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!

PUZZLE #539: Touchword 3

PUZZLE #539

TOUCHWORD 3

One of the clues for this puzzle (suggested by Patron Grant Fikes) 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!

In a normal crossword, words cross each other; in this puzzle, they simply touch. More specifically, all answers read across each numbered row (ranging from two to three answers per row), and every letter touches, along an edge, at least one identical letter above or below it. Since the top and bottom rows also loop around and connect with each other, they're considered touching as well.

Once everything is filled out, read out the highlighted diagonal line for the FINAL ANSWER: the name of a video game for the PlayStation 3

1) See what someone is saying?: Hyph.

    Indoor dog or cat, say

2) Londoner's liquid measurement

    "Aw, crud!"

    Tennis tournament that Coco Gauff won in 2023: 2 wds.

3) Placed in opposition, with "against"

    Fanfiction.net genre involving inner emotional turmoil

    Lucy Liu's role in both Kill Bill movies: Hyph. (answer hidden in FORENSIC)

4) Blast from the ____

    Odie's original owner in Garfield who hasn't been seen since 1983

    Typhoons, tempests and tornadoes, for three

5) In conclusion

    Mounted medieval soldier (or a mustached ally of He-.... errr, Prince Adam’s heroic alter ego): Hyph.

6) Plastic building block company that will release a Game Boy set in fall 2025

    Cybernetic daughter of Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

    Stuns for a loop

7) "Away with thee!"

    Bladed construction vehicle such as Komatsu's huge D575 model

8) Gets started

    Ferrell who played Alex Trebek in SNL's "Celebrity Jeopardy" sketches

    The Mars-exploring robot Curiosity, for one

9) Shroud of _____

    Big gulp from a big drink

    Shows to be true beyond a reasonable doubt

10) Rutabaga relative

      Purple vegetables known as "aubergines" in the UK

11) Manitoba's capital where the NHL's Jets are based in

      Georgia's capital where the above mentioned Jets were originally from

12) Feathered limb of a harpy

      _____ de Lioncourt (Tom Cruise's role in Interview with the Vampire)

      Roo's mother from Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree

13) Mutilate beyond recognition

      Some Christmas decorations hung by the chimney with care

14) Cartographers' creations

      "Well, one thing _____ another, and...": 2 wds.

      High-stress situations

15) Expire, as a magazine subscription

      Like an impromptu meeting: 2 wds.

      Option for changing a password you've forgotten

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: Gryptics 9

Two weeks have passed by since "Gryptics 9" was posted on this blog, and an impressive twenty-two people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Marie desJardins
• Cindy Heisler
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Okieboy2008
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• CP80
• Chris Kochmanski
• Derek Allen
• Stasi Gustafson
• Craig Leach
• Wendy Walker
• Tamara Brenner
• Mom
• Lynn Sweeney
• KeoFam
• Steve Gunter
• SquishmallowsUnited
• Patrick Jordan

Now head below the break for the answers as well as a couple solvers' comments!

PUZLLE #538: Semicircle Sorting 7

PUZZLE #538

SEMICIRCLE SORTING 7

Below are 12 semicircles, each containing three or four letters. Your job is to combine them all into six circles so that a common word (either 6, 7, or 8 letters long) can be read either clockwise or counterclockwise in each circle. However, in order to do that, six of the semicircles need to be rotated 180° upside down so that they can be correctly matched up with the remaining six semicircles.

Once all of the circles have been solved, select two of the resulting words and combine them to get the FINAL ANSWER: the two-word name of a hit disco song

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: Fumble

Roughly two weeks have gone by since my tribute to Jumble called "Fumble" was posted on this blog, and twenty-one people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Marie desJardins
• Cathy Bowen
• Pavel Curtis
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield
• OkieBoy2008
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Derek Allen
• Craig Leach
• Tamara Brenner
• Chris Kochmanski
• Mom
• CP80
• Lynn Sweeney
• SquishmallowsUnited
• Wendy Walker
• Steve Gunter
• Stasi Gustafson

Now head below the break for the answers!