Wordy Wednesday 576: Section Six 57

WORDY WEDNESDAY #574
SNAKE CRISSCROSS 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 **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Cole Kendall **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
SquishmallowsUnited *
Tower **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #575
PENT WORDS 115 (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!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #576
SECTION SIX 57
(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 starred spaces to form the final answer, a Scrabble-legal (unhyphenated, uncapitalized, etc.) 6-letter word.

Ring 1
1 Vitamin B3
2 Candy bar brand made from toffee, almonds, and chocolate
3 Spacey term for a guiding principle
4 Honking birds
5 Its flag depicts the Ashoka Chakra
6 Discard: 2 wds.

Ring 2
* Neap ____
* Department store associated with a catalog
* Another name for the game Chinese whispers
* Type of cake named after a lightweight fabric
* The Binding of _____ (2011 roguelike video game)

Ring 3
* Yearn (for)
* Seize with legal authority
* Leave in the lurch
* Sandal or sneaker

Ring 4
* Recess for a statue
* Ironed
* Place for baccarat and blackjack

Ring 5
* Caesar shift, for one
* Open ____ (2006 animated film about a grizzly bear named Boog)

Ring 6
* Actor Wesley of Passenger 57 (1992)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* Can you decode gibberish?

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