Wordy Wednesday 460: Pent Words 92 & Wordy Wednesday 461: Pathfinder 28

WORDY WEDNESDAY #458
CODEWORDS 17 (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 **
Cindy Heisler **
Karen Spencer **
Tyler Hinman **
Damon French **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Peter Vickers *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #459
SNAKE CRISSCROSS 18 (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!

LAST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH = DOUBLE WORDY WEDNESDAYS!
WORDY WEDNESDAY #460
PENT WORDS 92
(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 Very thin / Partner of bagels

2 Widespread / Miss Prissy, for one

3 An entertainer’s business representative / Big name in cameras

4 ____ It to Beaver / Al who achieved the Guinness World Record for the longest uninterrupted live TV weather report in 2014

5 A ramp may be an alternative to them / Comfort

6 Some coverlets / Reverberate

7 Malfoy of the Harry Potter series / Young pedaler’s vehicle, briefly

8 Extension, as of a magazine subscription / The day before Christmas, for example

9 Very brief / City in northern Italy

10 Religious subgroup / Chip ‘n’ Dale: ____ Rangers

PENTOMINOES:

* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* A noble gas

* ____ Game (Netflix series that debuted in 2021)

* Lets

* Build

* Domesticates

* Speed competitions

* Item on the end of a shoelace

* A synthetic material

* Japanese noodles

* Discarded fragment

* Event’s locale

* To no ____ (unsuccessfully)

* Creepy

* Shape on many a Christian’s necklace

* Remove, as pencil marks

* A purple flower

* Fail in a critical situation

* ____ You for Smoking (2005 movie)

WORDY WEDNESDAY #461
PATHFINDER 28
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron Bonnie Veenschoten. 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, each answer starts in the correspondingly numbered square, goes in some direction, and makes one or more right-angled turns as it winds through the grid. When you have finished, every letter will be used in exactly two entries.

Rearrange the letters in the shaded spaces to get the final answer, an 8-letter word.

1 2022 Paramount+ series based on a video game franchise (4)

2 Coordinated outfit (8)

3 Distinctive badges (7)

4 When Worlds ____ (1951 sci-fi flick) (7)

4 Like some surgery (8)

5 Vegetable also called crisphead (7 7)

6 Herb of the celery family (4)

7 Dough (6)

8 Attracted (5)

9 Clash of ____ (mobile strategy game) (5)

9 Based in sound judgment (14)

10 Reset a scale to zero (4)

11 Loon relative (5)

12 Loon (4)

13 ____ Ant (cartoon superhero) (4)

14 Release from one’s grip (3 2 2)

15 Unspoken (5)

16 Be extremely angry (6)

17 Rock band that has announced the “Dogz of Oz World Tour” for 2022 (4)

18 Ahead (6)

19 Spotted African wildcat (6)

20 Shoestring (4)

21 He played Venus Flytrap in WKRP in Cincinnati (3 4)

22 ____ Times Dinner and Tournament (chain of dinner theaters with jousting performers) (8)

23 Bluebirds, for example (8)

24 Baseball catcher’s need (4)

25 Second-rate (like something bought for ten cents?) (4-5)

26 Novelist Salman (7)

27 Lawrence Welk instrumental hit based on a German pop song originally titled “Tivoli Melody” (8)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 6-letter word for "Journalist Holt"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 459: Snake Crisscross 18

WORDY WEDNESDAY #457
CRYPTICROSTIC 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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cathy Bowen **
Cole Kendall **
James Haddad **
Karen Spencer **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin *

WORDY WEDNESDAY #458
CODEWORDS 17 (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 #459
SNAKE CRISSCROSS 18
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle’s crisscross grid contains entries which read across and down as normal; these words are defined in alphabetical order by length under the heading “Crisscross Words.” The grid also contains a number of “snakes”: areas which follow a single clear path. Each of these snakes contains an entry which snakes from one end of the path to the other. These entries are defined under the heading “Snake Words”, and are also clued in alphabetical order by length. You must determine how the grid is divided into snakes; no two snakes overlap.

Arrange the letters in the highlighted cells to form the final answer, an 8-letter word.

CRISSCROSS WORDS

3 LETTERS

Extraterrestrial voiced by Paul Fusco

Manx, for example

Poetic preposition

Annie Get Your ____

Miner’s find

____ capita

Perch

2000 pounds

4 LETTERS

____, cool, and collected

Double Dare host Summers

“It’s ____ of your business!”

Play miniature golf, say

Ripped

5 LETTERS

Autumn bloomer

Put forth, as effort

Grant entry to: 2 wds.

“Dr.” of Hop on Pop fame

City near Phoenix, AZ

6 LETTERS

Find not guilty

Like some skiing

Pool players’ items

7 LETTERS

Tributes

2000 and 2001 NBA All-Star Wallace

Harry Potter and the Chamber of ____

Mosaic tile

8 LETTERS

Company that changed its name to Meta in 2021

10 LETTERS

Transfer point within an electrical grid

SNAKE WORDS

5 LETTERS

Far from active

Verbally attacks, with “into”

Very

Become joined

Element with atomic number 54

6 LETTERS

The Ballad of ____ Scruggs (2018 Western)

Unilever beauty bar brand

Wheel for moving furniture

Character

Bullfighter

7 LETTERS

Uncomfortably small

A vehicle’s hazard or turn signal

Drug trial need

Good items to have on hand when watching a sad movie, say

8 LETTERS

Its panhandle borders the Texas panhandle

9 LETTERS

Pregnancy

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "____ Game (Netflix series that debuted in 2021)"?
* What's a 4-letter word for "2022 Paramount+ series based on a video game franchise"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 458: Codewords 17

WORDY WEDNESDAY #455
PENT WORDS 91 (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 **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Patrick Jordan *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #456
SECTION SIX 45 (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 **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #457
CRYPTICROSTIC 15 (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 #458
CODEWORDS 17
(click here for a PDF version)

This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron Bonnie Veenschoten. 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, an eight-letter word.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 6-letter word for "The Ballad of ____ Scruggs (2018 Western)"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 457: Crypticrostic 15

WORDY WEDNESDAY #454
PATHFINDER 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 **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Mary Maynard **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Patrick Jordan *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #455
PENT WORDS 91 (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 #456
SECTION SIX 45 (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 #457
CRYPTICROSTIC 15
(click here for a PDF version)

(click here for rules)

The answer is enumerated (5 10).

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

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

Abercrombie’s partner is athletic champion __ __ __ __ __

                                           36 60 32 25 06

Diagnose lunatic in California city __ __ __    __ __ __ __ __

                                    08 50 48    42 34 57 22 61

Excellent Scottish lord has gaseous hydrocarbon __ __ __ __ __ __

                                                20 55 46 33 17 03

Lost sanity, tore writing paper __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                54 56 40 27 47 10 02 39 31 26

New Testament missionary possessing place of lodging has a __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

    ringing sensation in the ears                          15 37 24 58 52 45 30 04

Outstanding poem read out loud __ __ __ __

                               44 11 18 53

President is scourge drinking liquor __ __ __ __ __ __

                                     43 38 12 19 14 41

Ruler of Ontario in third month __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                51 07 62 16 21 29 09

Talked about melancholy laggard __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                59 35 01 05 13 28 49 23

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A Codewords!
* Patron Puzzle #93, which will be delivered on February 8, 2022, exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a Pathfinder.

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

Wordy Wednesday 455: Pent Words 91 & Wordy Wednesday 456: Section Six 45

WORDY WEDNESDAY #453
PUZZLE BUFF'S NIGHTMARE (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 **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #454
PATHFINDER 27 (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 #455
PENT WORDS 91
(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 Unix shell programming language created by Brian Fox / Image representing someone online

2 Itemized bill / Nanakuli neckwear

3 Like some awakenings / Interval between two adjacent C’s, in music

4 Wintertime conveyance / It’s often seen on a pirate’s shoulder

5 Richard Nixon insisted that he wasn’t one / Squander

6 Navedo of Jane the Virgin / Mario ____Live: Home Circuit (2020 Nintendo Switch game)

7 “Oh, give me a home where the buffalo ____. . .” / Popular hot dog condiment

8 Large-eared desert fox / Vague

9 Deep breath, as of relief or exhaustion / Prisoner

10 Second-lowest voice in a four-part chorus / Wizards of the ____ (Magic: The Gathering publisher)

PENTOMINOES:

* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney founded it in 1972

* Word before “gang” or “reaction”

* Baking need

* Florida senator Rubio

* Banquet in which the honoree is lovingly ridiculed

* Avoid

* Classical composer Franz

* Fully conscious

* Basketball player Rajon, or a classical music form

* Japanese noodle soup

* Whinny

* Item on a washstand

* Having lines, as notebook paper

* Common part of a winter outfit

* Welcome to ____ (2021 Disney+ series starring Will Smith)

* Certain courtroom employee, briefly

* Chosen

* “Cry ‘____!’ and let slip the dogs of war. . .” (line from William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar)

WORDY WEDNESDAY #456
SECTION SIX 45
(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 six starred spaces to form the final answer, a 6-letter word.

Ring 1

1 It may be served on the cob

2 Buckner’s partner

3 Government order prohibiting outgoing merchant ships

4 Name shared by a Catholic theologian and Charles Darwin’s poet grandfather

5 Christian music genre

6 Football commentator John whose surname can also mean “make very angry”

Ring 2

* Called to respond to a charge, as an accused person

* Fast food mascot McDonald

* ____ salt (common form of magnesium sulfate)

* ____ protector (electrical device)

* Brazilian music genre

Ring 3

* Many a Muslim, ethnically

* Wizards

* Often rubbery item at a computer workstation: 2 wds.

* Tearing to pieces

Ring 4

* With “The”, the smallest nation on mainland Africa

* What Bruno Mars “would catch. . . for ya” in a 2010 hit

* “Grandma” of folk art fame

Ring 5

* Word following “mirror” or “spitting”

* Pharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Ring 6

* Rapper associated with the Sirius XM station Shade 45

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A Crypticrostic!

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

Wordy Wednesday 454: Pathfinder 27

WORDY WEDNESDAY #452
CODEWORDS 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:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cathy Bowen *
Karen Spencer **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #453
PUZZLE BUFF'S NIGHTMARE (hint)

As of this writing, 6 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's a hint. 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 #454
PATHFINDER 27
(click here for a PDF version)

In this puzzle, each answer starts in the correspondingly numbered square, goes in some direction, and makes one or more right-angled turns as it winds through the grid. When you have finished, every letter will be used in exactly two entries.

Rearrange the letters in the shaded spaces to get the final answer, an 8-letter word.

1 ____ Without a Cause (1955 film) (5)

2 Sci-fi adventure video game published by Chucklefish in 2016 (9)

3 Devilish (7)

4 Lewinsky who became famous from a Bill Clinton scandal (6)

5 ____ duck (Chinese dish) (6)

6 German physician Alois after whom a form of dementia was named (9)

7 Cartoon character who sings “Oh My Darling, Clementine” (11 5)

8 The ____ and I (4)

9 Gentle breeze (6)

10 Experimental test subjects (3 4)

11 2007 Disney film starring Amy Adams as Princess Giselle (9)

12 Dawdle (10)

13 Rational (4)

13 Outer covering of an ear of corn (5)

14 Holdup (5)

15 Doughy (6)

16 De novo (4)

17 Storekeeper (8)

18 ____ 6 (lodging chain) (5)

19 Sleeper’s affliction, perhaps (5)

20 Word after “martial” or “liberal” (4)

21 Covalent ____ (4)

22 “____ Madonna” (hit song for The Beatles) (4)

23 Unofficial vote (5 4)

24 Move like a horse, perhaps (6)

25 People hired to park customers’ cars (6)

25 Tramp (8)

26 A type of alga (6)

27 William Randolph Hearst’s great-granddaughter who’s a fashion model (5)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "Welcome to ____ (2021 Disney+ series starring Will Smith)"?

* What's a 6-letter word for "Rapper associated with the Sirius XM station Shade 45"?  

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

Wordy Wednesday 453: Puzzle Buff's Nightmare

WORDY WEDNESDAY #450
PENT WORDS 90 (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 **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Patrick Jordan *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #451
TOUCHWORD 24 (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 **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Patrick Jordan **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #452
CODEWORDS 16 (hint)

As of this writing, 7 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 #453
PUZZLE BUFF'S NIGHTMARE
(click here for a PDF version)

You wake up and find yourself trapped in a spacious 25-foot-by-40-foot room. You have no memory of how you got here. A voice booms over a loudspeaker: “I want to play a game. On the ground are buckets of black paint and gray paint. You will notice numbers on the north and west walls. I dare you – and your reflection in the one-way mirror, which I installed on the east wall to allow me to watch you be tortured by my puzzle without you seeing me – to use these numbers to paint the squares on the floor beneath you. Tell me the correct password, and I’ll set you free!”

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 6-letter word for "Lewinsky who became famous from a Bill Clinton scandal"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 452: Codewords 16

WORDY WEDNESDAY #449
PL8S (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:
James Haddad **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #450
PENT WORDS 90 (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 #451
TOUCHWORD 24 (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!

LAST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH = DOUBLE WORDY WEDNESDAYS!
WORDY WEDNESDAY #452
CODEWORDS 16
(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.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A real nightmare of a puzzle!
* Patron Puzzle #92, which will be delivered on January 8, 2022, exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a Words Without Friends.

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

Wordy Wednesday 450: Pent Words 90 & Wordy Wednesday 451: Touchword 24

WORDY WEDNESDAY #448
PATHFINDER 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 **
Cindy Heisler **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Mary Maynard **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman *
Kevin Orfield **
Patrick Jordan *
Richard Allen *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #449
PL8S (hint)

As of this writing, 8 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's a hint. 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 #450
PENT WORDS 90
(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 Sandwich-making necessity / Distributed playing cards

2 Young sheep / Maid’s feathery implement

3 Poses, as a question / Printed calico textile from India

4 Unit of scoring in golf / Dragon’s ____ (1983 arcade game)

5 Florid / Harp relative

6 Objects of which Insane Clown Posse famously asked, “How do they work?” / Comedian Costello

7 The Hindenburg, for one / “In the ____” (Linkin Park song)

8 Eau ____, WI / Anjou, for one

9 Emphasis / “Let My Love ____ the Door” (Pete Townshend song)

10 Simple children’s card game / Brand of glue that makes a poor substitute for hairspray, as described in Tessica Brown’s 2021 rap single “Ma Hair”

PENTOMINOES:

* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* Anheuser’s partner in beer

* Vibrato

* Computed 2+2, for example

* Central doctrine

* Apparatus on a police cruiser, ambulance, or fire truck

* Rodeo rope

* Change

* Freight

* Period of time spent at a task

* River horse, briefly

* Colorful parrot

* “____ of Tears” (John Denver song)

* Catch some Z’s

* Venue for a sporting contest

* ____ robin

* Porgy relative

* The Democratic Republic of the Congo, once

* Swedish currency unit

WORDY WEDNESDAY #451
TOUCHWORD 24
(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.

Arrange the letters in the shaded spaces to form the final answer, an 8-letter word.

1 David Bowie hit / Leg joint / Merlot, for example: 2 wds.

2 Arrived / Gained access / Far from narrow

3 Surname of the family from 7th Heaven / Rip / Slowly eat away at

4 20th-century conflict between the US and the USSR: 2 wds. / Trim away excess / ____-playing game

5 “____ the Line” (Toto song) / Weft’s counterpart / Wrestle

6 “____-Shaped Box” (Nirvana hit) / Joint on a door / “Terms and conditions may ____”

7 Become weak: 2 wds. / Harry Potter and the ____ Hallows

8 “Baptist Kid Singing ‘____?’ Mentally Prepares For Part Where He Has To Say The Word ‘Ass’” (December 2021 headline from Christian satirical news site The Babylon Bee): 4 wds.

9 Straw on a cottage roof, say / A grocery store chain / Indian women’s garments

10 Short-lived Bewitched spin-off / Makakilo mementos / La Scala solo

11 Something done regularly / Wheel’s shaft / Certain rhododendron

12 Sixty minutes / Sitcom with Danny DeVito as Louie De Palma / Shone brilliantly

13 Pumpkin, for one / Like some vacation time / Monitor ____

14 “I’m My Own ____” (Lonzo and Oscar song) / Like some confinement

15 Crooner Sinatra / Currency that can be denoted by the symbol $ / Prayer with a list of petitions

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A Codewords!

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

Wordy Wednesday 449: PL8S

WORDY WEDNESDAY #447
RUFFTRAX (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, here for a text transcript, or here for a hint. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Izak Bulten **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #448
PATHFINDER 26 (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 #449
PL8S
(click here for a PDF version)

Reading in all 8 directions, and using each letter and digit at most once, find custom plates for:

A clerk at a music store (7)

A computer programmer (5)

A dancer from the 1960’s (5)

A drinker of Chardonnay (4)

A pest control worker (7)

A poker player (7)

A police informant (7)

A quitter (4)

A seller of women’s undergarments (6)

A Toronto baseball fan (5)

A Utahn (7)

Magnus Carlsen (6)

Muhammad Ali (5)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 5-letter word for "Anheuser’s partner in beer"?
* What's the surname of the family from 7th Heaven?

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

Wordy Wednesday 448: Pathfinder 27

WORDY WEDNESDAY #446
SECTION SIX 44 (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 **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter *
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #447
RUFFTRAX (hint)

As of this writing, 7 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's a hint, and here's a text transcript of the original puzzle. 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 #448
PATHFINDER 26
(click here for a PDF version)

In this puzzle, each answer starts in the correspondingly numbered square, goes in some direction, and makes one or more right-angled turns as it winds through the grid. When you have finished, every letter will be used in exactly two entries.

Rearrange the letters in the shaded spaces to get the final answer, an 8-letter word.

1 Main course (6)

2 Affection felt by an adolescent for a crush, say (5 4)

2 Marionette operator (9)

3 Wastewater (6)

4 Magician’s interjection (6)

5 Stephen King novel about a telekinetic girl (6)

5 Staple of a vulture’s diet (7)

6 Chinese flower (3 4)

7 Putin’s predecessor (7)

8 Astonishes (4)

9 Snake (7)

10 Came up (5)

11 1968-2012 ABC soap opera (3 4 2 4)

12 Fast food sandwich with tartar sauce (5-1-4)

13 Bean curd (4)

14 Be a storyteller (7)

15 Carve wood, perhaps (7)

15 Marked by meticulous attention to detail (5-5)

16 Without warranty (2 2)

17 Robin Hood, for one (6)

18 Part of a window (4)

19 Shred cheese, for example (5)

20 “Half Breed” singer (4)

21 Asian relative of the raccoon (3 5)

22 What the subject of a defamatory newspaper article might sue for (5)

23 Performer of reckless stunts (9)

24 “Ocean Eyes” singer Billie (6)

25 Some whales (7)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* Can you clean these plates?

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

Wordy Wednesday 447: RuffTrax

WORDY WEDNESDAY #444
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 9 (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 **
Cole Kendall **
James Haddad **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Damon French **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #445
PENT WORDS 89 (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 **
Cindy Heisler **
Cole Kendall **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Damon French **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #446
SECTION SIX 44 (hint)

As of this writing, 8 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 #447
RUFFTRAX
(click here for an MP3 version)

(This puzzle is audio only.)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 6-letter word for "Stephen King novel about a telekinetic girl"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 446: Section Six 44

WORDY WEDNESDAY #443
BUILD YOUR OWN PUZZLE (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 a hint. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Damon French **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley *

WORDY WEDNESDAY #444
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 9 (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 #445
PENT WORDS 89 (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 #446
SECTION SIX 44
(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 six starred spaces to form the final answer, a 6-letter word.

Ring 1

1 System in which you must dot your I’s twice?: 2 wds.

2 O’Neil of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

3 Tinker ____ Soldier Spy

4 Underground periodical

5 A construction worker wears one: 2 wds.

6 Pull

Ring 2

* Fastball with sideways spin

* Bike with an engine

* Alliance

* Monitor ____

* Rehabilitate from a disease

Ring 3

* Pull

* Gem carved in relief

* American Revolutionary War foe

* Absolutely exalted

Ring 4

* Absolutely exalt

* Ketchup entrepreneur Henry John ____

* Recent arrival

Ring 5

* Repudiation

* Life, for one

Ring 6

* One of 44 used during a Hanukkah celebration

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* Ruff ruff ruff!
* Patron Puzzle #91, which will be delivered on December 8, 2021, exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a pair of Codewords.
* All of my Patreon supporters at all levels ($1 or more per month) will also receive issue #5 of my sporadically published (but hopefully annual from here on out) Fox & Badger Magazine, entitled "The Hopefully-Not-Copyright-Infringing Pokémon Issue"! Can you help a Trainer evolve six Eevee to solve this enormous 18-puzzle meta? There is also an expanded Odds & Ends section, including an NPL-style picture flat wonderfully illustrated by Tintinabar!

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

Wordy Wednesday 444: Divided Into Columns 9 & Wordy Wednesday 445: Pent Words 89

WORDY WEDNESDAY #442
PATHFINDER 25 (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 **
Cindy Heisler **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman *
Damon French **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Patrick Jordan *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #443
BUILD YOUR OWN PUZZLE (hint)

As of this writing, 5 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's a hint. 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 #444
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 9
(click here for a PDF version)
(click here for rules)

Bitterness __ __ __ __ ___ __ __

           47 24 31 86 100 62 56

Camelion product __ __ __ __ __ ___ __

                 16 84 66 53 74 107 26

Symbol on a music staff, perhaps __ __ __ __

                                 58 07 43 75

Texas NBA team: 2 wds. __ __ __ __ ___ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                       87 10 34 22 106 49 81 57 76 27 19 65 99 91 03

Faulty __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ___ __

       51 80 64 54 30 25 95 104 17

Woolly females ___ __ __ __

               105 93 63 04

Like sandpaper __ __ __ __ __ __

               90 60 38 45 37 29

____ Five-0 __ __ __ __ __ __

            78 68 42 85 21 05

Texas NBA team: 2 wds. __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ___ __ __

                       28 79 92 41 33 02 72 83 48 23 15 101 46 36

Course for speeding cars, say __ __ __ __ __ __ __

                              44 67 70 20 09 98 13

Board game that’s an ancestor of Othello ___ __ __ __ __ __ __

                                         102 11 69 59 18 40 01

Texas NBA team: 3 wds. __ __ __ __ __ ___ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ___

                       61 97 06 14 32 108 73 96 12 35 88 39 50 52 103

Treble speaker __ __ __ __ __ __ __

               89 55 71 77 08 94 82

WORDY WEDNESDAY #445
PENT WORDS 89
(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 Noisy device used to warn ships of hazards / ____ de cologne

2 Grocery shopper’s aid / Fiona of the Shrek movies is one

3 ____ collie / Dispense a beverage, for example

4 Wombs / Winner

5 Sports official, briefly / Treachery against one’s country’s government

6 ____ waffle / Guadalajara gold

7 A reddish brown hue / ____, Please (2013 video game)

8 Asiatic wild ass / Yearn (for)

9 The county seat of Ector County, Texas / Danish toy brand

10 Streep of Out of Africa / Not at all secret

PENTOMINOES:

* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

* Six Feet ____ (2001-2005 HBO series)

* ____ force

* Gold brick

* Regions

* Witch’s prop

* Seize forcefully, as authority

* Parts of fishing rods

* “Part-Time ____” (Stevie Wonder hit)

* The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo ____

* Early wireless communications device

* Certain literary composition

* Enormous

* A leaf of a book

* ____ Jacks (cereal)

* Scandinavian

* Important historical time period

* Approaches

* Apt word spelled by the initials of the names of the Possessors, five spectral characters fought in Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 6-letter word for "Tinker ____ Soldier Spy"?

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

Wordy Wednesday 443: Build Your Own Puzzle

WORDY WEDNESDAY #441
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 8 (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 **
James Haddad **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Damon French **
John Bulten *
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #442
PATHFINDER 25 (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 #443
BUILD YOUR OWN PUZZLE
(click here for a PDF version)

Because sometimes the “author” is too lazy to finish doing it.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* What's a 7-letter word for "Board game that’s an ancestor of Othello"?
* What's a 5-letter word for "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo ____"?

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

Contest: Let's Guess Three Words V! (RESULTS!)

It's time for the results of this contest!

Wordy Wednesday 442: Pathfinder 25

WORDY WEDNESDAY #439
PUT A RING ON IT (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 **
Cindy Heisler **
Cole Kendall **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Karen Spencer **
M. Sean Molley **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman *
Alex Sisti **
John Bulten **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #440
PENT WORDS 88 (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 **
Cindy Heisler **
Cole Kendall **
James Haddad **
Karen Spencer **
Stephen Potter **
Tyler Hinman **
Kevin Orfield **
Michael Lebowitz **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #441
DIVIDED INTO COLUMNS 8 (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 #442
PATHFINDER 25
(click here for a PDF version)

In this puzzle, each answer starts in the correspondingly numbered square, goes in some direction, and makes one or more right-angled turns as it winds through the grid. When you have finished, every letter will be used in exactly two entries.

Rearrange the letters in the shaded spaces to get the final answer, an 8-letter word.

1 City whose initials form the two-letter postal abbreviation for the state it’s in (4 10)

2 Chest of drawers (6)

3 Certain clergy member (6)

3 Curves defined by a directrix and a focus (9)

4 Laying away (7)

5 Fixed charges (4)

6 Certain meteorological device (4 5)

7 Downright easy (10)

8 American Revolutionary War battle site (6 4)

9 Angelic figure (6)

10 Cruel (6)

11 A Visit from St. ____ (8)

12 Boring tool (5)

13 1994 SNES game where players race to assemble jigsaw puzzles (6)

14 My ____ Academia (4)

14 Item at the top of a car seat (8)

15 What a computer might display when it fails to complete an operation (5 7)

16 For fear that (4)

17 One of two music options in the classic NES puzzle game Dr. Mario, the other being “Fever” (5)

17 Arizona has a “Grand” one (6)

18 Go back to a previous state (6)

18 Tiny slip of paper accompanying a purchase, often (7)

19 “____ Breath You Take” (The Police hit) (5)

20 Denmark’s only neighbor (7)

21 Certain literary composition (5)

22 “Sorry, that’s impossible for me!” (2 3 2)

23 Honesty (6)

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .

* A puzzle that I was too lazy to finish making!

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