Wordy Wednesday 418: Diagramless Crossword 7 & Wordy Wednesday 419: Touchword 21

WORDY WEDNESDAY #416
SECTION SIX 41 (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 **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #417
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 6 (hint)

As of this writing, 6 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!

LAST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH = DOUBLE WORDY WEDNESDAYS!
WORDY WEDNESDAY #418
DIAGRAMLESS CROSSWORD 7
(click here for a PDF version)

This crossword has 66 entries in a 15x15 grid, obeys American crossword rules, and has standard rotational symmetry.

ACROSS

1 Online profile picture

7 Get in the way of

8 Pose a question

11 First part of a clue to the final answer: ? wds.

15 Certain container

16 Star Trek: ____ (2020 sci-fi debut)

19 Finishing point

20 Word on a man’s bath towel, perhaps

21 Excessively

22 Hilo garlands

24 Certain writing implement

25 Morse ____

26 ____ Ant (cartoon superhero)

29 Gotten up from bed

31 Second part of a clue to the final answer: ? wds.

33 Poles in a circus

34 Russian opposite of “da”

36 Pain

38 ____ an egg (utterly fail)

39 ____ Like It Hot

42 ____ constrictor

43 “It’s so obvious!”

44 Month after April

45 Large arteries

47 Goof up

48 Third part of a clue to the final answer: ? wds.

55 Understand

56 Excite

57 Walmart rival

DOWN

1 Word between “ready” and “fire”

2 Show with trophies depicting an astronaut: abbr.

3 Befitting

4 Golfer’s peg

5 Compute a sum

6 “Radio Free Europe” band

8 Alamo alternative

9 Word indicating a mistake in a quoted text

10 Family Ties family surname

11 First murder victim in Genesis

12 “A stitch in time saves ____”

13 A Passage to ____

14 Personal viewpoint

17 Rocker Stewart

18 Female deer

20 Basil or thyme, for example

23 32-Down, since January 4, 1896

24 Country singer Cline

25 Gives up

27 Japanese sash

28 Snail, for one (note: you want the alphabetically earlier of the two alternative spellings)

30 Foxy

32 Where Salt Lake City is

33 Swimming with ____ (1994 film)

35 Actress Marisa

36 Grp. for lawyers

37 Emulate a pigeon

40 Double Dare host Summers

41 Jane created by Charlotte Brontë

43 Palm fruit

46 Make a knot

49 Panama ____

50 Historic period

51 Neither’s partner

52 Was really into

53 112.5 degrees on a compass

54 Ex-soldier, for short

WORDY WEDNESDAY #419
TOUCHWORD 21
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron M. Sean Molley. Support me on Patreon at the Super Fan level ($5/month) and solve the monthly Patron Puzzle for a chance to suggest a seed word for a future puzzle, or at the Ultra Fan level ($20/month) to suggest one seed word every month!

In a crossword, words cross each other; in this puzzle, they merely touch. More specifically, all answers read across, and 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.

1 Ring-tailed ____ / Chessman that can be fianchettoed / Beyond elegant

2 Mike’s Hard ____ (alcoholic beverage brand) / Overly concerned with one’s appearance, perhaps

3 Mexican lager brand / Skillful / “Down with Disease” band

4 Another name for cilantro / One of the Society Islands

5 Robin Hood’s maid / Sleep Number alternative / Certain pasta

6 Michael Sembello hit from Flashdance / Applying perfume, perhaps

7 ____ ray / ____ Sun (beverage brand) / Another name for the short-lived Volkswagen Type 181

8 Certain vocal composition / Key ____ / Employ

9 Walking stick / Level in a video game / Shape defined by x²+y²+z²=r²

10 Pig enclosures / Profoundly wise people / Newspaper-printing device

11 One of a circus performer’s pair / An Italian sausage / “Dress for Less” retailer

12 ____ Guys: Ultimate Knockout (2020 video game) / Edison’s rival / Drink made from champagne and orange juice

13 Some flat-chested women wear these / Landlocked Asian country / Mineral with perfect basal cleavage

14 Zebras / Certain wading bird / Care designed for the terminally ill

15 Freshen up, as decor / Not be in favor of

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "____ VCS (2021 microconsole based on a 1977 video game console)"?
* Patron Puzzle #86, which will be delivered exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a Snake Crisscross.

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