.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "Sabrina the Teenage Witch's cat"?
* Patron Puzzle #73, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters ($5 or more per month), is a diagramless crossword.

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Two Words II! (Week 6 update — FINAL UPDATE!)

For full rules, see here.

Week 0:
The set of words containing the letter A: NEITHER
The set of all words composed only of letters (with possible repeats) from ETAOIN SHRDLU: ONE
The set of all words containing at least one of "R", "S", "T", "L", "N" or "E": BOTH

Week 1:
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words containing at least 3 consecutive letters that are consonants (i.e. not AEIOUY): NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words beginning with a letter in the word SOUND: NEITHER
[Kevin Orfield] The set of words where three or more of the letters are from the set {A,E,I,O,U,Y}: NEITHER
[Michael Tang] The set of words of length 5, 6, 7, or 8: ONE
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length greater than or equal to 9: NEITHER

Week 2:
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words of lengths 5 or 6: ONE
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words containing a double letter (examples: EGG, BOOT, LLAMA; counterexamples: FIFE, NANA): NEITHER
[John Bulten] The set of all words with second letter between O and Z inclusive: ONE
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words comprised entirely of letters (with possible repeats) in the words DHOLE UNITS: ONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words beginning with a letter between Q and Z inclusive: NEITHER
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length 6 or 7: ONE

Week 3:
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words at least 5 letters long, beginning with letters B-H inclusive: NEITHER
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words whose letters have a combined point value of 15 or higher in English-language Scrabble (examples: JOKE, ZZZ): NEITHER
[John Bulten] The set of all words ending with a letter from BENDY TRACK: NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words that contain an S adjacent to another consonant (any letter other than A, E, I, O, U, or Y): ONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words beginning with a letter between A and G inclusive: NEITHER
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words where exactly two of the letters are A, E, I, O, U, or Y: BOTH

Week 4:
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words where the second letter is anything other than A, E, I, O, U, or Y: NEITHER
[Jason Boomer] The set of all 1-syllable words, according to HowManySyllables.com: ONE
[John Bulten] [private guess of a set of 2 words]: NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words that contain at least one instance of the letter S: BOTH
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words in which the same letter appears more than once: NEITHER
[Sam Levitin] [private guess of a set of 3 words]: NEITHER

Week 5:
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words in which exactly one of the letters is not in ETAOIN SHRDLU (examples: TREK, TREKS; counterexample: TREKKED): ONE
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words which start with L: NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words comprised entirely of letters from the words NUDE SLOTH: ONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words which contain the letter L: NEITHER
[Sam Levitin] [private guess of a set of 4 words]: NEITHER

Week 6:
[Daniel Levitin] [private guess of a set of 1 word]: ONE
[Jason Boomer] [private guess of a set of 5 words]: ONE
[Ken G. Safrit] The set of all words composed only of letters from HORSEMINT and which include the letter N or the letter O, but not both: BOTH
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words containing the letter O: ONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words which have at least one Scrabble-legal anagram according to scrabble.merriam.com: ONE
[Roger Strain] The set of words where the second letter is contained in FOXGER: ONE
[Sam Levitin] The set of all 6-letter words matching the pattern "CVCVCC", where "V" means {A,E,I,O,U,Y}, and "C" means the other 20 letters: ONE
[yyw] [private guess of a set of 2 words]: BOTH

Since the pair of words has been guessed, $30 has been donated to the Food Bank of West Central Texas and $30 has been donated to My Block My Hood My City!

Everyone now has one more week to guess the pair of words and get entered into the prize drawing!

Wordy Wednesday 347: Logicrossword 7

WORDY WEDNESDAY #345

PENT WORDS 69 (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 **
Cindy Heisler **
Joe Bernard **
Mark Ballinger **
Stephen Potter **
Izak Bulten **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #346

PENT WORDS 34 (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 #347

LOGICROSSWORD 7

(click here for a PDF version)

Blacken some cells in the grid below, and fill the rest with letters to form words left-to-right and top-to-bottom, crossword style. All words are Scrabble-legal (see scrabble.merriam.com); however, most of the words in the intended solution should be familiar.

Arrange the letters in the shaded cells to get the final answer, a single word. (If any of the shaded cells are blackened, then the final answer will be less than 8 letters long.)

* No two black cells share an edge or a corner. Every row and every column contains exactly two black cells. [Note: These are different from the rules regarding black cells in previous Logicrossword installments.]
* In cell C2, the word STAR intersects the word BATTLE.
* The word AEON intersects the word CANTO.
* The word EXTRA intersects the word INLIER.
* Six 2-letter words appear in the grid: AH, AL, AR, AY, ER, and NO.
* A word reads vertically which contains the substring HO.
* The letters K and U appear exactly once each.
* Row 3’s leftmost letter and rightmost letter are the same.
* Row 4 contains only four distinct letters.
* Some column contains the letters G and I.
* Column A does not contain a 4-letter word.
* Column D contains a word whose second letter is the same as the last letter of a word in column F.
* Column E’s bottommost letter is in the first half of the alphabet (A through M).

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A Logicrossword that will make you go OOH....
* What's a 7-letter word for "'____ Independence' (Björk song)"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Two Words II! (Week 5 update)

For full rules, see here.

Week 0:
The set of words containing the letter A: NEITHER
The set of all words composed only of letters (with possible repeats) from ETAOIN SHRDLU: ONE
The set of all words containing at least one of "R", "S", "T", "L", "N" or "E": BOTH

Week 1:
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words containing at least 3 consecutive letters that are consonants (i.e. not AEIOUY): NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words beginning with a letter in the word SOUND: NEITHER
[Kevin Orfield] The set of words where three or more of the letters are from the set {A,E,I,O,U,Y}: NEITHER
[Michael Tang] The set of words of length 5, 6, 7, or 8: ONE
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length greater than or equal to 9: NEITHER

Week 2:
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words of lengths 5 or 6: ONE
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words containing a double letter (examples: EGG, BOOT, LLAMA; counterexamples: FIFE, NANA): NEITHER
[John Bulten] The set of all words with second letter between O and Z inclusive: ONE
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words comprised entirely of letters (with possible repeats) in the words DHOLE UNITS: ONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words beginning with a letter between Q and Z inclusive: NEITHER
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length 6 or 7: ONE

Week 3:
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words at least 5 letters long, beginning with letters B-H inclusive: NEITHER
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words whose letters have a combined point value of 15 or higher in English-language Scrabble (examples: JOKE, ZZZ): NEITHER
[John Bulten] The set of all words ending with a letter from BENDY TRACK: NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words that contain an S adjacent to another consonant (any letter other than A, E, I, O, U, or Y): ONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words beginning with a letter between A and G inclusive: NEITHER
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words where exactly two of the letters are A, E, I, O, U, or Y: BOTH

Week 4:
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words where the second letter is anything other than A, E, I, O, U, or Y: NEITHER
[Jason Boomer] The set of all 1-syllable words, according to HowManySyllables.com: ONE
[John Bulten] [private guess of a set of 2 words]: NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words that contain at least one instance of the letter S: BOTH
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words in which the same letter appears more than once: NEITHER
[Sam Levitin] [private guess of a set of 3 words]: NEITHER

Week 5:
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words in which exactly one of the letters is not in ETAOIN SHRDLU (examples: TREK, TREKS; counterexample: TREKKED): ONE
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words which start with L: NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words comprised entirely of letters from the words NUDE SLOTH: ONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words which contain the letter L: NEITHER
[Sam Levitin] [private guess of a set of 4 words]: NEITHER

The money pool for the Food Bank of West Central Texas is now $30.
The money pool for My Block My Hood My City is now $30.

Submit more guesses!

Wordy Wednesday 346: Section Six 34

WORDY WEDNESDAY #344

LOGICROSSWORD 6 (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:
Stephen Potter **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin *

WORDY WEDNESDAY #345

PENT WORDS 69 (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 #346

SECTION SIX 34

(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, a 6-letter word.

Ring 1
1 Item in your Christmas stocking, if you've been naughty
2 Turn on
3 Proclaim
4 Ancient Greek garment
5 Item for preserving footwear's shape: 2 wds.
6 ____ wrap

Ring 2
* The ____ Army (charity often seen around Christmas)
* Allan who produced the movie Grease
* Boil with anger
* Cartoonist Adams
* Disquiet

Ring 3
* First word in "The Christmas Song"
* Common sugar substitute
* Rip of Men in Black
* Colgate alternative

Ring 4
* Surname of Nicholas Guest's and Julia Louis-Dreyfus's characters in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
* Musical interval between two consecutive C's
* Dangerous scene for which an actor might be replaced by a double

Ring 5
* ____ City Christmas Card (1989 album by jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis)
* ____ belt (car safety device)

Ring 6
* Miracle on 34th ____ (1947 Christmas film)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A Logicrossword that hopefully won't take an AEON to solve. . .

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Two Words II! (Week 4 update)

For full rules, see here.

Week 0:
The set of words containing the letter A: NEITHER
The set of all words composed only of letters (with possible repeats) from ETAOIN SHRDLU: ONE
The set of all words containing at least one of "R", "S", "T", "L", "N" or "E": BOTH

Week 1:
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words containing at least 3 consecutive letters that are consonants (i.e. not AEIOUY): NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words beginning with a letter in the word SOUND: NEITHER
[Kevin Orfield] The set of words where three or more of the letters are from the set {A,E,I,O,U,Y}: NEITHER
[Michael Tang] The set of words of length 5, 6, 7, or 8: ONE
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length greater than or equal to 9: NEITHER

Week 2:
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words of lengths 5 or 6: ONE
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words containing a double letter (examples: EGG, BOOT, LLAMA; counterexamples: FIFE, NANA): NEITHER
[John Bulten] The set of all words with second letter between O and Z inclusive: ONE
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words comprised entirely of letters (with possible repeats) in the words DHOLE UNITS: ONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words beginning with a letter between Q and Z inclusive: NEITHER
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length 6 or 7: ONE

Week 3:
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words at least 5 letters long, beginning with letters B-H inclusive: NEITHER
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words whose letters have a combined point value of 15 or higher in English-language Scrabble (examples: JOKE, ZZZ): NEITHER
[John Bulten] The set of all words ending with a letter from BENDY TRACK: NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words that contain an S adjacent to another consonant (any letter other than A, E, I, O, U, or Y): ONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words beginning with a letter between A and G inclusive: NEITHER
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words where exactly two of the letters are A, E, I, O, U, or Y: BOTH

Week 4:
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words where the second letter is anything other than A, E, I, O, U, or Y: NEITHER
[Jason Boomer] The set of all 1-syllable words, according to HowManySyllables.com*: ONE
[John Bulten] [private guess of a set of 2 words]: NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words that contain at least one instance of the letter S: BOTH
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words in which the same letter appears more than once: NEITHER
[Sam Levitin] [private guess of a set of 3 words]: NEITHER

* Note that some words, such as "extraordinary", have different numbers of syllables in different pronunciations, but How Many Syllables returns only one number (5, in this case). Sometimes, different words with different numbers of syllables have the same spelling, such as "mare" as in a female horse or as in a feature on the moon; How Many Syllables still only returns one number (1, in this case). I decided to use this website because it seems to be the easiest place to get this information from. For example, the word "atheism" is considered by leading syllable experts to be a 3-syllable word, but it's really difficult to glean that from m-w.com, because what appears to be a syllable breakdown, "athe·​ism", is actually showing all the places you can properly hyphenate the word, and you're apparently not supposed to hyphenate a word right after the first letter or right before the last letter, and the pronunciation of the word makes it look like a 4-syllable word, but apparently "ism" is counted by many linguists as a single syllable. Confusing. I hope I never have to touch another syllable in my life.

The money pool for the Food Bank of West Central Texas is now $33.
The money pool for My Block My Hood My City is now $33.

Submit more guesses!

Wordy Wednesday 345: Pent Words 69

WORDY WEDNESDAY #343

TOUCHWORD 16 (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 **
Cindy Heisler **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Mark Ballinger **
Stephen Potter **
John Bulten *
Kevin Orfield **
Patrick Jordan **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #344

LOGICROSSWORD 6 (hint)

As of this writing, 4 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 #345

PENT WORDS 69

(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron M. Sean Molley. Support me on Patreon at the $5 per month level and solve the monthly Patron Puzzle for a chance to suggest a seed word for a future puzzle, or at the $20 per month level 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 Actress Kelly Marie who played Rose Tico in the Star Wars sequel trilogy / "Archaeologists Discover Blue Confetti From Mary And Joseph's ____ Reveal Party" (headline from Christian satirical news site The Babylon Bee)
2 Place for a piercing, often / k ____ for now (swt live) (Ariana Grande album)
3 The Rite of ____ (Stravinsky work) / Not early
4 Emotionally distant / French sculptor François Auguste René ____
5 Like subtraction to addition / "____ me with a spoon!"
6 The ____ Take Manhattan (1984 film) / Substance that famously doesn't mix with water
7 Blood of the Greek gods / Concur
8 Rock band with the debut album Bleach / Faucet
9 "Four score and seven years ____. . ." / An act of rubbing out pencil marks
10 "Archaeologists Discover Pair Of Crocs Worn By ____ Iscariot" (The Babylon Bee headline) / Sea duck with soft down
   
PENTOMINOES:
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* A mild Dutch cheese
* Dynamite inventor Alfred
* Specialized vocabulary for a particular field
* Lithe
* Kentucky ____ (horse race)
* Stanza of a song
* Carl who was married to science writer Ann Druyan
* Consumed
* Dora the Explorer's cousin
* Michael of Monty Python
* Rapper Nicki
* Word before "crust" or "hand"
* "All joking ____. . ."
* "____ in Heart, O God" (Christian hymn)
* Lasso
* "Fire and Ice" poet Robert
* Group of church singers
* "____ in Heaven" (Eric Clapton song)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 6-letter word for "Miracle on 34th ____ (1947 Christmas film)"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Two Words II! (Week 3 update)

For full rules, see here.

Week 0:
The set of words containing the letter A: NEITHER
The set of all words composed only of letters (with possible repeats) from ETAOIN SHRDLU: ONE
The set of all words containing at least one of "R", "S", "T", "L", "N" or "E": BOTH

Week 1:
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words containing at least 3 consecutive letters that are consonants (i.e. not AEIOUY): NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words beginning with a letter in the word SOUND: NEITHER
[Kevin Orfield] The set of words where three or more of the letters are from the set {A,E,I,O,U,Y}: NEITHER
[Michael Tang] The set of words of length 5, 6, 7, or 8: ONE
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length greater than or equal to 9: NEITHER

Week 2:
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words of lengths 5 or 6: ONE
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words containing a double letter (examples: EGG, BOOT, LLAMA; counterexamples: FIFE, NANA): NEITHER
[John Bulten] The set of all words with second letter between O and Z inclusive: ONE
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words comprised entirely of letters (with possible repeats) in the words DHOLE UNITS: ONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words beginning with a letter between Q and Z inclusive: NEITHER
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length 6 or 7: ONE

Week 3:
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words at least 5 letters long, beginning with letters B-H inclusive: NEITHER
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words whose letters have a combined point value of 15 or higher in English-language Scrabble (examples: JOKE, ZZZ): NEITHER
[John Bulten] The set of all words ending with a letter from BENDY TRACK: NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words that contain an S adjacent to another consonant (any letter other than A, E, I, O, U, or Y): ONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words beginning with a letter between A and G inclusive: NEITHER
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words where exactly two of the letters are A, E, I, O, U, or Y: BOTH

The money pool for the Food Bank of West Central Texas is now $36.
The money pool for My Block My Hood My City is now $36.

Submit more guesses!

Wordy Wednesday 344: Logicrossword 6

WORDY WEDNESDAY #342

DIV IDE DIN TOT RIP LES 7 (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 **
Mark Ballinger **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #343

TOUCHWORD 16 (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 #344

LOGICROSSWORD 6

(click here for a PDF version)

Blacken some cells in the grid below, and fill the rest with letters to form words left-to-right and top-to-bottom, crossword style. All words are Scrabble-legal (see scrabble.merriam.com); however, most of the words in the intended solution should be familiar.

Arrange the letters in the shaded cells to get the final answer, a single word. (If any of the shaded cells are blackened, then the final answer will be less than 8 letters long.)

* No two black cells share an edge. All the white cells are connected through their edges.
* The leftmost four columns of the grid (A-D) contain two different five-letter words reading vertically which can each have one letter changed to become the string BIDEN.
* The rightmost four columns of the grid (F-I) contain two different five-letter words reading vertically which can each have one letter changed to become the string TRUMP.
* There are exactly three M’s and exactly three S’s in the grid.
* Exactly 3 rows contain the letter T.
* Row 5 contains a 9-letter word whose fifth letter is C.
* Column I contains the word FRY.
* One row or column contains both the word RAP and a word which intersects a word ending in I.
* One row or column contains two 4-letter words whose third letters are L and O, in some order.
* The words FELT and FIVE intersect at cell C4.
* The word ASP intersects a 7-letter word.
* Cells C9 and D2 contain the same letter.
* Cell E8 contains the only X in the grid; a 3-letter word and a 4-letter word intersect there.
* Cell H6 contains a letter which also appears at least once in row 3.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "Carl who was married to science writer Ann Druyan"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Two Words II! (Week 2 update)

For full rules, see here.

Week 0:
The set of words containing the letter A: NEITHER
The set of all words composed only of letters (with possible repeats) from ETAOIN SHRDLU: ONE
The set of all words containing at least one of "R", "S", "T", "L", "N" or "E": BOTH

Week 1:
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words containing at least 3 consecutive letters that are consonants (i.e. not AEIOUY): NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words beginning with a letter in the word SOUND: NEITHER
[Kevin Orfield] The set of words where three or more of the letters are from the set {A,E,I,O,U,Y}: NEITHER
[Michael Tang] The set of words of length 5, 6, 7, or 8: ONE
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length greater than or equal to 9: NEITHER

Week 2:
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words of lengths 5 or 6: ONE
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words containing a double letter (examples: EGG, BOOT, LLAMA; counterexamples: FIFE, NANA): NEITHER
[John Bulten] The set of all words with second letter between O and Z inclusive: ONE
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words comprised entirely of letters (with possible repeats) in the words DHOLE UNITS: ONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words beginning with a letter between Q and Z inclusive: NEITHER
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length 6 or 7: ONE

The money pool for the Food Bank of West Central Texas is now $39.
The money pool for My Block My Hood My City is now $39. (Their home page no longer mentions a Small Business Relief Fund; did they rebuild all the small businesses in Chicago already? I don’t know. Regardless, I’m pretty sure underprivileged Chicagoans deserve money more than I do, so I’ll still find some way to help.)

Submit more guesses!

Wordy Wednesday 343: Touchword 16

WORDY WEDNESDAY #341

THE OMINOUS PENTHOUSE 2 (answer)

Here is 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:
Mark Ballinger **
Jason Boomer **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Stephen Potter **
Walker Anderson **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #342

DIV IDE DIN TOT RIP LES 7 (hint)

As of this writing, 5 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 #343

TOUCHWORD 16

(click here for a PDF version)

In a crossword, words cross each other; in this puzzle, they merely touch. More specifically, 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.

Arrange the letters in the shaded spaces to form the final answer, an 8-letter word.

Note: The symbol † indicates headlines from The Babylon Bee, the "trusted source for Christian news satire".
1  † “New Law Requires You To Listen To ____ Thunberg Lecture Before Purchasing Gasoline” / † “Breaking: Health Officials ____ Portland To Prevent Spread Of Communism”
2  Review / Music style with syncopated rhythm
3  Emergency / Messages sent by wire
4  Illusionist Angel / Fashion / A slang term for marijuana
5  Classic Asian dish: 2 wds. / Skin disease cured by Jesus, according to the New Testament
6  Restaurant chain serving breakfasts / American Indian dwelling, perhaps / Substitute representative
7  Thorough: hyph. / Spot, as of ink / Shrewd
8  † “____ Mounting Pressure From Snopes, Babylon Bee Writers Forced To Admit They Are Not Real Journalists” / “Obey Your ____” (Sprite slogan) / Professional boxer Tyson ____
9  Cow features / Titles for knights / The color blue, in heraldry
10 † “Nation Worried About Having No Idea What's Going On If There's No State Of The Union ____” / † “Nation Surprised To Learn Time ____ Still In Print”
11 1994 movie about a seal / Tribute / Where to find coal
12 Start of a poker pot / Actor Pauly / † “Toddlers ____ Ransom Of Goldfish Crackers For Return Of Sunday School Teacher”
13 Goddesses associated with destiny / Worn out / † "NBA Now Requiring All Players To ____ For Chinese National Anthem"
14 Islamic leader’s legal decree / Toddlers & ____ / Powdered drink mix brand
15 Got bigger / “Barbie Girl” band / Giving a diatribe

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A sequel that nobody asked for!
* Patron Puzzle #72, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters ($5 or more per month), is an Anacrossword.

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Two Words II! (Week 1 update)

For full rules, see here.

Week 0:
The set of words containing the letter A: NEITHER
The set of all words composed only of letters (with possible repeats) from ETAOIN SHRDLU: ONE
The set of all words containing at least one of "R", "S", "T", "L", "N" or "E": BOTH

Week 1:
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words containing at least 3 consecutive letters that are consonants (i.e. not AEIOUY): NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words beginning with a letter in the word SOUND: NEITHER
[Kevin Orfield] The set of words where three or more of the letters are from the set {A,E,I,O,U,Y}: NEITHER
[Michael Tang] The set of words of length 5, 6, 7, or 8: ONE
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length greater than or equal to 9: NEITHER

The money pool for the Food Bank of West Central Texas is now $42.
I have become aware of an organization called My Block My Hood My City with a Small Business Relief Fund to help rebuild small businesses in Chicago which have been decimated by rioters and looters. In light of recent events in America, I have decided to donate a matching amount of money to their Small Business Relief Fund as well. The money pool for the My Block My Hood My City Small Business Relief Fund is now $42.

Submit more guesses!

Wordy Wednesday 342: DIV IDE DIN TOT RIP LES 7

WORDY WEDNESDAY #340

PENT WORDS 68 (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 **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Mark Ballinger **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Stephen Potter **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #341

THE OMINOUS PENTHOUSE 2 (hint)

As of this writing, 6 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's a hint. 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 #342

DIV IDE DIN TOT RIP LES 7

(click here for a PDF version)

 “__ __    __ __    __ __ __ __’__    __ __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __,  *__
             ^           ^        ^           ^           ^           ^
  __ __ __ __ __    __ __    __ __ __    __ __    __ __ __ __ __ __ __
    ^        ^           ^           ^              ^        ^        ^
  __ __ __ __’__    __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __”   __ __    __ __
          ^           ^        ^        ^           ^           ^
  __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __    __ __ __ __    __ __ __ __    __ __ __ __
          ^        ^           ^        ^           ^           ^
  __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __    __ __ __ __ __?
    ^        ^        ^           ^
__ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __
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
Note: The symbol † indicates headlines from The Babylon Bee, the "trusted source for Christian news satire".
Ingredient in many household cleaners __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                                      74 54 59 51 55 37 07
Weep loudly: hyph. __ __ __ __ __ __
                   14 18 03 80 61 30
† “Microsoft ____ Voted Top Web Browser For __ __ __ __
   Downloading Other Web Browsers”          63 19 35 90
An extreme scarcity of food __ __ __ __ __ __
                            32 06 02 89 75 22
† “Family Exiting Church Unable To ____ Minivan __ __ __ __
   In Sea Of Identical Minivans”                50 66 38 27
† “'Sports ____' Releases Hotly Anticipated __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
   'Modest Attire' Issue”                   33 69 23 85 76 21 29 04 08 60 13
Comedian Anderson who once hosted Family Feud __ __ __ __ __
                                              87 58 82 40 09
† “Jesus Wondering Who Little White Baby __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
   In ____ Scene Is Supposed To Be”      49 01 05 53 88 43 79 71
The team in possession of the ball, in football __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                                                64 42 28 15 20 45 12
† “Joel ____ Saddened To Learn Some Preachers __ __ __ __ __ __
   Can Only Afford $6,000 Shoes”              56 26 77 36 11 52
“Yellow ____” (The Beatles song) __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                                 86 68 10 46 81 70 34 41 39
Emulate Michael Phelps __ __ __ __
                       24 47 78 17
Faint __ __ __ __ __
      73 84 72 67 44
Made an equine sound __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                     57 48 83 62 65 31 25 16

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What skin disease was cured by Jesus, according to the New Testament?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Two Words II!

I am thinking of two English words that are at least 2 letters long and no more than 15 letters long. Both words are valid in Scrabble according to https://scrabble.merriam.com/. Your goal is to guess them. Everyone who guesses the pair of words correctly by the time the contest is over will be entered for a chance to win a copy of my board game Mammalath (with the Mammalath Plus expansion).

Once per week, each and every single person reading this blog post is allowed to e-mail a set of words to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. If it is a set of at least 10 words, I will publicly post on this blog (on the following Monday at 12:01 AM Central time) whether NEITHER of my words, ONE of my words, or BOTH of my words are in that set. If it is a set of 9 words or fewer, I will privately give you the same information. If I can't easily verify whether a set of words has at least 10 words in it, I will assume it does, so if you want your information kept private, submit your set of words in the form "{CINQ, QADI, QAID, QATS, QOPH}" rather than "the set of all Scrabble-legal 4-letter words with a Q and not a U".

Once someone has guessed the pair of words (that is, submitted to me a set of exactly two words and gotten a result of BOTH), one last weekly update will be posted on this blog, and then people who haven't guessed the words yet will have one more week to try to do so and be entered in the prize drawing.

Just like last time, this contest will also benefit the Food Bank of West Central Texas. The money pool which I will donate to them will start at $45, and then go down $3 for every weekly update that has gone by without someone guessing the pair of words. If the money pool would hit $0, I will instead withdraw the prize drawing. So even if you aren't interested in the prize drawing, your participation may help someone else solve the words faster and thus help charity! Last time, you smart people managed to solve the words with the money pool at $36, but I think I've picked a more difficult word pair this time!

To kick things off, I'll make three guesses for you, chosen from among the guesses that were made last time:

The set of words containing the letter A: NEITHER
The set of all words composed only of letters (with possible repeats) from ETAOIN SHRDLU: ONE
The set of all words containing at least one of "R", "S", "T", "L", "N" or "E": BOTH

Good luck, and yappy guessing!

Wordy Wednesday 341: The Ominous Penthouse 2

WORDY WEDNESDAY #339

SNAKE CRISSCROSS 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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cindy Heisler **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Mark Ballinger **
Bryce Herdt **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Stephen Potter **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #340

PENT WORDS 68 (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 #341

THE OMINOUS PENTHOUSE 2

(click here for a PDF version)

Because if any puzzle needed a sequel, it was definitely this one.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "Comedian Anderson who once hosted Family Feud"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Two Words! (RESULTS!)

It's time for the results of this contest!

Wordy Wednesday 340: Pent Words 68

WORDY WEDNESDAY #338

PATHFINDER 19 (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 **

Cindy Heisler **

James Haddad **

Joe Bernard **

M. Sean Molley **

Mark Ballinger **

Jason Boomer **

Kevin Orfield **

Ryan Faley **

Sam Levitin **

Stephen Potter **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #339

SNAKE CRISSCROSS 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 #340

PENT WORDS 68

(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 Foot digit / Break, as a law

2 Item calling the kettle black, possibly / Nova Scotia's capital

3 Grow more mature / ____ horizon

4 "____, My God, to Thee" (Christian hymn) / Not naughty

5 Surf and ____ (seafood/steak combo) / Gentle breeze

6 2020 Presidential hopeful Buttigieg / Red-breasted birds

7 Wolfed down / Film producer Boll

8 Bookmaker's concern / Spiny sea creature

9 Interval that's an octave larger than a second / "Rudimentary" programming language

10 Greek mythological character who flew too close to the sun / MacLachlan of Twin Peaks

     

PENTOMINOES:

* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* Slender instrument used to explore a wound

* "____ and Nail" (Foreigner song)

* Aquafina alternative

* Certain sled dog

* Hilton of celebrity gossip

* Overturn

* Main character's name in The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

* ____ drab

* "All the News That's Fit to ____" (The New York Times slogan)

* Material for some gloves

* ____, Wind & Fire (pop music band)

* National Baseball Hall of Fame member Banks

* Addams family butler

* Shrink back in reaction to pain

* Like some hair dryers

* Libyan currency unit

* Using few words

* Worshipper of Shiva

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A truly ominous sequel!

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, keep on living, and yappy solving!

Contest: Let's Guess Two Words! (Week 4 update — FINAL UPDATE!)

For full rules, see here.

Week 0:
The set of all words starting with a letter in the word PRIME: NEITHER
The set of all words with a prime number of letters: ONE
The set of all words with a prime number of distinct letters: BOTH

Week 1:
[Bryce Herdt] The set of all words that use one or more of J, Q, X, and Z: NEITHER
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words of length at most 10: BOTH
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words beginning with a letter on the home row of a QWERTY keyboard (ASDFGHJKL): ONE
[John Bulten] The set of all words ending with a letter alphabetically between Q and Z inclusive: NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words containing at least one of the letters U, V, W, X, Y, or Z: ONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words where the number of letters in the word is at least two greater than the number of distinct letters: NEITHER
[Roger Strain] The set of all words in which all instances of A, E, I, O, and U appear in alphabetical order (examples: ANIMUS, FED, FEED, RHYTHM): BOTH
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length 7 or more: NEITHER

Week 2:
[Bryce Herdt] The set of all words composed only of letters (with possible repeats) from ETAOIN SHRDLU: NEITHER
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words where are least three of the letters are A, E, I, O, or U: NEITHER
[Jason Boomer] The set of all words in which the second letter is A, E, I, O, or U: ONE
[John Bulten] The set of all words in which the second-to-last letter is A, E, I, O, or U: NEITHER
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words beginning with a letter in the word GHOST: ONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words which both start and end with consonants (letters other than A, E, I, O, or U): ONE
[Roger Strain] The set of all words containing at least one of "R", "S", "T", "L", "N" or "E": BOTH
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words where exactly two of the letters are A, E, I, O, or U: ONE
[Stephen Potter] The set of all words that start with A, E, I, O, or U: NEITHER

Week 3:
[Bryce Herdt] The set of all words alphabetically after RANDOM: ONE
[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words containing R or L: BOTH
[Jason Boomer] [private guess of a set of 9 words]: NEITHER
[John Bulten] The set of all words containing C or L: BOTH
[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words beginning with a letter in the word MISBEHAVING: ONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words beginning with a letter in the word DAFT: NEITHER
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length exactly 4: ONE

Week 4:
[Bryce Herdt] The set of all words composed of exactly two different letters: NEITHER

[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words containing Y: NEITHER

[Frank Stieg] The set of all words either containing no pentomino letters (FILNPTUVWXYZ) or composed entirely of pentomino letters: BOTH

[Izak & John Bulten] [private guess of a set of 2 words]: BOTH
[Jason Boomer] [private guess of a set of 2 words]: BOTH
[Kenneth Wilson] [private guess of a set of 2 words]: BOTH
[Kevin Orfield] The set of words appearing in the Oxford 3000 (https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/external/pdf/wordlists/oxford-3000-5000/The%20Oxford%203000.pdf ): ONE
[Michael Tang] [private guess of a set of 2 words]: BOTH
[Roger Strain] The set of words containing the letter A: ONE
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words in which two vowels (AEIOU) appear consecutively, including words with a doubled vowel: NEITHER

Since the pair of words has been guessed, $36 has been donated to the Food Bank of West Central Texas!

Everyone now has one more week to guess the pair of words and get entered into the prize drawing!