Wordy Wednesday 282: Touchword 10 & Wordy Wednesday 283: Hex Pathfinder 19

WORDY WEDNESDAY #280

PENT WORDS 56 (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:
Bryce Herdt **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #281

TOUCHWORD 9 (hint)

As of this writing, 3 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!

THE JOY OF PUZZLING: WORD SANDWICHES!

Here's a new contest where you can learn how a puzzle was written and then write your own puzzle. Good luck!

FIFTH WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH = DOUBLE WORDY WEDNESDAYS!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #282

TOUCHWORD 10

(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. (You can think of it as a diagramless, cylindrical Share-A-Letter puzzle.)

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

1  Environment in which something develops / Profusion
2  Kathy Kinney’s role on The Drew Carey Show / Jacob’s brother / Eerie
3  Careless / “Make Mine ____” (1946 film) / Former football quarterback Romo
4  Like numbers on the number line / Metroid heroine / Utter singingly
5  Distributed playing cards / Marie who was the Queen of France
6  Yes, ____ (2000-2006 sitcom) / The Lone Ranger’s companion / “In the ____” (Elvis Presley song)
7  A type of crown / In debt / A greeting
8  Attack imaginary foes: 3 wds.
9  Sheds feathers, say / Base one position clockwise of home plate / Economist Kimball
10 Annoy / Employ / ____ potato
11 Part of the face between the mouth and the ear / Stock purchases / A compass direction
12 ____ and balances / A compass direction / Super _____ Bros. Ultimate (2018 video game)
13 One who uses hawks to hunt / Put up with
14 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy ____ / A unit of weight: 2 wds.
15 “Sugar We’re Goin Down” band: 3 wds. / Wearer of a conical cap

WORDY WEDNESDAY #283

HEX PATHFINDER 19

(click here for a PDF version)

In this puzzle, each answer starts in the correspondingly numbered hexagon and winds through the grid, starting in the indicated direction. When you have finished, every letter will be used in exactly two entries.

Rearrange the letters in the shaded spaces to get the final answer, a 7-letter word.

1E Primatologist Goodall (4)
1SW A programming language (4)
2W Laughing mammal (5)
3W Like a memorable tune (6)
4SE “____, me hearties!” (5)
5SW Canadian-born magician who popularized casual attire for magicians (11, 2 wds.)
6E Game show where contestants competed to line up X’s and O’s (11, 3 wds.)
7NW “Same here!” (5)
7SW Judge ____ (1995 film) (5)
8SW Contradict (6)
9SE Ten tens minus ten (6)
10NW Diminished (5)
11W ____ Lake (Tchaikovsky ballet) (4)
11SE Participate in a choir (4)
12W “Juke Box ____” (Foreigner song) (4)
13SE Stinging insect (4)
14W Rubbish (6)
15NE “That hurts!” (4)
16E One ran away with the spoon in “Hey Diddle Diddle” (4)
17NW Testify to, with “for” (5)
17E Rapper who told listeners to “stop, collaborate, and listen” (10, 2 wds.)
18SE Unique (7)
19NW Preparing frozen food, perhaps (7)
20SE Like some courtroom evidence (8)
21NW Bart’s sister (4)
22W Struck down (5)
23NE 10010110, for example (4)
23W Plants of the goosefoot family (5)
24SW Operatic solo (4)
25SE DVD player button (5)
25SE Model Porizkova (7)
26NW The sun, for one (4)
27E Moisten at regular intervals, as cooking food (5)
28E Through thick and ____ (4)
29SW Hair salon item (6)
30SW Disreputable (8)
31SE Kid ____ (NES game) (6)
32NW 1991 comedy starring Steve Martin as George Banks (16, 4 wds.)
33NE First word in “Kokomo” by The Beach Boys (5)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 15-letter, 4-word answer for "Normal"?
* Patron Puzzle #59, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters ($5 or more per month), is not written yet. I should focus on building a backlog of Patron Puzzles soon.

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

The Joy of Puzzling: Word Sandwiches (CONTEST!)

In this two-part contest, you'll get to solve a puzzle, learn how it was made, and try your hand at making your own puzzle!

Part I. Solve a Puzzle!

THE JOY OF PUZZLING: WORD SANDWICHES

(click here for a PDF version)

Write the answers to the CENTERS clues in the correspondingly-numbered white spaces, then add one letter to each end in the highlighted spaces to form the answers to the WHOLES clues (which are in no particular order). The letters you have added, reading down the left and right sides, will spell a two-word phrase. In the example, the words EVER, PIN, RANG, and OWE become REVERB, OPINE, ORANGE, and TOWER; the letters on the sides spell ROOT BEER.

The final answer is the two-word phrase spelled out in the end spaces. After solving, go to tinyurl.com/tjop-[answer], replacing [answer] with the answer (leaving out the space), to learn how this puzzle was constructed and get tips on constructing your own!

CENTERS
1. ____ Pray Love (2010 film)
2. Stanza
3. Spasm
4. A unit of weight measurement
5. Uppermost room in a house
6. Mature

WHOLES
* Grid
* New York city in which Superintendent Chalmers never heard anyone use the phrase "steamed hams"
* Passing
* Stoked
* Supervise
* Was like a bad check

Send your answer to the above puzzle to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com before 11:59 PM Central time on June 24, 2019 to enter Part I of the contest. After the deadline, one random entrant with the correct answer will win a copy of my new board game TAILITS!

IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO CONSTRUCT A PUZZLE TO ENTER THIS PART OF THE CONTEST.

Part II. Make a Puzzle!

Now you get to write your own Word Sandwiches puzzle! To learn how I made the above puzzle, go to tinyurl.com/tjop-[answer], replacing "[answer]" in the URL with the puzzle's final answer in lowercase letters (omitting the space). It is not necessary, however, to visit this URL or even solve the above puzzle to enter this part of the contest. Your puzzle must obey all of these rules:

* The final answer must be two words of equal length, between 3 and 10 letters long, spelled by the letters added to the fronts and backs of the CENTERS words to make the WHOLES.
* All entries must be at least 3 letters long.
* The clues for the CENTERS must be in the correct order to spell the final answer phrase; the WHOLES clues must be alphabetized.
* No entry may be repeated. (Come the heck on now.)

You are allowed to seek the assistance of one test-solver to make sure the puzzle you send me doesn't have any typos, inaccurate clues, or other bad things Ryan won't like, and to ensure the puzzle is fun to solve. To increase my chances that I receive high-quality puzzles without typos, the test-solver is eligible for the same prize as the constructor! Teamwork makes the dream work, as they say.

Send your completed puzzle, its answer, and the e-mail address of your test-solver (if you had one) to glmathgrant@gmail.com, before 11:59 PM Central time on June 24, 2019. After the deadline, I will then send the puzzles to Ryan Faley in random order and with no bylines. He will judge which puzzle he likes best; its constructor and its test-solver (if any) will both win copies of my new board game TAILITS! The winning entry (and honorable mentions, at our discretion) will also be reproduced on my blog for my readers' enjoyment. The following things are likely to win Ryan over:

* Fresh entries.
* Interesting overlaps.
* Interesting clues.
* PG-ratedness.

The following things will not win him over:

* Too many obscurities. (Don't use the Portuguese word for "tablecloth"!)
* R-rated things (I want to reproduce the winning entry on this highly PG-rated blog, so none of George Carlin's seven dirty words, for instance, should be in the clues or the answers).
* Etymological relatives, especially obvious ones like two compound words that share a root word in common, are frowned upon. (HEREABOUT and THEREABOUTS is not an interesting overlap.)
* Submitting the puzzle to Ryan instead of to me is an absolute no-no! No matter how good your puzzle is, if he knows who wrote it, he cannot trust his judgment to be completely impartial. Seeing the entries without knowing who wrote them ensures that the prize goes to the puzzle he likes the best, and not the person he likes the best. So again, DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR PUZZLES TO RYAN!!!

You may only submit one puzzle, but you can change it at any time before the deadline. You may be the test-solver for any number of other entrants.

Good luck, and happy constructing!

The Joy of Puzzling: Pent Words (RESULTS!)

I received 6 entries to Part I and 6 entries to Part II of The Joy Of Puzzling: Pent Words. Here are the results!

Wordy Wednesday 281: Touchword 9

WORDY WEDNESDAY #279

A TRIBUTE TO THE HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE (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 a hint. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Pavel Curtis **
Tyler Hinman **
Bryce Herdt **
Michael Tang **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #280

PENT WORDS 56 (hint)

As of this writing, 3 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 #281

TOUCHWORD 9

(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. (You can think of it as a diagramless, cylindrical Share-A-Letter puzzle.)
Arrange the letters in the shaded spaces to form the final answer, an 8-letter word.

1  Tool that shares its name with a cocktail of orange juice and vodka / “____ the Light” (hymn)
2  Sharp / “Just Around the ____” (song from Pocahontas)
3  Former First Lady of California Maria / “____ and out” / "Better Sound Through Research" brand
4  Endeavor / An ingredient in beer / Selected
5  A knight’s horse / The Titanic, for one / Group of fish
6  Commits a moving violation, perhaps / Part of a sword / Elon Musk’s father
7  Insect that sucks juice from plants / Circus performer’s pole / Mistake
8  Most pallid / Like some motives
9  Parenthetical remark, sometimes / Just ____ (2006 video game) / Astrological aspect of two celestial bodies that are 120 degrees apart
10 Sour / Resource / Specialized homemade publication
11 Star Wars genre, briefly: hyph. / Cowboy’s item / Gas in the upper atmosphere
12 Lazy / A type of tea
13 Cut chips from with a knife / ____ bee
14 2009-2013 British TV drama set in a London district / Elsa of Born Free, for one
15 Shrill yell / A feeling of disgust

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 15-letter, 3-word answer for "Attack imaginary foes"?
* What's a 10-letter, 2-word answer for "Rapper who told listeners to 'stop, collaborate, and listen'"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 280: Pent Words 56

WORDY WEDNESDAY #278

DIV IDE DIN TOT RIP LES 5 (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:
Bryce Herdt **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #279

A TRIBUTE TO THE HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE (hint)

As of this writing, 5 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 #280

PENT WORDS 56

(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 Building material made from sun-dried earth and straw / Carving knife brand famous from infomercials
2 Route / ____ the bottom of the barrel
3 Fermented honey beverage / Classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus ____
4 Guns & ____ (magazine) / Relatives of cellos
5 Go bad, as a check / Nothing, in Spanish
6 "Twist and ____" (Isley Brothers song) / Transition
7 Interval between the "do" at the bottom and the "do" at the top of a scale / Projection in a church
8 California senator Kamala / Go on Nutrisystem, say
9 Morocco ____ (cartoon character) / Like sloth or gluttony
10 Frighten / The Price is ____ (long-running game show)

PENTOMINOES:
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* Start
* Not behind
* Gain custody of, perhaps
* "Drat!"
* Sesame Street's grouch
* The British ____
* Goodbye
* Lucky item
* Not heavy
* Layer of the earth's atmosphere
* Cuban ballroom dance
* Deduce
* "Get out of here!"
* Old saw
* Book of maps
* Perturb
* Not abridged
* ____ 43 (2013 film)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What tool shares its name with a cocktail of orange juice and vodka?

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

Wordy Wednesday 279: A Tribute to the High School Experience

WORDY WEDNESDAY #277

PATHFINDER 13 (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:
Bryce Herdt *
Mary Maynard **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #278

DIV IDE DIN TOT RIP LES 5 (hint)

As of this writing, 2 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 #279

A TRIBUTE TO THE HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

(click here for a PDF version)

The final answer is a person.

Removing impurities from (8)

Non-Jew (7)

A Clue weapon (6)

Mitigate, as stress (7)

Website with a blue bird logo (7)

Small diadem (7)

Male sibling (7)

Principal in The Simpsons (7)

Viewing device on a submarine (9)

Daydream (7)

Fully assembled and ready to use (7)

Whipping as punishment (9)

Typing teacher Mavis (6)

Got smaller (6)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "____ 43 (2013 film)"?

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

Wordy Wednesday #278: DIV IDE DIN TOT RIP LES 5

WORDY WEDNESDAY #276

SECTION SIX 27 (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:
Bryce Herdt **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #277

PATHFINDER 13 (hint)

As of this writing, 3 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!

THE JOY OF PUZZLING: PENT WORDS!

Here's a new contest where you can learn how a puzzle was written and then write your own puzzle. Good luck!

FLOW FIT!

Here's a brand new app for iOS, Google Play, and Amazon devices! You are tasked with arranging pieces to form a crossword. I think it's pretty fun (although I might be biased because I wrote some of the puzzles). Check it out!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #278

DIV IDE DIN TOT RIP LES 5

(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron Tyler Hinman. 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!
  __ __   *__ __ __ __ __    __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __    __ __ __
             ^        ^           ^           ^           ^        ^           ^
  __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __,   __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
    ^        ^        ^           ^           ^           ^        ^        ^
  __ __ __ __    __ __ __   *__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __   *__ __ __ __ __ __    __ __ __
          ^           ^           ^        ^        ^           ^        ^           ^
  __ __ __ __ __    __ __    __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __    __ __    __ __ __ __
          ^           ^           ^        ^        ^              ^        ^
  __ __ __    __ __ __?
          ^

__ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __
01 02 03    04 05 06    07 08 09    10 11 12    13 14 15    16 17 18    19 20 21    
__ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __
22 23 24    25 26 27    28 29 30    31 32 33    34 35 36    37 38 39    40 41 42
__ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __
43 44 45    46 47 48    49 50 51    52 53 54    55 56 57    58 59 60    61 62 63
__ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __
64 65 66    67 68 69    70 71 72    73 74 75    76 77 78    79 80 81    82 83 84
__ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __
85 86 87    88 89 90    91 92 93    94 95 96

Food whose yellow peel is a common comedy prop __ __ __ __ __ __
                                               04 21 03 33 63 26
Fils-Aimé’s successor at Nintendo of America __ __ __ __ __ __
                                             39 58 94 67 16 20
12 inches __ __ __ __
          45 42 84 73
____ of the Loom __ __ __ __ __
                 11 65 85 56 70
1978 Jamie Lee Curtis flick __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                            81 01 43 40 95 88 13 08 49
Migraine, for example __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                      77 10 62 47 18 07 25 92
Searched for prey __ __ __ __ __ __
                  74 59 51 57 53 38
Concept __ __ __ __
        69 93 36 48
Truly __ __ __ __ __ __
      30 60 09 24 19 50
Rocker Janis __ __ __ __ __ __
             14 12 64 37 34 46
Stomach distress with the urge to vomit __ __ __ __ __ __
                                        02 87 96 23 29 89
Detroit basketball team __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                        61 31 90 79 44 52 86
Scottish kilt pattern, often __ __ __ __ __ __
                             27 15 17 82 75 55
Bird who debuted in “A Tale of Two Kitties” __ __ __ __ __ __
                                            80 83 22 71 76 05
“____ in the Sky” (Journey song) __ __ __ __ __
                                 91 28 72 68 41
Blow away, as chaff __ __ __ __ __ __
                    06 66 32 35 78 54

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A really dumb puzzle. I'm sorry.

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