Wordy Wednesday 581: Gibberish Genius 2

WORDY WEDNESDAY #579
FRAMELINKS 21 (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 **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers *
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Tower **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #580
PENT WORDS 116 (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 #581
GIBBERISH GENIUS 2
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron Randy Rogers. 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!

Are you gifted enough to grapple with this gobbledygook again?
ALTESNATIVETOPAPESOSSCISSOSS
BRIEISHELEVAEOR
COLORFULYPATERNEHANKERCHIEFCOMONLYWORNONTHEHEA
DNCETHTORIGINTEDINBOHEMI
EBEAVERSUBUILDHTHEM
EOPPOSITEFOFEFORENINLNAUTICALYTERMINOLOGY
FMOUSAUUSFLMILLMDRECTORIOORSIELBERGPRRG
GATHARINGCATTLAORSHAAP
GIONNTWEBSITETHONTHONSONUCTIONS
HTSEQUAKSSMARSSTIMDSSACCELERATINNS
LAUNDRYUREDETERGENTUREBRANDURE
NOTORIOUASSASSIJOHWILKE
OSERIESOOFOMOUNTAINS
PHILOOPHYINPIEDBYGEMANCOMMUNITKAL
PLITICALDAMASARRINGKRRYWSHINGTONAOIVIAPPE
PRAYRRTHNTMIGUTPRECEQEDINNRR
SECOREOEFZEEROIENGEOLF
VIFEOHTUSANDOWTNUHDREDGIEHTYEEFT

Alphabetize by category:
_______________(2,vii)
_______________(4,iv)
_______________

_______________
_______________
_______________(3,viii)
_______________(3,i)

_______________
_______________(2,vi)
_______________
_______________
_______________(2,v)

_______________(3,iii)
_______________
_______________(2,ii)
_______________
_______________
_______________

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 15-letter, 2-word answer for "1928 animated short film that entered the public domain in 2024"?

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

Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6, Episode 5: Confusing Columns

PREVIOUS EPISODES

Introduction (what these puzzles are and why they're called "Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6"): click here

Episode 1 (A High-Tec Puzzle): puzzle PDF, hint PDF

* 23 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 0 people solved it later for 25 points.

Episode 2 (Hopefully Not "Sew" Hard): puzzle PDF, hint PDF

* 21 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 0 people solved it later for 25 points.

Episode 3 (Color My World): puzzle PDF, hint PDF

* 20 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 0 people solved it later for 25 points.

Episode 4 (Another Baseball Baffler): puzzle PDF, hint PDF (new!)

* 19 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece.

The total number of points scored is 4150. Thus, the current money pool for the Palm Beach County Food Bank is $41.50. Three anonymous benefactors have agreed to match this donation, meaning that the Palm Beach County Food Bank will actually receive $166.00. If you haven't already, you may solve the above puzzles for 25 points, possibly with the aid of the hint.

KEVIN’S PUZZLES AT HOME

SEASON 6, EPISODE 5:

CONFUSING COLUMNS

(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle looks vaguely like one that confounded Kevin last May. Can you conquer these columns?

---

(This illustration by Tintinabar is not part of the puzzle.)

Submit your answer to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com for 50 points, and stay tuned next week for Episode 5's hint and Episode 6's puzzle. Good luck!

Wordy Wednesday 580: Pent Words 116

WORDY WEDNESDAY #578
ANACROSSWORD 37 (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 **
Derek Allen **
Michael Lebowitz **
Nan **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers *
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Tower **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #579
FRAMELINKS 21 (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 #580
PENT WORDS 116
(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 Deceptive act / Big name in lighters and pens
2 Frankenstein author Mary / Spigot in a cask
3 Long, blunt-ended cigar / ____ Straits (“Walk of Life” band)
4 Marks on a rancher’s cattle / Ask for ID
5 Nest on a cliff / Errand-running lackey
6 Male flower organ / Peru’s capital
7 Type of shellfish in Lewis Carroll’s poem The Walrus and the Carpenter / EarthBound protagonist who’s playable in the Super Smash Bros. series
8 Entreaty / ____ stick (cell phone accessory)
9 Homily / Produce a design using acid
10 ____ John, M.D. (medical drama that spun off from M*A*S*H) / Grain used in bread and whiskey
PENTOMINOES:
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* Low point
* Sheet of microfilm in a library
* The ____ Crusader (Batman)
* Nag or Nagaina of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, for one
* The Boy and the ____ (2023 animated film directed by Hayao Miyazaki)
* Burns lightly
* Green citrus fruits
* Painter Velázquez
* Account ledger entry
* Japanese egg noodles
* Gasoline ____ (comic by Jim Scancarelli)
* Painter Claude
* Bind, as with long pieces of leather
* Actor Daniel of Home Alone (1990)
* Rub out, as erroneous pencil marks
* Ancient Greek fabulist
* Painter’s prop
* Devour quickly, with “down”

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* Are you enough of a genius to contend with even more gibberish?

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

Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6, Episode 4: Another Baseball Baffler

PREVIOUS EPISODES

Introduction (what these puzzles are and why they're called "Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6"): click here

Episode 1 (A High-Tec Puzzle): puzzle PDF, hint PDF

* 23 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 0 people solved it later for 25 points.

Episode 2 (Hopefully Not "Sew" Hard): puzzle PDF, hint PDF

* 21 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 0 people solved it later for 25 points.

Episode 3 (Color My World): puzzle PDF, hint PDF (new!)

* 20 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece.

The total number of points scored is 3150. Thus, the current money pool for the Palm Beach County Food Bank is $31.50. Three anonymous benefactors have agreed to match this donation, meaning that the Palm Beach County Food Bank will actually receive $126.00. If you haven't already, you may solve the above puzzles for 25 points, possibly with the aid of the hint.

KEVIN’S PUZZLES AT HOME

SEASON 6, EPISODE 4:

ANOTHER BASEBALL BAFFLER

(click here for a PDF version)

Kevin recently found a childhood notebook in which he recorded the details of a series of baseball games he watched way back when.

From January 1 to January 29, Kevin watched 5 baseball games. 5 teams (the Aardvarks, the Badgers, the Cougars, the Deer, and the Elephants) played. Each team was the home team in one game and the visiting team in a different game. (No team ever played against itself.) Using the clues below, determine who was the home team and who was the visiting team on each date.

1. The home team on January 1 was the visiting team on January 29.

2. The home team on January 8 was not the visiting team on January 22.

3. The Elephants were the visiting team on January 15; their opponents were not the Cougars.

4. Neither the Cougars nor the Elephants were the home team on January 8, nor were the Deer the visiting team on that date.

5. The Aardvarks were the home team exactly three weeks before the Deer were the home team.

---

(This illustration by Tintinabar is not part of the puzzle.)

Submit your answer to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com for 50 points, and stay tuned next week for Episode 4's hint and Episode 5's puzzle. Good luck!

Wordy Wednesday 579: Framelinks 21

WORDY WEDNESDAY #577
GIBBERISH GENIUS (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 **
Cole Kendall **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Jason Boomer **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Tower **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #578
ANACROSSWORD 37 (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 #579
FRAMELINKS 21
(click here for a PDF version)

Fill in the empty squares in the diagram with the given letters to form words.
Arrange the letters in the shaded squares to form the final answer, a Scrabble-legal (unhyphenated, uncapitalized, etc.) 8-letter word.

A A A A A A A A A   B B B B B B   C C C C   D D   E E E E E E E E E   G G   H   I I I I I   J   K K   M
N N   O O O O O   P P   R R R R R R R   S S S S   T T T T T T   U U   W   Y

 

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "The Boy and the ____ (2023 animated film directed by Hayao Miyazaki)"?

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

Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6, Episode 3: Color My World

PREVIOUS EPISODES

Introduction (what these puzzles are and why they're called "Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6"): click here

Episode 1 (A High-Tec Puzzle): puzzle PDF, hint PDF

* 23 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 0 people solved it later for 25 points.

Episode 2 (Hopefully Not "Sew" Hard): puzzle PDF, hint PDF (new!)

* 21 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece.

The total number of points scored is 2200. Thus, the current money pool for the Palm Beach County Food Bank is $22.00. Three anonymous benefactors have agreed to match this donation, meaning that the Palm Beach County Food Bank will actually receive $88.00. If you haven't already, you may solve the above puzzles for 25 points, possibly with the aid of the hint.

KEVIN’S PUZZLES AT HOME

SEASON 6, EPISODE 3:

COLOR MY WORLD

(click here for a PDF version)

While Kevin’s fur comes in many different colors, this puzzle only has fifteen. Can you find them?

---

(This illustration by Tintinabar is not part of the puzzle.)

Submit your answer to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com for 50 points, and stay tuned next week for Episode 3's hint and Episode 4's puzzle. Good luck!

Wordy Wednesday 578: Anacrossword 37

WORDY WEDNESDAY #576
SECTION SIX 57 (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 **
Derek Allen **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Tower **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #577
GIBBERISH GENIUS (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 #578
ANACROSSWORD 37
(click here for a PDF version)
(click here for rules)

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
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
• Extremely clumsy: 2 wds.
• Bynes of Hairspray (2007)
• Phoenix-based motel chain: 2 wds.
• Prince in The Chronicles of Narnia
• Caribou, for one
• Shortage
• Inhibit
• Media franchise based on a Bandai virtual pet
• Congressional Medal of ____
• The Hoosier State’s largest city
• Anchorman
• Witherspoon of Legally Blonde (2001)
• A blade’s protective case
• Certain myrtle relative: 2 wds.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A Framelinks!

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

Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6, Episode 2: Hopefully Not "Sew" Hard

PREVIOUS EPISODES

Introduction (what these puzzles are and why they're called "Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6"): click here

Episode 1 (A High-Tec Puzzle): puzzle PDF, hint PDF (new!)

* 23 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece.

The total number of points scored is 1150. Thus, the current money pool for the Palm Beach County Food Bank is $11.50. Three anonymous benefactors have agreed to match this donation, meaning that the Palm Beach County Food Bank will actually receive $46.00. If you haven't already, you may solve the above puzzle for 25 points, possibly with the aid of the hint.

KEVIN’S PUZZLES AT HOME

SEASON 6, EPISODE 2:

HOPEFULLY NOT "SEW" HARD

(click here for a PDF version)

Kevin found a quilt that his grandmother made him when he was a pup. She always kept her brain young by solving and writing puzzles; Kevin wonders if she cleverly hid a puzzle in the blocks of this quilt.

---

(This illustration by Tintinabar is not part of the puzzle.)

Submit your answer to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com for 50 points, and stay tuned next week for Episode 2's hint and Episode 3's puzzle. Good luck!

Wordy Wednesday 577: Gibberish Genius

WORDY WEDNESDAY #575
PENT WORDS 115 (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 **
Michael Lebowitz **
Kevin Orfield **
Patrick Jordan *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
SquishmallowsUnited **
Tower **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #576
SECTION SIX 57 (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 #577
GIBBERISH GENIUS
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron Cathy Bowen. 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!

Are you gifted enough to grapple with this gobbledygook?
BJECTRBITINGETWEENARSNDUPITER
CAPTACNPLAYCDCYWILLICMSHATNCR
HAVNLYCOUNRPARSOHSVNDADLYSINS
LOFFICIAEMARINLMAMMAFOAFLORID
MFAMOUSUSOUPNCANIPAINTERRWARHOL
PIIDLEIRBIXER
PRESIDENUFOLLOWINHCOOLIDGF
PRESONALJUORNAL
SBLNGOFMARONNNTENDOGAMES
SETALUMEMENIMEROEKARD
SPPROJECTILESPUSEDSPINSPARCHERY
STATEWHERENASHVIEANDCHAANGAARE
TIMEDGOARDBAMEPLAYEDONABRIDOFLETTEREDCUGES
TOBACCOTOBACCORESIDUERESIDUE
YUOUNGMUALECUHILD

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

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What media franchise is based on a Bandai virtual pet?
* Patron Puzzle #116, which will be delivered on January 8, 2024, exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a Fill-In Crossword.

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

Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6, Episode 1: A High-Tec Puzzle

INTRODUCTION

This series is inspired by the website Kevin's Puzzles, on which Kevin Orfield posts an instructionless puzzle-hunt-style puzzle every Monday. Kevin Orfield's puzzles usually lean towards the easy side of this genre in order to target a less experienced and/or younger audience. Kevin's Puzzles at Home is my knockoff of Kevin's Puzzles, so called because of the "we have X at home" meme:

The puzzles in Kevin's Puzzles at Home are intended to be easier than my Wordy Wednesday posts, and hopefully at least 80% as entertaining as the real Kevin's Puzzles. Kevin's Puzzles at Home will be presented by my "we have X at home" version of Kevin, a prodigious and colorful wolf named Kevin Edmund Kepler:

(This illustration by Tintinabar is not part of any puzzle. Any resemblance between this Kevin and the real Kevin, or any real Kevin, is entirely coincidental.)

 

Every Monday during January and February 2024, a new episode will be posted at 12:01 AM (Central); as with the real Kevin's Puzzles, as is the standard with other puzzle hunts, the final answer will be a word or phrase. Email me (at glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com) the correct solution to this puzzle within the next week to score 50 points. Each puzzle will also have a hint posted for it one week later; solving the puzzle while the hint is up will be worth 25 points. Episode 9, which will be posted on February 26, is a meta puzzle which requires the answers to all of the previous puzzles in order to be solved; this puzzle will be worth double (100 points before the hint, 50 points after). The highest possible score a solver can attain will thus be 500 points, by solving each puzzle during its first week. In an effort to aid people who don't have food at home, for every point scored by my readers by 11:59 PM (Central) on March 10, I will donate 1¢ to the Palm Beach County Food Bank, up to a maximum of $100. (Thus, each solver can contribute a maximum of $5 to this pool.) Three anonymous benefactors have agreed to match my donation as well, making the maximum possible donation $400 (and thus the maximum contribution to this donation by a single solver $20). To date, the Kevin's Puzzles at Home series has raised $1,759.50 for various food banks! A huge thank you to the solvers and anonymous benefactors who have made this impact possible!

Unlike the real Kevin's Puzzles, which posts each puzzle's solution one week after its hint is posted, all puzzle solutions will be posted simultaneously on March 11, one week after the final hint is posted. This will make the meta slightly harder, since you can't just look up the solutions to the previous puzzles to start solving it, but will also permit latecomers to score more points (and thus raise more money) than otherwise possible.

Astute readers will notice that the words "Season 6" appear in the title. Links to the previous seasons follow:

Season 1 (May-June 2022): Puzzles and hints, solutions.

Season 2 (September-October 2022): Puzzles and hints, solutions

Season 3 (January-February 2023): Puzzles and hints, solutions

Season 4 (May-June 2023): Puzzles and hints, solutions

Season 5 (September-October 2023): Puzzles and hints, solutions

 

Have fun, and remember to check out the real Kevin's creations (which go up at noon Central time every Monday) if these fake ones are up your alley!

 

Special thanks to Jason Boomer, John Bulten, and Joseph DeVincentis for testing these puzzles!

KEVIN’S PUZZLES AT HOME

SEASON 6, EPISODE 1:

A HIGH-TEC PUZZLE

(click here for a PDF version)

Kevin is a huge fan of detective fiction, but sometimes he forgets some of the details.
Much to Kevin’s disappointment, Rex Stout’s character Nero (__) ___ ___ ___ ___ is a human being and not a canine like he is.

Due to his enormous range of knowledge, like a huge volume of reference books, boy detective Leroy Brown has the nickname “___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ (__) ___ Brown”.

In the 1980’s, Stephanie Zimbalist played private investigator Laura Holt on the metallically-titled television series Remington ___ (__) ___ ___ ___ ___.

Adrian ___ ___ (__) ___ is not a friar; instead, he is a detective with OCD portrayed on television by Tony Shalhoub.

Arguably the most famous fictional detective, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock
___ ___ ___ ___ (__) ___ first appeared in A Study in Scarlet.

Although you might expect otherwise, teenage television detective Veronica ___ ___ ___ (__) lives on Earth and not on a red planet in our solar system.

The Maltese Falcon protagonist Sam (__) ___ ___ ___ ___ is, oddly enough, not accompanied by cohorts named Club, Diamond, and Heart.

---

(This illustration by Tintinabar is not part of the puzzle.)

Submit your answer to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com for 50 points, and stay tuned next week for Episode 1's hint and Episode 2's puzzle. Good luck!