PUZZLE #544: Pent Words 21

PUZZLE #544

PENT WORDS 21

This puzzle type was suggested by Patron Grant Fikes. Normally, you can suggest a puzzle type of your own choice over on my Patreon page, but both slots are still full, so you might have to resort to PayPal if you still want to make a request of your own.

For this puzzle, you must divide the grid into pentominoes (they’re sorta like Tetris pieces, except they’re areas made up of five squares each) and put 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, reading left to right beginning 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 above, the rows spell out CHINS, PARTY, and ANKLE, and the pentominoes spell out the words CHINA, STYLE, and PRANK.) Use the across answers to figure out where the pentominoes go.

Once you're done, combine the two unclued pentominoes to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a two-word phrase

ACROSS (Two answers per row)

1) Wasp's attacks

    SpongeBob's crustaceous cheapskate of a boss, for one

2) Blue raspberry, for one

    Easternmost country on the Arabian Peninsula

3) "I _____ the need... the need for speed!" (quote from Top Gun)

    Henchman with a razor-sharp bowler hat who is playable in GoldenEye 007

4) Italian scooter brand that will turn 80 in 2026

    City where the South Korean girl group Blackpink was formed

5) Solitary soul

    Synonym for "zest" or "zip" that also starts with the same letter

6) Ancient Egyptian symbol that resembles a "T" with a loop on top

    Native American tribe of Geronimo

7) Surliest member of the Seven Dwarfs

    One-third of a hat trick in hockey

8) Sweet's partner, in a certain sauce

    Sing like an ovenbird

9) "Papa Loves _____" (Perry Como tune also sung by Nat "King" Cole)

    Like a faucet that refuses to stop dripping

10) Rash reactions, literally

      With "out", barely obtained a win

PENTOMINOES (Five letters per answer)

• HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

• THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

• Actress Gaynor who appeared in South Pacific (1958)

• New South _____ (Australian state with the Sydney Opera House)

• Video game bear who shares his name with a bluegrass instrument

• Bit of gossip

• Event with a bull riding contest

• Word that rhymes with "Chevy" in Don McLean's "American Pie"

• Bowling lane

• Basic taste with a Japanese name

• Orange that looks like it has a belly button

• My Big Fat _____ Wedding 3 (2023 movie sequel)

• Puts up a painting or poster, perhaps

• Shout from Oscar the Grouch whenever he doesn't want company

• Mess up, as a wrestling move

• Tortilla chip to dip in cheese

• Protuberance

• Many _____ returns

• Member of a WNBA team based in Los Angeles

• Starched, say

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Link-Letters 14

Two weeks have passed by since "Link-Letters 14" was posted on this blog, and nineteen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Cathy Bowen
• Marie desJardins
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Michael Lebowitz
• Okieboy2008
• Patrick Jordan
• Sam Levitin
• Chris Kochmanski
• Mom
• Derek Allen
• Stasi Gustafson
• Tamara Brenner
• Wendy Walker
• Lynn Sweeney
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #543: Helter Skelter 9

PUZZLE #543

HELTER SKELTER 9

This puzzle contains a word or phrase suggested by Patron M. Sean Molley. Support me on Patreon at $15 or more per month to suggest one word or phrase for me to put into a puzzle every month!

Each answer in this crossword variation starts at the indicated number, and then moves towards the direction of the next number (though it may or may not stop there). The direction of the last answer is to be determined by the solver.

Once the grid has been filled out, unscramble the gray squares to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: An 8-letter word

1) 😭, 😂, and 🤔, to name a few

2) She played Angela on Who's the Boss?

3) Cinnamon _____ Crunch (General Mills cereal)

4) A half dozen cans of Canada Dry, perhaps: Hyph.

5) Sudan's capital city

6) Other, in Spanish (answer hidden in FOOTRACE)

7) Online retailer that didn't have its first profitable year until 2003

8) White spreads to put on chicken sandwiches from Popeyes

9) "Once Bitten, Twice _____" (highest-charting song by Great White)

10) Book of church music

11) Mangle, mar, or mutilate

12) Japanese automaker that still makes cars, none of which are sold in America since 2009

13) Stomach-strengthening exercise: Hyph.

14) Turns on a dime

15) Surreal 1997 computer adventure game named after black volcanic glass

16) The _____ Bugle (newspaper that Peter Parker works for in Spider-Man)

17) Adage or maxim

18) Artsy-craftsy lilac-colored unicorn from My Little Pony: Make Your Mark

19) Thanksgiving tubers

20) Friend for Speedy Gonzales

21) Ravine ravaged by flash floods

22) Labor management class for expectant mothers

23) First-person pronoun for Miss Piggy

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Vanishing Act 5

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Vanishing Act 5" was posted on this blog, and twenty people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Marie desJardins
• Cathy Bowen
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Michael Lebowitz
• Okieboy2008
• Stasi Gustafson
• Patrick Jordan
• Sam Levitin
• KeoFam
• Tamara Brenner
• Mom
• Wendy Walker
• Lynn Sweeney
• Craig Leach
• Chris Kochmanski
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #542: Link-Letters 14

PUZZLE #542

LINK-LETTERS 14

There are two clues for each numbered row. The answers to each row's first clue go in the squares to the left of the first black bar in each correspondingly numbered row in the puzzle's grid, and the answers to the second clue go into the squares to the right of the second black bar. Then a single letter (the "Link-Letter") goes in the square in the middle to complete a single word that reads all the way across. For example, if the two words are CON and ACT, you can put a "T" between them to get CONTACT.

Once you've filled out all nine rows, the central letters will spell out two words reading down. Add a letter between those two words in the red square to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a noun relating to biology

1) Art _____ (1920s artstyle used for the Empire State Building)

    Supermodel's stance

2) Plain to see (anagram of VOTER)

    Jeopardy champion-turned-host Jennings

3) Snake on the cover of Alice Cooper's album Constrictor

    Congress chamber with 435 representatives

4) Actress Campbell from Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer

    A terrible thing to waste, in a well-known motto from the UNCF

5) Stimpy or Sylvester, for one

    Kind of water mixed with gin in a drink usually garnished with a lime slice

6) Straps that steer steeds

    Last word of the Pledge of Allegiance

7) Tense for verbs ending in "-ed"

    Guerrilla Guevara who narrates the musical Evita for some reason

8) "We _____ fight on the beaches" (speech from Winston Churchill)

    Direction preceding "Hollywood" or "Virginia"

9) Aladdin's simian sidekick in Disney's Aladdin (both versions)

    Harlem shake, hand jive, or hokey pokey, e.g.

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Question Quest 2

It's been almost two weeks since my second "Question Quest" puzzle was posted on this blog, so now it's time to take a look at all eighteen people who have solved it since then:

• Cathy Bowen
• Grant Fikes
• Marie desJardins
• Cindy Heisler
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Michael Lebowitz
• Okieboy2008
• Chris Kochmanski
• KeoFam
• Tamara Brenner
• Wendy Walker
• Derek Allen
• Sam Levitin
• Mom
• Stasi Gustafson
• Lynn Sweeney
• Craig Leach

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #541: Vanishing Act 5

PUZZLE #541

VANISHING ACT 5

Below are a set of what are supposed to be valid words, but instances of one duplicated letter in each word have all disappeared! Your job is to reinsert the missing duplicate letters into each numbered string of letters so that the resulting words all match up to the provided clues (listed in no particular order). The number in square brackets next to each group shows how many of the same letter need to be inserted into it. For instance, if one of the groups is "XAMPL [2]", then you'll need to insert a letter two times ("E" in this case) to get "EXAMPLE".

Once you've completed everything, the letters that have been added back in, in order, will form another incomplete string of letters. Insert three more of the same letter to get the FINAL ANSWER: an 11-letter plural noun

CLUES

• 1982 arcade game where you control a soapy sphere in a sink

• Buccaneer's big ball shooter

• It cuts paper, but gets smashed by rock

• Knowingly giving false testimony

• Like the solutions to shikaku and sudoku puzzles

• Overused expression such as "It was a dark and stormy night"

• "_____ to Love" (Robert Palmer music video with women in heavy makeup)

• Volkswagen auto that's the subject of a '60s car-spotting game called "Slug Bug"

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Touchword 3

It's been almost two weeks since "Touchword 3" got posted on this blog, and nineteen people have solved it since then:

• Marie desJardins
• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Chris Kochmanski
• Okieboy2008
• Mom
• Michael Lebowitz
• Derek Allen
• Wendy Walker
• Patrick Jordan
• Sam Levitin
• Steve Gunter
• Tamara Brenner
• Lynn Sweeney
• KeoFam

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #540: Question Quest 2

PUZZLE #540

QUESTION QUEST 2

Below, there's a sentence with multiple blanks, and the words that fill in those blanks have been split apart and scattered throughout the grid. Your job is to locate the correct first letter for each word and then follow the given compass directions throughout the grid for each answer (So for example, "2W" means to move two spaces west). Each letter in the grid will be used exactly once. As a helpful tip, try to look at the directions for the following letters to see how far from the grid's top, bottom, or sides you must look. For instance, if the directions for a word's second letter are 6N, the first letter must be somewhere in the bottom two rows.

Once you've filled in all of the blanks and finished each word, read the finished sentence and solve the resulting clue for the FINAL ANSWER: a three-word name

What __ __ __ __ __ __   __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ from an

     ?? 4W 3S 3S 3W 1N   ?? 4N 4E 5S 2W 1N 3W 2N 7E

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

?? 6S 1E 5N 3W 6S 2W 4N   ?? 5E 4N 5W 2S 3E 3S 2W 2S 

__ __ __ __ __ __ has a __ __ __ __ __ __ __

?? 3N 4E 4S 5W 2N       ?? 6E 1S 2W 5S 3E 4N

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ and a __ __ __ __ __ __

?? 6W 5N 3E 2S 2E 4S 3W       ?? 3E 2N 7W 3N 7E

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ with __ __ __ __ __?

?? 4N 5E 2S 1W 2S 2E 5N      ?? 1S 4S 3E 3N

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Semicircle Sorting 7

It's been about two weeks since "Semicircle Sorting 7" was posted on this blog, and nineteen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Marie desJardins
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield
• Okieboy2008
• Michael Lebowitz
• Chris Kochmanski
• Stasi Gustafson
• Sam Levitin
• Derek Allen
• Craig Leach
• Pavel Curtis
• Wendy Walker
• Tamara Brenner
• Steve Gunter
• Mom
• Lynn Sweeney

Now head below the break for the answers as well as a solver's comment!