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!

PUZZLE #591: Pent Words 22

PUZZLE #591

PENT WORDS 22

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!

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) Costello's partner in comedy

    Award such as "Best Breakthrough Athlete" given by a certain cable network

2) Bark at the moon

    Disney villainess with six tentacles (and not eight, cuz it's cheaper that way)

3) Murder on the _____ Express (1934 detective novel)

    Robert who delivers a memorable monologue as Quint in Jaws

4) Talks like this, this green Star Wars character does

    Rattle off as many digits of pi as you can remember, perhaps

5) Change for the better (we hope)

    Make a touchdown on the tarmac

6) Trouble with the stomach's lining

    "_____ on the Water" (gold-certified Deep Purple hit)

7) Like the pastoral countryside

    Actress Heche or actress Hathaway

8) Got down (anagram of TAIL)

    National song such as "Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty"

9) Jeff Bridges' older brother

    Family Feud feature that's always asked to 100 people beforehand

10) About as fresh as month-old bread

      NBA star Stephen who also appeared on the mini-golfing show Holey Moley

PENTOMINOES (Five letters per answer)

• HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

• THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

• Like the pastoral countryside (yup, this same clue again!)

• Twisted around a vertical axis

• Happen over and over again, like a nightmare

• "Hocus Pocus" prog-rock band whose name rhymes with "Hocus Pocus"

• Sing in a way heard in the aforementioned song "Hocus Pocus"

• Six-year periods for a senator

• _____ Second Counts (mid-'80s game show)

• Adam Goldberg's sister in The Goldbergs

• Rainbow rolls, dynamite rolls, California rolls, etc.

• The largest moon of Saturn

• Messy green icon next to poorly-reviewed movies on Rotten Tomatoes

• David who sang "Blue Jean" and "The Jean Genie"

• Furry blue member of the X-Men

• Ratchet & _____ (PlayStation game series about a furry alien and his robot sidekick)

• Loathe entirely

• With "The", restaurantgoer's regular order

• Semiaquatic mink relative

• Venom, to Spider-Man

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: Loopy Links 3

It's been almost two weeks since "Loopy Links 3" was posted on this blog, so now's the time to look at the eighteen people who have solved it since then:

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

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