Wordy Wednesday 450: Pent Words 90 & Wordy Wednesday 451: Touchword 24

WORDY WEDNESDAY #448
PATHFINDER 26 (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 **
Karen Spencer **
Mary Maynard **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman *
Kevin Orfield **
Patrick Jordan *
Richard Allen *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #449
PL8S (hint)

As of this writing, 8 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!

LAST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH = DOUBLE WORDY WEDNESDAYS!
WORDY WEDNESDAY #450
PENT WORDS 90
(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 Sandwich-making necessity / Distributed playing cards

2 Young sheep / Maid’s feathery implement

3 Poses, as a question / Printed calico textile from India

4 Unit of scoring in golf / Dragon’s ____ (1983 arcade game)

5 Florid / Harp relative

6 Objects of which Insane Clown Posse famously asked, “How do they work?” / Comedian Costello

7 The Hindenburg, for one / “In the ____” (Linkin Park song)

8 Eau ____, WI / Anjou, for one

9 Emphasis / “Let My Love ____ the Door” (Pete Townshend song)

10 Simple children’s card game / Brand of glue that makes a poor substitute for hairspray, as described in Tessica Brown’s 2021 rap single “Ma Hair”

PENTOMINOES:

* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* Anheuser’s partner in beer

* Vibrato

* Computed 2+2, for example

* Central doctrine

* Apparatus on a police cruiser, ambulance, or fire truck

* Rodeo rope

* Change

* Freight

* Period of time spent at a task

* River horse, briefly

* Colorful parrot

* “____ of Tears” (John Denver song)

* Catch some Z’s

* Venue for a sporting contest

* ____ robin

* Porgy relative

* The Democratic Republic of the Congo, once

* Swedish currency unit

WORDY WEDNESDAY #451
TOUCHWORD 24
(click here for a PDF version)

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 David Bowie hit / Leg joint / Merlot, for example: 2 wds.

2 Arrived / Gained access / Far from narrow

3 Surname of the family from 7th Heaven / Rip / Slowly eat away at

4 20th-century conflict between the US and the USSR: 2 wds. / Trim away excess / ____-playing game

5 “____ the Line” (Toto song) / Weft’s counterpart / Wrestle

6 “____-Shaped Box” (Nirvana hit) / Joint on a door / “Terms and conditions may ____”

7 Become weak: 2 wds. / Harry Potter and the ____ Hallows

8 “Baptist Kid Singing ‘____?’ Mentally Prepares For Part Where He Has To Say The Word ‘Ass’” (December 2021 headline from Christian satirical news site The Babylon Bee): 4 wds.

9 Straw on a cottage roof, say / A grocery store chain / Indian women’s garments

10 Short-lived Bewitched spin-off / Makakilo mementos / La Scala solo

11 Something done regularly / Wheel’s shaft / Certain rhododendron

12 Sixty minutes / Sitcom with Danny DeVito as Louie De Palma / Shone brilliantly

13 Pumpkin, for one / Like some vacation time / Monitor ____

14 “I’m My Own ____” (Lonzo and Oscar song) / Like some confinement

15 Crooner Sinatra / Currency that can be denoted by the symbol $ / Prayer with a list of petitions

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A Codewords!

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

Wordy Wednesday 449: PL8S

WORDY WEDNESDAY #447
RUFFTRAX (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, here for a text transcript, or here for a hint. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Izak Bulten **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #448
PATHFINDER 26 (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 #449
PL8S
(click here for a PDF version)

Reading in all 8 directions, and using each letter and digit at most once, find custom plates for:

A clerk at a music store (7)

A computer programmer (5)

A dancer from the 1960’s (5)

A drinker of Chardonnay (4)

A pest control worker (7)

A poker player (7)

A police informant (7)

A quitter (4)

A seller of women’s undergarments (6)

A Toronto baseball fan (5)

A Utahn (7)

Magnus Carlsen (6)

Muhammad Ali (5)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "Anheuser’s partner in beer"?
* What's the surname of the family from 7th Heaven?

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

Wordy Wednesday 448: Pathfinder 27

WORDY WEDNESDAY #446
SECTION SIX 44 (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 **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter *
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #447
RUFFTRAX (hint)

As of this writing, 7 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's a hint, and here's a text transcript of the original puzzle. 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 #448
PATHFINDER 26
(click here for a PDF version)

In this puzzle, each answer starts in the correspondingly numbered square, goes in some direction, and makes one or more right-angled turns as it winds through the grid. 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, an 8-letter word.

1 Main course (6)

2 Affection felt by an adolescent for a crush, say (5 4)

2 Marionette operator (9)

3 Wastewater (6)

4 Magician’s interjection (6)

5 Stephen King novel about a telekinetic girl (6)

5 Staple of a vulture’s diet (7)

6 Chinese flower (3 4)

7 Putin’s predecessor (7)

8 Astonishes (4)

9 Snake (7)

10 Came up (5)

11 1968-2012 ABC soap opera (3 4 2 4)

12 Fast food sandwich with tartar sauce (5-1-4)

13 Bean curd (4)

14 Be a storyteller (7)

15 Carve wood, perhaps (7)

15 Marked by meticulous attention to detail (5-5)

16 Without warranty (2 2)

17 Robin Hood, for one (6)

18 Part of a window (4)

19 Shred cheese, for example (5)

20 “Half Breed” singer (4)

21 Asian relative of the raccoon (3 5)

22 What the subject of a defamatory newspaper article might sue for (5)

23 Performer of reckless stunts (9)

24 “Ocean Eyes” singer Billie (6)

25 Some whales (7)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* Can you clean these plates?

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

Wordy Wednesday 447: RuffTrax

WORDY WEDNESDAY #444
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cole Kendall **
James Haddad **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Damon French **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #445
PENT WORDS 89 (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 **
Cole Kendall **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Damon French **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #446
SECTION SIX 44 (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 #447
RUFFTRAX
(click here for an MP3 version)

(This puzzle is audio only.)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 6-letter word for "Stephen King novel about a telekinetic girl"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 446: Section Six 44

WORDY WEDNESDAY #443
BUILD YOUR OWN PUZZLE (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:
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Damon French **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley *

WORDY WEDNESDAY #444
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 9 (hint)

As of this writing, 11 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 #445
PENT WORDS 89 (hint)

As of this writing, 13 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 #446
SECTION SIX 44
(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 System in which you must dot your I’s twice?: 2 wds.

2 O’Neil of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

3 Tinker ____ Soldier Spy

4 Underground periodical

5 A construction worker wears one: 2 wds.

6 Pull

Ring 2

* Fastball with sideways spin

* Bike with an engine

* Alliance

* Monitor ____

* Rehabilitate from a disease

Ring 3

* Pull

* Gem carved in relief

* American Revolutionary War foe

* Absolutely exalted

Ring 4

* Absolutely exalt

* Ketchup entrepreneur Henry John ____

* Recent arrival

Ring 5

* Repudiation

* Life, for one

Ring 6

* One of 44 used during a Hanukkah celebration

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* Ruff ruff ruff!
* Patron Puzzle #91, which will be delivered on December 8, 2021, exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a pair of Codewords.
* All of my Patreon supporters at all levels ($1 or more per month) will also receive issue #5 of my sporadically published (but hopefully annual from here on out) Fox & Badger Magazine, entitled "The Hopefully-Not-Copyright-Infringing Pokémon Issue"! Can you help a Trainer evolve six Eevee to solve this enormous 18-puzzle meta? There is also an expanded Odds & Ends section, including an NPL-style picture flat wonderfully illustrated by Tintinabar!

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