PUZZLE #583: Take Two

PUZZLE #583

TAKE TWO

One of the clues in 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!

First, fill in the blanks with two words that correspond to each numbered clue; each word will be separated by a slash. Once each line is filled out, take away one letter from either side of the slash (one from each word) to form a new six- or seven-letter word.

Once the new words have been formed, The removed letters, when read in order, will spell out the FINAL ANSWER: the name of a romantic movie

1) _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _

2) _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _

3) _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _

4) _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _

5) _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _

6) _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _

CLUES

1) Cafeteria carrier

    Like dorms that aren't single-sex

2) Triplet of Dewey and Louie in Quack Pack

    _____ Jones' locker

3) Docking spot such as the one in Santa Monica

    Pigpen's swinging opening

4) Brogan, Gretched, or Shrek from Shrek Forever After, for example

    Ore-Ida _____ Tots

5) Rocks out like the rock group Phish (or things similar to jellies)

    America's only single-syllable state

6) More bashful (anagram of HEIRS)

    Orion's _____ (certain constellation feature)

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: Line 'Em Up 15

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Line 'Em Up 15" was posted on this blog, which means it's time for me to post the list of everyone who has solved it puzzle since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Marie desJardins
• Kevin Orfield
• Okieboy2008
• Michael Lebowitz
• Stasi Gustafson
• Sam Levitin
• Derek Allen
• Wendy Walker
• Chris Kochmanski
• Eli Zarconi
• Mom
• Patrick Jordan
• KeoFam
• Michael Gulden
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #582: Puzzle in the Round 9

PUZZLE #582

PUZZLE IN THE ROUND 9

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.

To solve this tough puzzle, fill in as many of the 5-letter answers next to their clues as you can. Next, look for shared letters, and then enter each letter into its correct place in the diagram (though you'll most likely need to scramble the order of the letters to make them fit). The letter in the grid's center will be shared by all of the answer words. As a little hint, look for unshared letters to help you determine the letters that will go in the outer ring to form the FINAL ANSWER, reading from 1 to 24.

The FINAL ANSWER is the name of a grammatically incorrect Internet meme

1) Brazilian ballroom dance

     _ _ _ _ _

2) The Silence of the _____ (1991 horror film)

     _ _ _ _ _

3) Culpability often shifted onto someone else

     _ _ _ _ _

4) "Ehhh, it's a possibility"

     _ _ _ _ _

5) The city of Townsville's leader in The Powerpuff Girls, for one

     _ _ _ _ _

6) Trashy talk show well-known for its paternity tests that lasted over 30 seasons

     _ _ _ _ _

7) Supply with weapons again

     _ _ _ _ _

8) Honey-colored

     _ _ _ _ _

9) 2016 animated Disney movie set in Polynesia

     _ _ _ _ _

10) Perry _____ (fictional TV lawyer)

     _ _ _ _ _

11) Angel's opposite

     _ _ _ _ _

12) He never stays in the same place for very long

     _ _ _ _ _

13) Gru's eldest adopted daughter in the Despicable Me films

     _ _ _ _ _

14) 24th (and final) letter in ancient Greece

     _ _ _ _ _

15) Action hero first played by Sylvester Stallone in First Blood (1982)

     _ _ _ _ _

16) "When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that's _____"

     _ _ _ _ _

17) Florence Foster Jenkins star Streep

     _ _ _ _ _

18) Atlanta university where Jimmy Carter once taught

     _ _ _ _ _

19) Literal gold digger such as Donkey Kong at the start of Donkey Kong Bananza

     _ _ _ _ _

20) Filthy stuff to scour out

     _ _ _ _ _

21) Paris _____ (French subway system)

     _ _ _ _ _

22) Basement Jaxx song named after Juliet's lover

     _ _ _ _ _

23) Lament a loss

     _ _ _ _ _

24) Standards that are to be expected

     _ _ _ _ _

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: Insiders 5

Before we get to the list of everyone who solved "Insiders 5" from about two weeks ago, I just wanted to give a shout-out to one of my former solvers (and primary author of one of my earliest puzzles, "Which-Way Words"), Paolo Pasco, for sweeping the Jeopardy Tournament of Champions Finals last week! Congratulations on that feat, and good luck with Jeopardy Masters in a few months!

• Cindy Heisler
• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Marie desJardins
• Dave C
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Okieboy2008
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Chris Kochmanski
• Derek Allen
• Patrick Jordan
• Steve Gunter
• Wendy Walker
• Mom [Hints Used]
• Eli Zarconi
• KeoFam

Now that the solvers list is out of the way, head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #581: Line 'Em Up 15

PUZZLE #581

LINE 'EM UP 15

Place the answers to each numbered clue in the squares to the right of each corresponding number (a number in brackets following each clue will tell you how many letters are in each answer). Once you have the answers, align them properly in the grid so that going down, a two-word phrase will be spelled out by the two red columns in the grid's center.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is the two-word name of a well-known Broadway show tune

1) With "The", U2's lead guitarist [4]

2) America's largest ridesharing company (just ahead of Lyft) [4]

3) Send a document via phone lines [3]

4) _____ Nicole Brown (actress who played Shirley on Community) [6]

5) Square root of XLIX (that's 49 for those who aren't from ancient Rome) [3]

6) Brief beginning? [5]

7) Like a video game full of too many glitches (ALTERNATE CLUE: Horse-drawn carriage) [5]

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: Triangle Tangle 8

Crud! I forgot to schedule this post 'til now! Ah, well, better late than never, I suppose. Anyway, here's the list of the twenty people who have solved "Triangle Tangle 8" from two weeks ago:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #580: Insiders 5

PUZZLE #580

INSIDERS 5

Before we get to my latest puzzle, I have some news I wanted to share! You see, Diary of a Crossword Fiend's ORCA Awards for the best crosswords of 2025 are coming up, and at least one of my puzzles got nominated in the "Best Variety Crossword" category! Not only that, Crossword Fiend has also crafted a puzzle pack featuring most of this year's nominees (the proceeds of which will go to a suicide prevention nonprofit), and my nominated puzzle(s) managed to get included! Donors who purchase this pack will not only gain access to plenty of other puzzles and support a good cause in the process, but also get early access to the final ORCAs ballot, which won't get posted publicly until February 3rd. You can find more details regarding the ORCA Awards Puzzle Pack (as well as how to get it for yourself) at https://crosswordfiend.com/14th-orca-award-puzzle-pack/. Now then, with all that info out of the way, here are the directions to this week's puzzle:

Each row in this puzzle consists of two answers, clued in the order in which they appear. Going across both of these answers is a third word, known as an "Inner Word". For example, if a row's two answers were JETSAM and PLEA, then the Inner Word for that string of letters would be SAMPLE (like so: JETSAMPLEA). The Inner Words are listed in no particular order, and shading them or crossing them out in each row is highly recommended.

Once everything's been filled in, all of the letters not used in the Inner Words, when read left to right and row by row, will spell out a clue to the FINAL ANSWER: a two-word title

ROWS

1) Dilapidated dwelling

    _____-Pot (trademarked slow cooker brand)

2) Superlative suffix for "rich" and "poor"

    "Rich" is this to "poor", grammatically speaking

3) Shape of Subaru's starry logo

    Military units that you control in the Total War series of strategy computer games

4) Pollute or poison, as water

    Less polite

5) Stand-up comedienne Rudner

    The _____ of the Shrew (play that 10 Things I Hate About You is loosely based on)

6) The two smallest of ten fingers

    Letter after sigma

7) Wooden boards for a carpenter's construction project

    Answering machine’s beep, e.g.

8) "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" duo

    "There's No Business Like Show Business" singer Ethel who also acted in a film of the same name

INNER WORDS

• Blatantly ignore a "No Trespassing" sign, maybe

• Darkest, like a graphic novel illustration that's mostly black

• Foucault's Pendulum author whose last name "Eco" is usually an answer in a crossword

• Japanese floor mat

• Kindergartener's shoe fastener that was inspired by plant burs

• Please _____ Don't Hurt 'Em (diamond-certified album with "U Can't Touch This")

• WALL-E director Andrew

• Word following "false" or "burglar"

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: Sudokurostic 6

Two weeks have passed by since "Sudokurostic 6" was posted on this blog, so now's the time to look at everyone who has solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Marie desJardins
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Michael Lebowitz
• Okieboy2008
• Nicholas Weaver
• Sam Levitin
• Chris Kochmanski
• Eli Zarconi
• Mom
• Steve Gunter
• Derek Allen

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #579: Triangle Tangle 8

PUZZLE #579

TRIANGLE TANGLE 8

To solve this puzzle, enter the 4-letter answer to each clue into the diagram either from top to bottom or diagonally upward. There are two numbers starting each clue; each answer begins in the triangle marked with the first number, and ends in the triangle marked with the second.

Once the grid has been filled in, there are two more words hiding in the topmost row of letters and the bottommost row of letters. Combine them both to get the FINAL ANSWER: the name of an anime TV series

1-2) The canine leader of the Bad Guys from DreamWorks' The Bad Guys, for one

2-3) Part of an envelope that gets licked

3-4) Second-lowest scoring hand in poker (just above "nothing")

4-5) Kelly from Live with Kelly and Mark who once hosted Generation Gap (2022-23)

5-6) Imitated a gorilla?

6-7) _____ Avenger (parodic computer game about a buck sick of getting shot at by hunters)

7-8) 2000s sitcom starring country singer McEntire

8-9) Swedish band that did "Money, Money, Money" and "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"

9-10) "All that and _____ of chips": 2 wds.

10-11) Laundry detergent brand in a green bottle

11-12) Africa's longest river

12-13) Tickle Me _____ (hot toy of Christmas 1996)

13-14) Arabian country whose name becomes a person if you remove its first letter

14-15) Japanese word for "WHAT?!" (answer hidden in "UNANIMOUSLY")

15-16) Still competing: 2 wds.

16-17) Date Night (2010) actress Fey

17-18) Ancient Egyptian cross worn by some goths

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: Moving Staircases 16

Two weeks have passed by since "Moving Staircases 16" was posted on this blog, and seventeen people have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!