Wordy Wednesday 363: Snake Crisscross 13

WORDY WEDNESDAY #361

CRYPTICROSTIC 9 (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 **
Tyler Hinman **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Leo Termin **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #362

ANACROSSWORD 21 (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 #363

SNAKE CRISSCROSS 13

(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

Golfer Ernie with a winemaking business

Parking ____

Knightly title

Golfer’s peg

Overly

4 LETTERS

Reference line in a Cartesian plane, say

Richard of American Gigolo (1980)

Shoestring

Company based in Billund, Denmark

____ & Stitch (2002 film)

____ and easy

Dozes (off)

Delivered

Took to court

Certain arithmetic results

5 LETTERS

Part of a butcher’s uniform

Cartographical book

Items for holding up pants

Pyramid alternative

Greece’s largest island

Consumed

Precise

Odor

The Sixth ____ (1999 film)

Separator between words, often

“Every Rose Has Its ____” (Poison hit)

6 LETTERS

Certain marbles

Sharp, as an observer

The hound in The Fox and the Hound (1981)

Rubbed away, as a pencil mistake

Clinging mollusk

Cries loudly

7 LETTERS

Heavy weight placed to improve a ship’s control

9 LETTERS

Gadgetry

14 LETTERS

Professional user of essential oils

SNAKE WORDS

5 LETTERS

Benefactor

Identifying tag

Moderate shade of purple

Lesson of a fable

Gotten up

____ Magnolias (1989 film)

Nappy leather

They may be hailed

Member of a Rwandan ethnic group

6 LETTERS

Climb

Yellow jacket relative

Jamaican music genre

Title for a Japanese teacher

Straight man

Brand once associated with the slogan, “You can trust your car to the man who wears the star”

7 LETTERS

Location in Arthurian legend

Dutch Renaissance humanist

Frozen masses: 2 wds.

Incentive

Attack verbally: 2 wds.

16 LETTERS

1996 PlayStation game whose protagonist is a musically inclined anthropomorphic dog: 3 wds.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A sequel nobody asked for! 
* Patron Puzzles #76 and #77, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters ($5 or more per month), are titled Busted Bits and Super Pent Words. I made the executive decision to give my patrons two Patron Puzzles this month. 

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

Wordy Wednesday 362: Anacrossword 21

WORDY WEDNESDAY #360

PENT WORDS 72 (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 **
Stephen Potter **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Leo Termin **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #361

CRYPTICROSTIC 9 (hint)

As of this writing, 7 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 #362

ANACROSSWORD 21

(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 91 92 93 94 95 96 97
Prepared to shoot, say 
What a songwriter might be concerned with 
Chip of Whose Line Is It, Anyway? 
Hold ____ 
____ of the Loom (underwear brand) 
1984 film where little creatures terrorize Kingston Falls 
1969-1997 country music variety show: 2 wds. 
The ____ for Red October 
Parasitic worm 
Crazy 
Computer programs that cause undesired behavior 
Items on which to wipe your feet before entering a house 
Its state bird is the greater roadrunner: 2 wds. 
Part of a desert that may temporarily have a lake 
Button on an audiocassette player 
Instrument for jazz musician John Coltrane 
The ____ Life of Pets 
Charlie of Wall Street (1987) 
Persnickety person 
Layer 
Rocker Turner 
“Best of Intentions” singer Travis 
“Flick of the ____” (Queen song) 

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 6-letter word for "Brand once associated with the slogan, 'You can trust your car to the man who wears the star'"? 

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

Contest: 10 Mario Challenges

At“ten”tion Nin“ten”do fans! I have created some puzzles to commemorate this year marking the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. Each of these ten Mario-themed mini-puzzles yields an individual answer. Together, the puzzles form a meta puzzle and yield a collective answer, as well. Those of you who have never played a Mario game should be glad to know that all Mario-related information required to solve these puzzles should be relatively easy to locate on various wikis.

Part I. Solve the Mini-Puzzles!

Solve the mini-puzzles and send your solutions to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. For each correct solution received (up to 10), you will get an entry in a prize drawing to win some cool Mario-themed merchandise!

Part II. Solve the Meta Puzzle!

Solve the meta puzzle and send your solution to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com, and you will get an entry in a prize drawing to win the grand prize of some cool Mario-themed merchandise and a copy of my board game Mammalath (with the Mammalath Plus expansion)!

The deadline for both parts of the contest is 11:59 PM Central time on November 1, 2020. After this deadline, the winners will be selected (first for Part II, then for Part I from among those who didn't win Part II). Good luck!

(click here for a PDF of all the puzzles together)

(note: you can click some images in this blog post to enlarge them)

01. A Puzzle Whose Answer Isn’t BABY BOWSER

02. A Puzzle Whose Answer Isn’t BRIGHT CARD

03. A Puzzle Whose Answer Isn’t CACTUS MINE

04. A Puzzle Whose Answer Isn’t CANNON KAOS

How many Coins do you get for defeating a Paper Goomba in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam?

How many green Toads make up the group of "Fun Guys" in Paper Mario: Color Splash?

What is the sticker number of the Flashy Hopslipper sticker in Paper Mario: Sticker Star?

How many FP does a Lime Candy restore in Paper Mario?

What is the number of Spike Top's Catch Card in Super Paper Mario?

In what chapter of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door do you face Hooktail?

What number is in the full name of the boss in Paper Mario: The Origami King who is known as "Colored Pencils", and is also the number of colored pencils he normally has?

05. A Puzzle Whose Answer Isn’t COOKIE LAND

06. A Puzzle Whose Answer Isn’t CRANKY KONG

07. A Puzzle Whose Answer Isn’t LIGHT BLOCK

08. A Puzzle Whose Answer Isn’t POKEY MUMMY

09. A Puzzle Whose Answer Isn’t WALRUS COVE

10. A Puzzle Whose Answer Isn’t WARIO WORLD

The Meta

As mentioned before, these ten puzzles yield a collective answer as a meta puzzle. You may obtain hints on how to solve the meta puzzle through the following means.

First Hint: Solve Any 7 Puzzles

Just email me any 7 puzzle answers, and I’ll send you the first hint. If you don’t want to wait on me to respond, I have set up the following process so you can obtain the hint more quickly:

Step 1: For each puzzle you’ve solved, go to https://sites.google.com/view/10mariochallenges-XXYYYYYYYYYY/home, replacing XX with the two digits preceding the puzzle’s title and YYYYYYYYYY with the puzzle’s answer. If done correctly, a website will appear with a 57-character string (2 digits, a hyphen, and 54 hexadecimal digits [regular digits plus letters a through f]). These are shares for Shamir's Secret Sharing Scheme.

Step 2: When you have 7 such strings, go to http://point-at-infinity.org/ssss/demo.html. In the “Combine” field, set “Threshold” to 7 and enter the 7 strings you obtained. If done correctly, a 27-digit number will appear as the output.

Step 3: Go to https://sites.google.com/view/ATWENTYSEVENCHARACTERSTRING/home, replacing ATWENTYSEVENCHARACTERSTRING with the 27-digit number. The first hint should appear.

Second Hint: Solve All 10 Puzzles

Just email me all 10 puzzle answers, and I’ll send you the second hint. If you don’t want to wait on me to respond, I have set up the following process so you can obtain the hint more quickly:

Step 1: Go to https://www.md5hashgenerator.com/. Make a string out of all 10 puzzle answers, in puzzle order (01 through 10), in lowercase letters, separated by hyphens (for-example-it-might-look-like-this-string-right-here). If done correctly, the hash should begin with bc8a4.

Step 2: Go to https://sites.google.com/view/ATWENTYSEVENCHARACTERSTRING/home, replacing ATWENTYSEVENCHARACTERSTRING with the hash, minus the first five characters bc8a4. The second hint should appear.

Wordy Wednesday 361: Crypticrostic 9

WORDY WEDNESDAY #358

DIV IDE DIN TOT RIP LES 9 (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:
Mark Ballinger **
James McGowan **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Leo Termin **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #359

SNAKE CRISSCROSS 12 (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 **
James McGowan **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Leo Termin **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #360

PENT WORDS 72 (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 #361

CRYPTICROSTIC 9

(click here for a PDF version)

The answer is two words enumerated (4 8).

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

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

Allow peculiar baleen __ __ __ __ __ __

                      46 41 24 01 06 30

Appealing crooner Crosby eats breakfast item __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                             36 52 29 42 33 25 45

Earlier, tennis player Arthur lost first of set, then gained advantage __ __ __ __ __

                                                                       02 35 40 14 09

Pamela of "Kindergarten Cop" adopts a child — logical __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                                      37 51 08 05 19 28 13 04

Retiring social club member in Minnesota baseball team blinks __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                                              56 32 47 53 20 12 07 26

Scrap Chinese ship __ __ __ __

                   18 50 48 39

Shake piece of archery equipment __ __ __ __ __ __

                                 49 44 55 15 21 31

Solitary person with unlimited explosive powder __ __ __ __ __ __

                                                54 16 11 23 27 34

Spanish madam from chosen oracle __ __ __ __ __ __

                                 17 10 03 38 22 43

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* In what 1984 film do little creatures terrorize Kingston Falls?

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

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

It's time for the results of this contest!

Wordy Wednesday 360: Pent Words 72

WORDY WEDNESDAY #357

DIV IDE DIN TOT RIP LES 8 (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:
Mark Ballinger **
Stephen Potter **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Leo Termin **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #358

DIV IDE DIN TOT RIP LES 9 (hint)

As of this writing, 7 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 #359

SNAKE CRISSCROSS 12 (hint)

As of this writing, 7 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 #360

PENT WORDS 72

(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 Ford SUV associated with O. J. Simpson / Become more lively, with "up" 
2 Nitrous ____ (laughing gas) / Corporal Walter Eugene O'Reilly, familiarly 
3 Japanese egg noodles / Song at a funeral 
4 Jerk's offering / "Successful New Movie Ratings Website Just Gives Exact Opposite Score Of ____ Tomatoes" (headline from Christian satirical news site The Babylon Bee) 
5 Low point / "Bruce ____ Suspected As Patient Zero In Gotham Coronavirus Outbreak" (The Babylon Bee headline) 
6 Square / Commencements 
7 "Super ____" (ABBA song) / Cacophanous noise 
8 ____: A Machine for Pigs (2013 horror game) / "And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and ____. . ." 
9 Animal also known as a prairie wolf / Brunswick ____ 
10 The Big ____ (1985-2009 California lottery game show) / Williams of Neptune's Daughter (1949) 

PENTOMINOES: 
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER 
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER 
* Stereotypical name of a woman who wants to see your manager 
* ____ cheer 
* ____ of a Wimpy Kid (2010 film) 
* "____ In My Own Tears" (Ray Charles song) 
* Alcoholic apple beverage 
* Express a viewpoint 
* On the ____ (in a vulnerable position) 
* Catlike animal with a spotted body and a ringed tail 
* Strawberry ____ Clock (rock band) 
* They may measure IQ 
* Tendon 
* French farewell 
* Me and ____ Welles (2008 film) 
* Anesthetic of yore 
* Alter, as a constitution 
* Word following "horse" or "soap" 
* Stun gun trademark 
* Tuesday offerings at a Mexican restaurant 

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A Crypticrostic! 

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

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

For full rules, see here.

Week 0:

The set of all words beginning with a letter between Q and Z inclusive: NONE

The set of all words whose letters have a combined point value of 15 or higher in English-language Scrabble (examples: JOKE, ZZZ): ONE

The set of all words where exactly two of the letters are A, E, I, O, U, or Y: TWO

The set of all words containing a double letter (examples: EGG, BOOT, LLAMA; counterexamples: FIFE, NANA): ALL

Week 1:

[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words of length greater than 10: NONE

[Inge S. Kraft] The set of all words that appear as distinct words in William Shakespeare's Hamlet (as opposed to as substrings of words), according to www.rhymezone.com/shakespeare (example: BORROWER, counterexample: ROWER): ONE

[Jason Boomer] The set of words with length of 8 or more: ONE

[Jessica Timmerman] The set {BALLOON, BEEPED, BOOKING, BOOMING, BULLFROG, CHICKEN, FEED, FEELING, FOOD, GULL}: NONE

[John Bulten] The set of all words with second-to-last letter between L and S inclusive: ONE

[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all words that appear as distinct words in William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra (as opposed to as substrings of words), according to www.rhymezone.com/shakespeare (example: BRANCHLESS, counterexample: RANCH): NONE
[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words containing a double vowel (AA, EE, II, OO, UU, YY): NONE

[Kyle Nils] The set of all words beginning with a vowel (A, E, I, O, U, Y): NONE
[Sam Levitin] The set of all words of length 6 through 10: ALL

Week 2:

[Arkayde] [private guess of a set of 3 words]: NONE

[Inge S. Kraft] The set of all words in which either the first or the second letter appears in the string HE WEARS MANY HATS: NONE

[John and Izak Bulten] The set of all words containing a double letter between NN and ZZ inclusive: TWO

[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all 6- and 7-letter words that contain the letter O at least once: ONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words ending with a double letter: NONE

[Kyle Nils] The set of all words beginning with a letter between J and P inclusive: NONE

[Sam Levitin] The set of all words with 3 or more consecutive consonants (consonants being defined as all letters except A, E, I, O, U, and Y): ONE

Week 3:

[Daniel Levitin] The set of words with at least 8 letters, of which at least 3 are (not necessarily distinct) vowels (A, E, I, O, U, and Y): ONE

[Inge S. Kraft] The set of all words in which the fifth letter exists and appears in the string FAMILY REUNIONS: ALL

[John Bulten] The set of all words which contain the letter R: ONE

[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all 6- and 7- letter words that contain the letter R at least once: NONE

[Kevin Orfield] The set of all words which contain three or more of the same letter: ONE

[Leo Termin] The set of all words ending in a vowel (A, E, I, O, U, Y): NONE

[Sam Levitin] The set of all words with 2 or more non-overlapping double letters in them (examples: VOODOO, ZOOKEEPER; counterexamples: PEEP, ZZZ): NONE

Week 4:

[Daniel Levitin] The set of all words ending in S: ONE

[Inge S. Kraft] The set of all 7- and 9-letter words in which exactly two of the letters appear in the phrase CHEMICAL X: ALL

[John Bulten] [private guess of a set of 3 words]: ALL

[Kenneth Wilson] The set of all 6- and 7-letter words that contain the letter N at least once: NONE

[Kevin Orfield] [private guess of a set of 3 words]: ALL

[Kyle Nils] The set of all words ending with a letter between R and V inclusive: ONE

[Leo Termin] The set of all words that, when the last letter is removed, still form a valid word according to scrabble.merriam.com (examples: LATHER, SCAMPI, TOKEN): ONE

[Sam Levitin] The set of all 6-letter words whose first four letters make a Scrabble-legal word: NONE

Since the trio of words has been guessed, $44 has been donated to the Food Bank of West Central Texas!

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