Wordy Wednesday 541: Codewords 24 & Wordy Wednesday 542: Diagramless Crossword 11

WORDY WEDNESDAY #539
SPICY GERMAN SAUSAGE 4 (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 **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Cole Kendall **
Michael Lebowitz **
Derek Allen **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #540
PENT WORDS 108 (hint)

As of this writing, 12 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 #541
CODEWORDS 24
(click here for a PDF version)

In the crossword puzzle above, every letter is represented by an integer from 1 through 26. You must decipher the code to reveal the words.

Arrange the letters in the shaded spaces to spell the final answer, an eight-letter word.

WORDY WEDNESDAY #542
DIAGRAMLESS CROSSWORD 11
(click here for a PDF version)

This crossword has 58 entries in a 15x15 grid, obeys American crossword rules, and has standard rotational symmetry.

ACROSS
1 “My lips ____ sealed”
4 Six-pack muscles
7 An astronaut wears one: hyph.
9 Walter ____ National Military Medical Center
11 Not taking place in a building
13 “Curiosity ____ the cat”
15 First part of a clue to the final answer: ? wds.
18 “Girls Just Want To Have ____”
19 Sailor
20 Peyton Manning’s brother
21 Humorist Bombeck
23 ____ as a beet
24 Drink in small quantities
25 Like a 45-degree angle
27 ____ talk
28 ____ and downs
31 Make a misstep
33 Catty comment
34 Play it by ____
35 ____ and a Half Men
38 Second part of a clue to the final answer: ? wds.
45 Episodic
46 Gave up possession of
47 Small flat squares of butter
48 Preadolescent child
49 Item at the center of a peach
50 Barrett of Pink Floyd
DOWN
1 Q8 maker
2 Quiet ____ (heavy metal band)
3 College in Berkshire, England
4 Extremely dry
5 Lugosi who played Dracula
6 “Note to ____. . .”
7 Expert
8 Shock
10 Inhibit
11 Not on
12 ____ of return
13 Robin the Frog’s uncle
14 Editor’s mark indicating something to remove
16 An opossum is one
17 Disencumber
22 Mimic
25 Inclined
26 Common breakfast item
28 Thurman of Pulp Fiction (1994)
29 Some writing implements
30 Clean with a broom
32 Make supplications to God
35 Persil alternative
36 English architect Christopher
37 Unusual
39 Shrink ____
40 A tubular pasta
41 West’s opposite
42 Lice eggs
43 Moist, as grass in the morning
44 Ran off the edge of the page, as printed matter

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What 1993-1999 sitcom starred Fran Drescher?

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