PUZZLE #596: Vanishing Act 6

PUZZLE #596

VANISHING ACT 6

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 noun

CLUES

• 1996 tornado movie that got a sequel 28 years later

• Broadway play that was brought back, say

• Chocolate candies from Hershey's with paper strips sticking out of them

• Hit song by one-hit wonder Shawn Mullins whose chorus contains the word "rockabye"

• Mass multiplied by velocity

• Silencing someone with a tied-up handkerchief, perhaps

• Small booklet with instructions on how to play an Atari 2600 game

• Triangular flag waved by a baseball fanatic

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: Helter Skelter 10

It's been almost two weeks since "Helter Skelter 10" was posted on this blog, so now's the time to look at the seventeen people who have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #595: Question Quest 3

PUZZLE #595

QUESTION QUEST 3

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!

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 two-word title

What __ __ __ __ __ __ __   __ __ __ __ __ __ __

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

__ __ __ __ __ __ is about a __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

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

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ sent to the __ __ __ __ __ __

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

after being __ __ __ __ __ into a __ __ __ __ __ __ by a

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

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __   __ __ __ __ __ __ __?

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

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: Deck It Out 11

It's been close to two weeks since "Deck It Out 11" was posted on this blog, and seventeen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Sam Levitin
• Derek Allen
• Chris Kochmanski
• Okieboy2008
• Patrick Jordan
• Bart Gold
• Michael Lebowitz
• Mom
• Lynn Sweeney
• Steve Gunter
• Qmark

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #594: Helter Skelter 10

PUZZLE #594

HELTER SKELTER 10

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) Least quiet

2) Wife _____ (2000s reality show ripped off by Trading Spouses)

3) Promising prodigy

4) Tropical fruit in smoothies

5) "Get Him Back!" singer Rodrigo

6) Nonliteral saying

7) Eye-related (anagram of RUCOLA)

8) Quinn who played Benny in Benny & Joon

9) Home planet of Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

10) Caffeinated root beer brand claiming "It's Good Since 1898"

11) Rapper from A Tribe Called Quest named after a stick with cotton swabs

12) Bible quote such as "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another"

13) Lunchmeat with the first name of O-S-C-A-R?

14) Book-loving pig from U.S. Acres

15) Under the effects of Novocain, say

16) Chicago-style deep dish pizza chain, informally

17) The _____ of '76 (patriotically-named pinball machine)

18) Garlic-crushing device

19) Sword holder

20) The horizontal line seen in the answer to clue #11

21) Classical element other than water, fire, or air

22) Card such as the Wheel of Fortune

23) Wrapped-up headwear worn by Piccolo from Dragon Ball Z

24) Cruel boor

25) Progressive rock band with vocalist Geddy Lee

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 15

Two weeks have passed by since "Link-Letters 15" was posted on this blog, and eighteen people have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #593: Deck It Out 11

PUZZLE #593

DECK IT OUT 11

Fill in the answers to the clues below, then transfer the letters marked with playing card symbols to their proper places in the grid below. The number (or letter) of each clue will tell you what column to place those letters in. Once it's completely filled in, the grid will spell out a sentence that will provide a hint to the FINAL ANSWER.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is a proper name

A) Nationality that precedes "bread", "horn" and "kiss"

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♥   ♠   ♦           ♣

2) Vole, mole-rat, or regular rat, for example

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

            ♠   ♣   ♦   ♥

3) Thin, rectangular layers inside a Kit Kat bar

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♣           ♦   ♥   ♠

4) Once in _____ (occasionally): 2 wds.

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♣   ♦   ♠   ♥

5) "Ladies and Gentlemen" hard rock band named after spit (yes, that’s really what they went with)

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♣   ♠   ♦       ♥

6) Fool's gold

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

        ♦   ♠   ♥   ♣   

7) Pointy punk hairstyle

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

            ♣   ♥   ♦   ♠

8) Medieval funnyman wearing a cap with bells

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

        ♣   ♠   ♥   ♦

9) Mythological Greek beasts that grow more heads every time you chop one off

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♣       ♦   ♥   ♠

10) How to Train Your _____ (DreamWorks film series with Hiccup and Toothless)

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

            ♥   ♦   ♣   ♠

J) Patterns usually seen on Scottish kilts

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♥       ♦       ♠   ♣

Q) Male Manx or Maine Coon, maybe

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♠       ♦   ♥       ♣

K) Hate, hate, hate, haaaate something or someone

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

        ♣   ♥       ♠   ♦

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: Pent Words 22

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Pent Words 22" was posted on this blog, and eighteen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Marie desJardins
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Chris Kochmanski
• Michael Lebowitz
• Derek Allen
• Wendy Walker
• Okieboy2008
• Bart Gold
• Patrick Jordan
• Sam Levitin
• Mom
• Nicholas Weaver
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #592: Link-Letters 15

PUZZLE #592

LINK-LETTERS 15

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: the name of a sitcom that premiered in the 2010s

1) 16-minute-long movie, maybe

    "_____ of the mornin' to ya, laddies!" (catchphrase of Irish YouTuber Jacksepticeye)

2) *NSYNC song about the genre of music performed by *NSYNC

    Frilly doily material

3) Emulate a "grim" figure with a scythe

    Doing more than just fibbing

4) "Big" burger courtesy of the Golden Arches

    Uses a scale from 1 to 10, say

5) A-1 (HINT: Remove the "V" from IMPROV and scramble the remaining letters)

    Use a rotary phone, say

6) Cereal eaten by Little Mikey in a long-running ad campaign

    Peter from the 2002 Disney film Return to Neverland

7) Marx brother who "talks" with a bulb horn

    Neighbor of the Simpsons who says "Hi-Diddily-Ho!"

8) Main protagonist of Stellar Blade (or the day before Christmas, say)

    Putting _____ (golf course part)

9) Furnish for free, as a hotel room

    Striped structure where the characters of The Amazing Digital Circus live

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 8

About two weeks have gone by since "Semicircle Sorting 8" was posted on this blog, which means that it's time for me to post the list of everyone who has solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Cathy Bowen
• Marie desJardins
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Michael Lebowitz
• Okieboy2008
• Chris Kochmanski
• Derek Allen
• Sam Levitin
• Wendy Walker
• KeoFam
• Bart Gold
• Steve Gunter
• Mom

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