Wordy Wednesday 589: Touchword 31

WORDY WEDNESDAY #587
SNAKE CRISSCROSS 28 (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 **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers *
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Tower **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #588
FRAMELINKS 22 (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 #589
TOUCHWORD 31
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron Cindy Heisler. 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. (If you want more of these puzzles, the author offers the Touchword subscription service Outside the Fox Puzzles.) Arrange the letters in the shaded squares to form the final answer, a Scrabble-legal (unhyphenated, uncapitalized, etc.) 8-letter word.

1 Honest / Jazz singer Fitzgerald / Weighing device
2 Brief / Devious
3 ____ and go / Tunnel for transporting waste / Postpone
4 Something difficult / Punster’s specialty
5 Heisman Trophy winner Flutie / Strategy board game in which the goal is to surround the opponent’s queen bee / Station for guarding against surprise attacks
6 Bird associated with peace / Place of refuge / Extreme
7 Comforter / “Electric ____” (Eddy Grant song) / Be dejected
8 Go beyond usual limits: 3 wds.
9 Elegant and stylish / Gloss / A plush knitted fabric
10 Gloss / Pennsylvania city that borders a lake of the same name / Powder made from ground-up grains
11 Common hot dog condiment / “Good ____!” (Charlie Brown’s catchphrase) / Part of a cowboy’s getup
12 Memento of a bygone era / Self-obsessed person / Cooking skewer
13 In short supply / Lift / Give off
14 Frightening / Wild dog of India / Arizona State University’s city
15 ____ Crush Saga (smartphone game) / “The Farmer in the ____” / ____ from Tarkov (2017 video game)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "'Gangnam ____' (2012 hit for rapper Psy)"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 588: Framelinks 22

WORDY WEDNESDAY #586
SECTION SIX 58 (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 **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Russ Kale **
Randy Rogers **
Jason Boomer **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #587
SNAKE CRISSCROSS 28 (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 #588
FRAMELINKS 22
(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   C C C C   D   E E E E E E E E E E   G G   H H   I I I I I   K K   L L L L L L
O O O O   P P P   R R R R R R   S S S   T T T T   U U   V   W   Y

 

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* In what strategy board game is the goal to surround the opponent’s queen bee?

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

Wordy Wednesday 587: Snake Crisscross 28

WORDY WEDNESDAY #585
PENT WORDS 117 (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 **
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Patrick Jordan *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Tower **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #586
SECTION SIX 58 (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 #587
SNAKE CRISSCROSS 28
(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!
This puzzle’s crisscross grid contains entries which read across and down as normal; these are defined in alphabetical order by length under the heading “Crisscross Words”. The grid also needs to be divided into a number of areas which follow a single clear path, called “snakes”. Each of these snakes contains an entry reading from one end of the path to the other; these are defined in alphabetical order by length under the heading “Snake Words”. You must determine how the grid is divided into snakes and which entry corresponds to each snake.

Arrange the letters in the highlighted cells to form the final answer, a Scrabble-legal (unhyphenated, uncapitalized, etc.) 8-letter word.

CRISSCROSS WORDS
3 LETTERS
“Four score and seven years ____. . .”
Consumed
The first woman in the book of Genesis
Legal matter
Witnessed
The Caspian, for one
Existed
4 LETTERS
Lack of difficulty
Bird’s home
Common wrapper for sushi
Shrek, for one
Rind
Wise
Sonic Superstars publisher
Moral infractions
Kingdom Hearts protagonist
Fuss: hyph.
5 LETTERS
Greek fabulist
Certain Mennonite
Use a divining rod
Intense fear
Moved with an easy gait
Without stop: 2 wds.
Be disobedient
Cattle roundup
Cut, as hair
Turtle feature
Couches
Author Harriet Beecher ____
____ army knife
6 LETTERS
Motorist
A city in southern Italy
Afternoon nap
Be a rat
7 LETTERS
Plunge, as into water
10 LETTERS
A medieval style of architecture
11 LETTERS
Colorfully-named fishes: 2 wds.
12 LETTERS
Site for Moai statues: 2 wds.
SNAKE WORDS
5 LETTERS
Saturated
Wear away
Waiting for ____ (Samuel Beckett play)
Common greeting
Up until now: 2 wds.
Bath item
Leaving Las ____ (1995 film)
6 LETTERS
NBC News anchor Mitchell
Hats worn by painters
Oust
Freely furnishes (with)
Real ____
Elbow ____
First-____ shooter
Journalist Geraldo
7 LETTERS
Period of human history characterized by the smelting of metal: 2 wds.
Hybrid garden flowers
8 LETTERS
Madly in love
Olympians in a pool
9 LETTERS
Easily disgusted
18 LETTERS
1993 romance film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan: 3 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: FINAL RESULTS!

FINAL SCORES

Here is a table of all of the participants and their scores (click to enlarge). Kudos to the 13 perfectionists (red) who scored 500 points and to the 5 completionists (orange) who solved every puzzle!

Participants are sorted by score (high to low), and then alphabetically (A to Z). The total number of points scored is 10350. Thus, the final money pool for the Palm Beach County Food Bank is $103.50. Four anonymous benefactors (including one who stepped forward during the last week) have agreed to match this donation, meaning that the Palm Beach County Food Bank will actually receive $517.50. The total amount of money raised by Kevin's Puzzles at Home for various food banks now stands at $2,277.00.

Head below the break for the actual solutions! If you're looking for more easy-ish puzzles in this style, remember to visit the actual Kevin's website every single Monday, or come back to this site in May when I plan to launch Season 7!

Wordy Wednesday 586: Section 58

WORDY WEDNESDAY #584
SNAKE CRISSCROSS 27 (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 **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Luk Weyens **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Tower **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #585
PENT WORDS 117 (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 #586
SECTION SIX 58
(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 International treaties
2 Prince Adam’s alter ego: hyph.
3 Differ
4 Heraldic clover shape
5 Having recently come to be
6 Peptic problem

Ring 2
• Venus Williams’s sport
• Small amount, as of salt
• Islamic pilgrimage destination
• Mistreatment over one’s religion, say
• Payment for a cabbie

Ring 3
• Ryan who is Pat Sajak’s upcoming replacement as host of Wheel of Fortune
• Far from just
• Requires
• Recess for a statue

Ring 4
• Had a sudden failure, as a computer system
• Noisemaker on an ambulance
• Call of Duty: ____ Hour (2004 video game)

Ring 5
• Throw, as a fishing line
• Diabolical

Ring 6
• Kansas City team that won Super Bowl LVIII in 2024

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's an 18-letter, 3-word answer from "1993 romance film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan"?
* Patron Puzzle #118, which will be delivered on March 8, 2024, exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a pair of Codewords.

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

Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6: Final hint and final week!

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; 2 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; 2 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; 3 people solved it later for 25 points.

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

* 19 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 3 people solved it later for 25 points.

Episode 5 (Confusing Columns): 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 6 (Arcane Archipelago): puzzle PDF, hint PDF

* 15 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 4 people solved it later for 25 points.

Episode 7 (Work Your Magic): puzzle PDF, hint PDF

* 20 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.

Episode 8 ("Ken" You Solve This?): 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 9 (Meta) (Line 'em Up): puzzle PDF, hint PDF (new!)

* 17 people solved this within the first week for 100 points apiece.

 

The total number of points scored is 10200. Thus, the current money pool for the Palm Beach County Food Bank is $102.00. Yowzer! Y'all managed to break my $100.00 ceiling, which is clearly too low; therefore, I am raising it to $150 (not only for this season, but for the foreseeable future). Three anonymous benefactors have agreed to match this donation, meaning that the Palm Beach County Food Bank will actually receive $408.00. If you haven't already, you may solve the above puzzles for 25 points each, or the meta for 50 points, possibly with the aid of the hints. This week is your final chance to score points and earn money for the food bank!
 
Stay tuned next week for all of the solutions and the final results. Good luck!