PUZZLE #518: Eat Your Words 10

PUZZLE #518

EAT YOUR WORDS 10

In this puzzle, the words hinted at by the numbered clues (The "Numbered Words") can "eat" a word hinted at by a different set of clues (The "Eaten Words") without rearranging any of the letters. For example, the word BIT can eat the word AND to form BANDIT. All of the new words are entered into the grid in the order of the Numbered Words, and the Eaten Words are in no particular order.

Once all of the new words have been placed, the letters in the highlighted third column will spell out two more words. Insert one of the column's new words into the other to get the FINAL ANSWER: A first name or a last name

NUMBERED WORDS

1) New England fishes

2) Number of thieves that Ali Baba came across

3) Animal in a cattle drive whose name is also a synonym for "drive"

4) "It Ain't Over _____ It's Over" (Lenny Kravitz single)

5) Piece of jewelry worn by winners of the MLB's World Series

6) Musical symbol that looks like a lowercase "b"

7) Conjunction in many law firm names

8) Do as directed

EATEN WORDS

• Actor Wallach from the 1960 western The Magnificent Seven

• It's good for absolutely nothing, according to a hit Edwin Starr song

• Landlocked African country with Timbuktu

• _____ McBeal (former Fox show starring Calista Flockhart)

• Part of "TMI" or "FYI", but shortened

• Place one's posterior on a park bench, perhaps

• Recoils (away from)

• Washing the dishes or taking out the trash, e.g.

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: Chain Reaction: Extra Links 12

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Chain Reaction: Extra Links 12" was posted on this blog, and seventeen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Kevin Orfield
• Josie Giles
• Mike Armstrong
• Chris Kochmanski
• Stasi Gustafson
• Marie desJardins
• Derek Allen
• KeoFam
• Wendy Walker
• Tamara Brenner
• Sam Levitin
• Mom
• Steve Gunter
• Lynn Sweeney

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #517: Wordy Web 6

PUZZLE #517

WORDY WEB 6

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!

This Web's set up with Circles and Strands, but there are no letters with which the words are woven. To complete this puzzle, enter the answers to the Circles' clues (numbered 1 to 6) clockwise around the concentric rings of the Web, though it's up to you to determine the starting point for each Circle. All of the Circles' clues are presented in order. To help figure out the Circles' starting points, fill in the Strands' answers (marked with A to L) starting at each respective letter and traverse the Web from left to right. Some of the strands have only one answer, while others have two.

Once you've completely filled in the Web, the letters in the red spaces, reading down, will spell out this week's FINAL ANSWER: a common fear

CIRCLES
1) Grasping tool used to grab ice cubes

    Unearth, with "up"

    South Asian country with a white "Thunder Dragon" on its flag

    Grew older

    Paint with a nozzled can, perhaps

2) Disney _____ (touring figure skating show with Disney characters): 2 wds.

    Sudden impulse

    One half of a pair of jeans

    Liam who played Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins

3) Gaining use of copyrighted songs to use in a TV soundtrack, usually for a not-so-small fee

    Black woodwind commonly seen in crossword puzzles

    Friend, in Italy (HINT: It's the same as the Spanish version, but with a "C" instead of a "G")

4) Like a never-before-seen product that just hit store shelves: Hyph.

    Dental plan or employee discount, e.g.

    Hems and _____ (doesn't decide)

5) Actor White who played Urkel and once voiced Sonic the Hedgehog

    Breakfast chain that serves "Cinn-A-Stack" flapjacks: Abbr.

6) Cliff Clavin went on Jeopardy! (and blew it) in an episode of this sitcom set at a bar

STRANDS

A) Big _____ (California attraction with a lengthy coastline)

B) Messing who played Grace on Will & Grace

C) Scientific study of the environment

D) Golden Raspberry-"winning" film flop from 2003 starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez

    Former Nair competitor

E) Record of a 12-month period

    Inexpensive and immensely inferior, slangily

F) Creak, squeak, and shriek, to name a few

    The Greatest _____ (musical biopic of P. T. Barnum)

G) Response to a quizmaster's question

     Enlivening (up)

H) Having harmonious sounds

     Removes a video tape from a VCR

I) "_____ Somebody" (hit song by Kings of Leon)

   Chubby fourth-grader from Hey Arnold! (or a literary kid with a purple crayon)

J) Comedy club annoyance who might say "You stink! Get off the stage!"

K) Boring shade of light brown

L) Appropriate place for this puzzle's last listed entry

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: Word Squares: Projectors 7

It's been almost two weeks since "Word Squares: Projectors 7" was posted on this blog, and eighteen people (the most ever for this tough puzzle type!) have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #516: Chain Reaction: Extra Links 12

PUZZLE #516

CHAIN REACTION: EXTRA LINKS 12

For this puzzle, there are seven golden "links" that link together six two-word phrases when reading down. However, it's completely blank, save for some dashes that reveal how long each word is (four dashes translate to a four-letter word, for instance). To help you figure out these words, though, there are some extra silver links with words already in them which, when combined with the golden link to the left or right of it, make another two-word phrase. In the above example, the two-word phrases with silver links in them are "Chain Restaurants", "Gut Reaction", "Time Zone", and "Fruit Flies", so the final "golden chain" is "CHAIN - REACTION - TIME - FLIES".

Once you've completely filled in the chain, scramble the letters in the orange squares to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a seven-letter word.

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: Chess Words 5

It's been almost two weeks since "Chess Words 5" was posted on this blog, and eighteen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Mike Armstrong
• Sam Levitin
• Michael Lebowitz
• Stasi Gustafson
• Derek Allen
• Mom
• Chris Kochmanski
• Tamara Brenner
• KeoFam
• Josie Giles
• Lynn Sweeney
• Wendy Walker
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #515: Word Squares: Projectors 7

PUZZLE #515

WORD SQUARES: PROJECTORS 7

There are a series of clues whose answers will fit into the provided grid, reading across and down. However, all of the answers are one letter too long to fit in properly, so each one must have either its first or last letter sticking out (or "projecting" out) of the grid. Once you're done, start at the top left and read the "Projectors" either clockwise or counterclockwise to get another word or phrase. In the example above, the Projectors spell out SAMPLE.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is the eight-letter name of a 1970s horror movie.

CLUES

• Anklebones (anagram of STAIR)

• Comic book artist with black pens

• Contraction similar to "won't", as spoken by someone from the 1800s

• Department store that Chicago's Willis Tower used to be named after

• Mr. Kokoshka from Hey Arnold!, or Mr. Schindler from Schindler's List

• Songwriters' org. (answer hidden in SEASCAPE)

• "There's _____ in the Bottom of the Sea" (children's song): 2 wds.

• Tummy trouble supposedly caused by stress (it's not, for the record)

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: Sunburst 6

It's been about two weeks since "Sunburst 6" was posted on this blog, and twenty people have successfully solved it since then, as you an see in the list below:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #514: Chess Words 5

PUZZLE #514

CHESS WORDS 5

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 full at the moment, so you might have to resort to PayPal if you still want to make a request of your own.

Eight 8-letter words are scrambled on the chessboard, all of which are the answers to the provided clues. Each chess piece starts on the first letter of one of the words, and can be moved across the board via standard chess moves to spell the rest of the word. Every square is used exactly once. The chess pieces move as follows:

King: one space in any of the eight directions
Rook: any number of spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction
Bishop: any number of spaces in a diagonal direction
Queen: any number of spaces in any of the eight directions
Knight: two spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction and then one space in a perpendicular direction

Once all the words have been found, read down the last letter of each filled-in word, in order, to get the FINAL ANSWER: an 8-letter word

  Queen's Rook: T _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                a1 
Queen's Knight: F _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                b1 
Queen's Bishop: O _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                c1 
         Queen: J _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                d1 
          King: L _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                e1 
 King's Bishop: E _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                f1 
 King's Knight: H _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                g1 
   King's Rook: C _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                h1

CLUES
• Brazilian martial art that one may grapple with?

• Commit fraud

• Element with a single-digit atomic number

• Group of three achievements

• Joey who ate 83 hot dogs in ten minutes in a 2024 Netflix special

• Like tepid tap water

• Sticky snare for some insects

• Way too lengthy, as a speech

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: Lucky Sevens 14

It's been nearly two weeks since "Lucky Sevens 14" was posted on this blog, and nineteen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Mike Armstrong
• Sam Levitin
• Stasi Gustafson
• Derek Allen
• Mom
• Tamara Brenner
• KeoFam
• Josie Giles
• Patrick Jordan
• Chris Kochmanski
• Wendy Walker
• Lynn Sweeney
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!