Wordy Wednesday 717: Sudokurostic 12

WORDY WEDNESDAY #715
PENT WORDS 143 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Jason Boomer **
Joseph DeVincentis **
Russ Kale **
Sam Levitin **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Marie desJardins **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Richard West **
Ryan Faley **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #716
MINI TOUCHWORD 17 (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 #717
SUDOKUROSTIC 12
(click here for a PDF version)

Solve the clues by writing one letter per blank; the clues are alphabetized by the answers as a solving aid. Transfer the letters to the corresponding spaces and fill in the remaining spaces to form a valid sudoku, but with 9 different letters instead of numbers. (Each row, column, and box must contain those 9 letters in some order.) Treat the finished grid as a word search and look for a 6-letter word, which is this puzzle’s final answer. 

Break, as a cipher __ __ __ __ __ __
                   B4 E6 B7 F4 G6 H2
With “The”, “Light My Fire” band __ __ __ __ __
                                 E7 G7 C2 H4 D6
Contract one’s lips for a kiss: 2 wds. __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                                       E4 H7 E2 C3 G8 C6 B3 C8
Total grouch (like a cat who just ate a lemon?) __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                                                B2 H3 D8 B8 G2 C4 H8 E3
Hybrid eating utensil __ __ __ __ __
                      G4 H6 E8 F2 B6

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A puzzle about fine details!

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

Wordy Wednesday 716: Mini Touchword 17

WORDY WEDNESDAY #714
MINI TOUCHWORD 16 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Joseph DeVincentis **
Russ Kale **
Sam Levitin **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
Joe Bernard **
Marie desJardins **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Patrick Jordan **
Ryan Faley **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #715
PENT WORDS 143 (hint)

As of this writing, 16 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 #716
MINI TOUCHWORD 17
(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. (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.) 6-letter word. 

1 Wizard / Repeat
2 Jay relative / Dried plum
3 Ladder rung / Triton orbits it
4 Breastbone / High-strung
5 Two pints / Certain diacritical mark
6 Sci-fi series about Dr. Sam Beckett: 2 wds.
7 Recipient, as of a property title / Cut with a sickle
8 Genre fusing punk rock and heavy metal / Rigidly vertical
9 Resentment / Precise
10 Wades across / “You can trust your car to the man who wears the star” brand
11 Dense ecosystem of trees / Greek Muse of lyric poetry

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "With 'The', 'Light My Fire' band"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 715: Pent Words 143

WORDY WEDNESDAY #713
CODEWORDS 36 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Joseph DeVincentis **
Russ Kale **
Sam Levitin **
Cathy Bowen **
Derek Allen **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers *
Ryan Faley **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #714
MINI TOUCHWORD 16 (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 #715
PENT WORDS 143
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by tester Russ Kale. 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 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 Excerpt / Like a successful climber vis-à-vis a mountain
2 Lift up / “Neither cast ye your pearls before ____. . .” (Matthew 7:6)
3 Circle of light / On ____ of (representing)
4 ____ of concept / Cavalry sword
5 Star Trek: The ____ Generation / Enormous swarms
6 Williams of the San Francisco 49ers / Large farm
7 ____ acid / Drama set to music
8 Complain / Riding in an inflatable torus
9 Fuzzy ____ / Los Angeles mayor Bass
10 Rosalind’s lover in As You Like It / “If You Love Somebody ____ Them Free” (1985 hit for Sting)
PENTOMINOES:
• HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
• THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
• Ella of The Idea of You (2024)
• Pituitary ____
• Despise
• Came up
• Group of soldiers
• Less
• Baker’s garment
• Comic Silverman
• Humpback ____
• Fold in a skirt
• Adhere
• Something beyond what’s necessary
• Express a viewpoint
• Austrian economist Ludwig von ____
• ____ provocateur
• ____ as a daisy
• Frequently
• Parts of ears

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's an 11-letter, 2-word answer for "Sci-fi series about Dr. Sam Beckett"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 714: Mini Touchword 16

WORDY WEDNESDAY #712
LETRAVEX 7 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Joseph DeVincentis **
Russ Kale **
Sam Levitin **
Derek Allen **
M. Sean Molley **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Ryan Faley **
SquishmallowsUnited **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #713
CODEWORDS 36 (hint)

As of this writing, 9 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 #714
MINI TOUCHWORD 16
(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. (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.) 6-letter word. 

1 Large crowd / Have a taste test of
2 There are 32 in a Monopoly set / It may be measured in radians
3 Awaken / Tarry
4 Athlete like Alex Honnold: 2 wds.
5 ____ and pinion / Room
6 YouTuber who hosts the personal finance podcast Financial Audit: 2 wds.
7 Star / “What an annoyance!”
8 Central point of the circle in Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man: 2 wds.
9 Hector / 1970 war drama starring George C. Scott
10 Ringlet, as in one’s hair / Splash with specks
11 Electrical wires / Spoil

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "Ella of The Idea of You (2024)"?
* Patron Puzzle #148, which will be delivered on September 8, 2026, exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a Large Sudokurostic.

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

Wordy Wednesday 713: Codewords 36

WORDY WEDNESDAY #711
MINI TOUCHWORD 15 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Joseph DeVincentis **
Russ Kale **
Sam Levitin **
Cathy Bowen **
Derek Allen **
Joe Bernard **
Marie desJardins **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
KeoFam **
Patrick Jordan **
Ryan Faley **
SquishmallowsUnited **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #712
LETRAVEX 7 (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 #713
CODEWORDS 36
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron Joe Bernard. 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 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, a Scrabble-legal (unhyphenated, uncapitalized, etc.) 8-letter word. Note that all of the crossword entries are also Scrabble-legal.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's an 11-letter, 2-word answer for "YouTuber who hosts the personal finance podcast Financial Audit"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 712: Letravex 7

WORDY WEDNESDAY #710
PENT WORDS 142 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Joseph DeVincentis **
Russ Kale **
Sam Levitin **
Cathy Bowen **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Marie desJardins **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Richard West **
Ryan Faley **
SquishmallowsUnited **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #711
MINI TOUCHWORD 15 (hint)

As of this writing, 14 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 #712
LETRAVEX 7
(click here for a PDF version)

Write the 4-letter clue answers in the square tiles in the grid, one letter per triangle, so that adjacent triangles across tiles have the same letter. Each answer reads clockwise, starting in the triangle indicated by the arrow. Answers are alphabetized; you must determine which answer goes in which tile. The letters on the grid’s perimeter will spell the final answer, a song title, going clockwise from the leftmost triangle on the top edge. 

• Local ____ network ↓
• “Sole Survivor” band →
• Lumberjacks’ needs ←
• Country singer Langley ←
• Smooch →
• An animal’s den ↓
• Final ←
• Malicious →
• Beef or pork ←
• Wrack and ____ ←
• Pepper’s partner →
• Witnessed ←
• ____-indulgence ↑
• Stride →
• Arduous journey ↑
• ____ interface ↓

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A Codewords!

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

Wordy Wednesday 711: Mini Touchword 15

WORDY WEDNESDAY #709
ANACROSSWORD 52 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Joseph DeVincentis **
Russ Kale **
Sam Levitin **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
Joe Bernard **
Marie desJardins **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Richard West **
Ryan Faley **
SquishmallowsUnited **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #710
PENT WORDS 142 (hint)

As of this writing, 14 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 #711
MINI TOUCHWORD 15
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by tester Joseph DeVincentis. 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.) 6-letter word. 

1 The ____ Yard (2005 Adam Sandler film) / St. Louis has the world’s tallest one
2 Jousting implements / The House with a Clock in Its ____ (2018 film)
3 “I Wanna ____ With Somebody” (Whitney Houston song) / Resides
4 Created a cavity in / Black who voiced Anger in Inside Out
5 Middle / Small branch
6 Distinctly different
7 Autonomous vacuum brand / Brief tenure
8 Geometric diamond / Two cups
9 Neighbor of Mongolia and Myanmar / Baseball official
10 A penny is one / Wardrobe once used for storing weapons
11 A type of eel / What a Brit calls a flashlight

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 4-letter word for "Country singer Langley"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 710: Pent Words 142

WORDY WEDNESDAY #708
MINI TOUCHWORD 14 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Joseph DeVincentis **
Russ Kale **
Sam Levitin **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Marie desJardins **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
KeoFam **
Patrick Jordan **
Ryan Faley **
SquishmallowsUnited **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #709
ANACROSSWORD 52 (hint)

As of this writing, 15 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 #710
PENT WORDS 142
(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 Clue / Fall-blooming flowers
2 Obligation / Tried to find
3 Pupa’s protection / “____ Me Maybe” (Carly Rae Jepsen song)
4 Unit of land area / Actor ____ Seymour Hoffman
5 Muskrat relative / Panhandler
6 Election Day activity / Trick
7 Download illegally / Neap ____
8 One to follow, perhaps / A tropical wading bird
9 Append / Perfect
10 The ____ Scrolls (video game series by Bethesda Game Studios) / “F ____” (1965-1967 sitcom)
PENTOMINOES:
• HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
• THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
• Shred, as cheese
• Very thin pancake
• Knight ____ (1982-1986 TV series)
• ____ con carne
• Shinbone
• Believer in dharma
• Break apart and analyze, as a sentence
• Hot winter drink, often
• Start
• Boxer and cannabis entrepreneur Mike
• “Fools rush in where angels fear to ____”
• Swedish manufacturer of luxury cars
• Put forth, as force
• Single-masted sailboat
• Seasoned rice dish
• It may be acquired
• Play for time
• Not smooth

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's an 11-letter word for "Distinctly different"?
* Patron Puzzle #147, which will be delivered on August 8, 2026, exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a Framelinks.

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

Wordy Wednesday 709: Anacrossword 52

WORDY WEDNESDAY #707
LOGICROSSWORD 19 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Joseph DeVincentis **
Russ Kale **
Sam Levitin **
Derek Allen **
Randy Rogers **
Ryan Faley **
SquishmallowsUnited *
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #708
MINI TOUCHWORD 14 (hint)

As of this writing, 16 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 #709
ANACROSSWORD 52
(click here for a PDF version)

Solve the crossword using the clues provided. When the letters in the numbered squares are transferred to the same-numbered blanks, you will reveal a clue to the final answer. Work back and forth between the blanks and the crossword to finish the puzzle. The clues are listed alphabetically by their answers; you must determine where each answer belongs. Additionally, spaces and punctuation are not provided for the final clue.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
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
CLUES
• Repetition of initial consonant sounds
• “Tennis, ____?”
• 2010 Illumination film whose sequels the author never felt compelled to watch because the main bad guy turning into a good guy wraps a nice little bow on a very cute story and also the title is now inaccurate because the bad guy isn’t a bad guy anymore and why is this a franchise?!?: 2 wds.
• ____ at the mouth (be rabidly angry)
• Flavored water brand
• Member of the press
• Conductive object on top of a building: 2 wds.
• Pilot’s call of distress
• Eternal ____ of the Spotless Mind (2004 film)
• Road congestion: 2 wds.
• Unintelligible, incoherent string of phrases: 2 wds.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "Boxer and cannabis entrepreneur Mike"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 708: Mini Touchword 14

WORDY WEDNESDAY #706
TOUCHWORD 36 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Jason Boomer **
Joseph DeVincentis **
Russ Kale **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
KeoFam **
Patrick Jordan **
Ryan Faley **
SquishmallowsUnited **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #707
LOGICROSSWORD 19 (hint)

As of this writing, 6 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 #708
MINI TOUCHWORD 14
(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. (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.) 6-letter word.

1 “Blasphemous ____ App Claims To Have Update For King James Version” (headline from satirical Christian news outlet The Babylon Bee) / Baseball shoes
2 A fowl’s edible organ / Grants temporary use of
3 Basketball player Kevin who was nicknamed “The Big Ticket” / Porcine comment
4 Serious / Skating place
5 Happens as a result / Ancestral group
6 “Life Hack: Wife Texting You Too Much? Reply ‘____’ And She’s Legally Required To Stop” (headline from satirical Christian news outlet The Babylon Bee)
7 British thermal ____ / Since
8 Twist in pain / Lauren who developed the animated series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
9 Intense anger / Exertion of power
10 Meteorologist’s concern / Golfer’s shout
11 Historic Memphis street associated with blues / Bring into existence

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What is a pilot's call of distress?

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

Wordy Wednesday 707: Logicrossword 19

WORDY WEDNESDAY #705
PENT WORDS 141 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Joseph DeVincentis **
Kevin Orfield **
Russ Kale **
Sam Levitin **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
Joe Bernard **
Marie desJardins **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers *
Ryan Faley **
SquishmallowsUnited **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #706
TOUCHWORD 36 (hint)

As of this writing, 14 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 #707
LOGICROSSWORD 19
(click here for a PDF version)

Blacken some cells in the grid and fill the rest with letters to form words. Hereafter, a “word” refers to any string of two or more consecutive letters reading from left to right or top to bottom, bounded on both sides by black cells or the edge of the grid. All words are Scrabble-legal and appear in the NASPA Word List 2023 Edition (NWL2023). A list of all acceptable 2-letter words is provided as a solving aid; all of the words which are not on this list and not mentioned in the clues should be familiar to most solvers. Use the clues, logic, and your vocabulary to find the solution.

Arrange the letters in the highlighted cells to get the final answer, a single Scrabble-legal word. (If any of the highlighted cells are blackened, then the final answer will be less than 8 letters long.) 

AA AB AD AE AG AH AI AL AM AN AR AS AT AW AX AY BA BE BI BO BY DA DE DO ED EF EH EL EM EN ER ES ET EW EX FA FE GI GO HA HE HI HM HO ID IF IN IS IT JO KA KI LA LI LO MA ME MI MM MO MU MY NA NE NO NU OD OE OF OH OI OK OM ON OP OR OS OW OX OY PA PE PI PO QI RE SH SI SO TA TE TI TO UH UM UN UP US UT WE WO XI XU YA YE YO ZA

• No two black cells share an edge. All the white cells are connected through their edges. No word is repeated in the grid.
• Row 2 contains a word whose fourth letter is R.
• Row 9 and column A each contain an 8-letter word.
• Column C contains the word TOROSE.
• Column D does not contain the letter N.
• Column I contains exactly one instance of the letter I, but does not contain the letter A.
• The word OOH reading across intersects the word ETH reading down at cell E7.
• The words AD and DO intersect at cell I1.
• The word OGEE reading across intersects the word NAGA reading down.
• The words CRISSA and LYCRA read across.
• The words AM, ANATTO, OLLA, OSE, TE, and TO appear somewhere in the grid.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What historic Memphis street is associated with blues?

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

Wordy Wednesday 706: Touchword 36

WORDY WEDNESDAY #704
ANACROSSWORD 51 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Jason Boomer **
Joseph DeVincentis **
Kevin Orfield **
Russ Kale **
Sam Levitin **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Ryan Faley **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #705
PENT WORDS 141 (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 #706
TOUCHWORD 36
(click here for a PDF version)

Every row has one or more answers clued in order. 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 Australian canine / Spud / Ascended
2 Reason to visit an auto repair shop, perhaps / One with a principal role / Completely occupy one’s interest
3 There are 100 in a dollar / Part of a guitar / Rock singer Tori
4 Challenge / ____ Toast Crunch (cereal)
5 Pointy beard / Vast expanse / ____ diagram
6 Small biting fly / Hollow rock / Period just before Christmas
7 Quite irate / One who is doomed: 2 wds.
8 Old-Testament-themed 2024 board game in which players rebuild Jerusalem: 3 wds.
9 Former Russian ruler / Soon / Hold dear
10 American nurse Barton / Get off the Internet: 2 wds.
11 Place for a figurative skeleton / ____ tape / What a windshield is made of
12 Non-poetic writing / Paradise / Falcon’s claws
13 Capital on the Vltava River / Wilder who played Willy Wonka / “The cheese stands ____”
14 Boast / Craving / City where Costco was founded
15 Game often played in churches and nursing homes / Target: ____ (2022 board game based on a Chicago rodent control campaign) / Common baby’s toy

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A Logicrossword!

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

Wordy Wednesday 705: Pent Words 141

WORDY WEDNESDAY #703
LETRAVEX 6 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Joseph DeVincentis **
Kevin Orfield **
Russ Kale **
Derek Allen **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers *
Ryan Faley *
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #704
ANACROSSWORD 51 (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 #705
PENT WORDS 141
(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 Setting for the movie 300 (2006) / Honey, I ____ Up the Kid (1992 movie)
2 Party / Adult male deer
3 Roundup need / German pharmaceutical company
4 Morning moisture / Costumed sports team representatives
5 Long rod / Space just below a roof
6 The ____ That Be (1992-1993 sitcom) / Goose’s sound
7 Desire for water / Put in order
8 Bivalve with a ribbed shell / Cut off, as tree branches
9 Ruse / Klutz’s shout
10 Big Man on ____ (1989 film) / Cutting side of a blade
PENTOMINOES:
• HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
• THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
• Thin biscuit
• Property of a line on the Cartesian plane
• Resource
• Actor Patterson of Gilmore Girls
• Poles on a ship
• Furniture for dining on, perhaps
• Big name in chewing gum and collectible cards
• Hiding place for valuables
• Adhere
• Participates in Lent, for example
• Inn
• Accept, as a coupon
• Put up as a stake
• The 44th President
• Dalmatian features
• Delicious
• Give it a ____
• Rascal

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 15-letter, 3-word answer for "Old-Testament-themed 2024 board game in which players rebuild Jerusalem"?
* Patron Puzzle #146, which will be delivered on July 8, 2026, 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!

Wordy Wednesday 704: Anacrossword 51

WORDY WEDNESDAY #702
MINI TOUCHWORD 13 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Jason Boomer **
Joseph DeVincentis **
Kevin Orfield **
Russ Kale **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Jon-Paul Hurt **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis *
Randy Rogers **
Patrick Jordan **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #703
LETRAVEX 6 (hint)

As of this writing, 6 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 #704
ANACROSSWORD 51
(click here for a PDF version)

Solve the crossword using the clues provided. When the letters in the numbered squares are transferred to the same-numbered blanks, you will reveal a clue to the final answer. Work back and forth between the blanks and the crossword to finish the puzzle. The clues are listed alphabetically by their answers; you must determine where each answer belongs. Additionally, spaces and punctuation are not provided for the final clue. 

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
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
CLUES
• Popular New England soup: 2 wds.
• Rear flap of a suit jacket
• Splinter ____
• Warm and jovial, as a laugh
• Truthfulness
• Fabric pattern of broken checks
• Readily apparent
• Brochure
• Common name of the opuntia cactus: 2 wds.
• Lightweight jacket

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "Actor Patterson of Gilmore Girls"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 703: Letravex 6

WORDY WEDNESDAY #701
CODEWORDS 35 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Jason Boomer **
Joseph DeVincentis **
Kevin Orfield **
Russ Kale **
Sam Levitin **
Cathy Bowen **
Derek Allen **
Michael Lebowitz **
Randy Rogers **
Ryan Faley **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #702
MINI TOUCHWORD 13 (hint)

As of this writing, 14 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 #703
LETRAVEX 6
(click here for a PDF version)

Write the 4-letter clue answers in the square tiles in the grid, one letter per triangle, so that adjacent triangles across tiles have the same letter. Each answer reads clockwise, starting in the triangle indicated by the arrow. Answers are alphabetized; you must determine which answer goes in which tile. The letters on the grid’s perimeter will spell the final answer, a song title, going clockwise from the leftmost triangle on the top edge.

• Zelda, to Sabrina the Teenage Witch ↓
• Match a poker bet ↑
• See No Evil, ____ No Evil (1989 film) →
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. ____ ↓
• Remini of The King of Queens →
• Part of a microscope ↑
• Animal in the Brave browser logo →
• Its name means “great river” in Seneca ↓
• Just a single time ↑
• Possibility of loss ↑
• Perceives with the eye ↓
• Short comedic performance ↑
• Acidic in taste, like a fox’s unattainable grapes ←
• Common food fish ↑
• East’s opposite ←
• Showing signs of frequent use ↑

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What is the common name of the opuntia cactus?

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

Wordy Wednesday 702: Mini Touchword 13

WORDY WEDNESDAY #700
PENT WORDS 140 (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 (blue names indicate the testing team, and red names indicate Patreon supporters):
Jason Boomer **
Joseph DeVincentis **
Kevin Orfield **
Russ Kale **
Sam Levitin **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Randy Rogers **
Marie desJardins **
Ryan Faley **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #701
CODEWORDS 35 (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 #702
MINI TOUCHWORD 13
(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. (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.) 6-letter word. 

1 ____ and butter / With The, novel by J. R. R. Tolkien
2 Long steps / Dull person
3 X on a bowling scorecard / Took an oath
4 Frightened / “What’s the good ____?”
5 Cylindrical thread holder / ____ Scissorhands
6 Large grey-and-white spotted cat of central Asia: 2 wds.
7 Back from square one / Fuel sold by Hank Hill
8 Voraciously consumed: 2 wds. / Canyon relative
9 “I’m a little teapot, short and ____. . .” / Source of rescue
10 Short-tailed weasels / Latticework for climbing vines
11 Act of inhaling or exhaling / Eye socket

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 4-letter word for "Remini of The King of Queens"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 701: Codewords 35

WORDY WEDNESDAY #700
PENT WORDS 140 (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 #701
CODEWORDS 35
(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, a Scrabble-legal (unhyphenated, uncapitalized, etc.) 8-letter word. Note that all of the crossword entries are also Scrabble-legal.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What fuel is sold by Hank Hill?
* Patron Puzzle #145, which will be delivered on June 8, 2026, exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a Super Pent Words.

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

Wordy Wednesday 700: Pent Words 140

WORDY WEDNESDAY #700
PENT WORDS 140
(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 “Harder, Better, ____, Stronger” (Daft Punk song) / Approach
2 With The, historical drama series created by Dallas Jenkins / Harp relative
3 Scuffle / Namesake of a number representing a speed’s ratio to the speed of sound
4 Brown pigment from a cuttlefish / Composer of “The Stars and Stripes Forever”
5 Kindergarten ____ (1990 film) / Mountain known in Tibet as Chomolungma
6 Long solid piece, as of candy / “A house ____ against itself. . .”
7 Judges’ garments / One-twentieth of a ream
8 Underlying ideological program / Stead
9 Larson of Captain Marvel (2019) / Posture
10 “Do ____ others. . .” / Counter the effect of
PENTOMINOES:
• HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
• THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
• The ____ of Life (1979-1988 sitcom)
• Oral-B alternative
• Daniel of Home Alone
• Hooded snake
• ____ of humor
• What some marbles are made from
• Score of 40-40
• Producing strong mental images
• Greater part of a burden
• Ahead of time
• Building material whose name is Spanish for “mudbrick”
• Fall bloomer
• Laurie of The Hustler (1961)
• What calamari is made from
• Foreign
• “____ in a Bottle” (Christina Aguilera song)
• Leave no ____ unturned
• Word before “pointer” or “printer”

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A Codewords!

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

Wordy Wednesday 699 answer

WORDY WEDNESDAY #699
MINI TOUCHWORD 12 (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:
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Marie desJardins **
Patrick Jordan **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Steve Levy **

Wordy Wednesday #700 will go up next week, marking the end of my brief hiatus from posting. It has not, however, been a hiatus from writing, as I have upped my testing standards somewhat and refined my creation pipeline in ways which I hope will make y'all's experiences just a wee bit better going forward!

Wordy Wednesday 698 answer & Wordy Wednesday 699 hint

WORDY WEDNESDAY #698 
MINI TOUCHWORD 11 (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:
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers *
Russ Kale **
Kevin Orfield **
Marie desJardins **
Patrick Jordan **
Ryan Faley *
Sam Levitin **
Steve Levy **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #699
MINI TOUCHWORD 12 (hint)

As of this writing, 14 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 is going on a brief hiatus while I play catch-up and make a backlog (whilst hopefully upping my quality assurance standards). Wordy Wednesday 700 will be posted on May 27, 2026. Looking forward to it, and my sincerest apologies!