PUZZLE #411: Wordy Web 5

PUZZLE #411

WORDY WEB 5

Happy Halloween, everyone! And to celebrate, I've brought out my spookiest puzzle format: Wordy Web! Its Final Answer is appropriate for today, too, so read on for directions on how to figure it out!

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: some people you might encounter today on Halloween

CIRCLES
1) Transform like a Power Ranger

    Do the math

    Steed's straps

    Players in a play

    Fear the Walking Dead network

2) Lord Farquaad's kingdom in Shrek (2001)

    Collect too much stuff

    Place to drill up black gold: 2 wds.

    Native American tribe whose name is 3/4ths vowels

3) _____Hot (liniment brand shilled by Shaquille O'Neal)

    Rays that make a fluorescent object glow: 2 wds.

    State where Donny and Marie Osmond were born

    Annie Lennox album with the hit song "Walking on Broken Glass"

4) Zits and pimples

    Rocko's _____ Life (classic Nicktoon)

    Controversial airport agcy. with full-body scanners

5) "Burnt" Crayola color

    Tony-winning musical set in Lower Manhattan's East Village

6) Short vocal solo in opera

STRANDS

A) Grandpa Pickles from Rugrats

B) Ibuprofen brand introduced in 1984

C) Disney villainess with henchmen named Jasper & Horace

D) Joseph who composed the Surprise Symphony

    Rock's narrow fissure

E) _____ Mountains (Pennsylvanian chain whose highest peak is Camelback Mountain)

    Dickinson from 1960's Ocean's 11

F) Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda

    At a greater distance

G) The "O" in "AOC"

     Emulate The Undertaker or The Ultimate Warrior, say

H) Takes up residence at a new home: 2 wds.

     Luxury car brand with four rings in its logo

I) Ron Howard's younger brother

   Like _____ of bricks: 2 wds.

J) Whiskered fishes whose name sounds like muck-covered felines

K) Temporary committee type: 2 wds.

L) Favorite drink of the March Hare and the Mad Hatter

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: Semicircle Sorting 4

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Semicircle Sorting 4" was posted on this blog, and a number of people have solved it since then, all of whom are listed below:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Chris Kochmanski
• Kevin Orfield
• Mike Armstrong
• KeoFam
• Charles Flaster
• Tyler Hinman
• Mom
• Sam Levitin
• Wendy Walker
• Lynn Sweeney
• Tamara Brenner
• Michael Lebowitz

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #410: Chain Reaction: Extra Links 10

PUZZLE #410

CHAIN REACTION: EXTRA LINKS 10

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: Diagramless Crossword 6

It's been close to two weeks since "Diagramless Crossword 6" was posted on this blog, and a whopping seventeen people (one of which is a family group) have correctly figured out its Final Answer, all of whom are listed below:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Chris Kochmanski
• Kevin Orfield
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Mike Armstrong
• Mom
• Wendy Walker
• Tyler Hinman
• Patrick Jordan
• Lynn Sweeney
• Dan Schwartz
• KeoFam
• Steve Gunter
• Tamara Brenner

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #409: Semicircle Sorting 4

PUZZLE #409

SEMICIRCLE SORTING 4

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: a two-word party game.

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 18

Thirteen days have passed by since "Pent Words 18" was posted on this blog, which means that it's time for me to reveal the list of everyone who has successfully solved it:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Chris Kochmanski
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Wendy Walker
• Steve Gunter
• Mike Armstrong
• Tamara Brenner
• KeoFam
• Mom
• Patrick Jordan
• Tyler Hinman
• Lynn Sweeney

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #408: Diagramless Crossword 6

PUZZLE #408

DIAGRAMLESS CROSSWORD 6

This puzzle contains a word 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!

Diagramless crosswords are solved by using the clues and their numbers to fill in the answers as well as the black squares. When completely filled in, the black squares in the grid will have diagonal symmetry, meaning that they'll look the same when rotated upside-down. As a help, the first number has already been placed in the grid.

Once everything's filled in, two of the across answers will spell out a clue that will lead you to the FINAL ANSWER: A person's name.

ACROSS

1) Perlman who won four Emmys for acting on Cheers

5) Fend (off)

10) Track & _____ (Olympic-themed NES video game)

11) Word before "bear" or "vortex"

12) Seasoning herbs of the mint family

13) Breed of Hachikō, a very loyal dog immortalized with a bronze statue in Japan

14) Split from a country, like South Sudan did in 2011

15) "...Kissed the girls and made them _____" (nursery rhyme lyrics)

16) PART ONE OF THE FINAL ANSWER'S CLUE

19) British songstress Rita

20) "Turn to Stone" band, for short

21) Numeric online addresses, for short

24) Flowing waterway crossed in the "Fox, chicken, and grain" puzzle

27) Journalists' workspace where The Mary Tyler Moore Show is set

30) Relating to birds (or bird-like anthropomorphic characters)

31) 19th-century soldier dressed in gray

32) Installment of Inc., e.g.

33) His song "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" hit #1 in 1977

35) Pinball machine manufacturer whose name is a synonym for "strict"

36) Beats by _____ (brand of expensive headphones)

37) Prefix for "corn" or "cycle"

38) Post-op stop

39) PART TWO OF THE FINAL ANSWER'S CLUE

45) Intelligent primate from George of the Jungle named after his own species

46) Groups in some essential acids found in proteins

47) Playable Mario Party Superstars character with a green hat

50) Like the color of straw or blonde hair

51) Find common ground

52) Brown, Dartmouth, and Harvard, for three

53) Sears slightly

54) Hair-stiffening goops

DOWN

1) The Dark Knight _____ (film directed by Christopher Nolan)

2) Children's novel about a girl in the Alps living with her grumpy grandpa

3) First name of Ripley from Alien (1979)

4) Online annoyances that can be blocked in Firefox with extensions

5) Captain Jack added to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in 2006

6) City where the statue mentioned in 13-Across's clue is located

7) Baba who encountered forty thieves

8) Cauldron

9) Significant stretch of time

10) Two-_____ (coin-flipping comic book villain)

12) Manner of conduct

14) Gave it one's all

15) People person, for short

17) Last name of Bobby from Bobby's World (EASIER CLUE: Not brand-name)

18) "_____ World Problems" (Weird Al song with lyrics like "There's a pixel out in the corner of my laptop screen")

19) Type of exam with no writing

22) Greek equivalent of the Roman sea god Neptune

23) What statements marked with "[citation needed]" need

25) Let up on the difficulty

26) Genetic material hidden in the word "fingernails"

28) Bro's sib, sometimes

29) Drop-down _____ (list of options in a computer program)

31) Zellweger with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

34) Materialistic characters in American Psycho or Wall Street, for example

40) Impatient, like a beaver?

41) Bisect

42) Message sent to itsredhead64@gmail.com, perhaps

43) Blends ingredients

44) Addition column to the right of the tens

47) French word for a body of water smaller than a sea

48) "Blecch!"

49) Rosemary's Baby author Levin

50) _____ Newtons

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: Triangle Tangle 4

It's been about two weeks since "Triangle Tangle 4" was posted on this blog, and plenty of people have solved it since then, all of whom are listed below:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Chris Kochmanski
• Kevin Orfield
• Tyler Hinman
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Mike Armstrong
• Patrick Jordan
• Wendy Walker
• KeoFam
• Mom
• Tamara Brenner
• Lynn Sweeney

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #407: Pent Words 18

PUZZLE #407

PENT WORDS 18

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) Pageant crown worn by Lola from The Loud House

    Pull a harp string

2) Southpaws

    Dilbert's curved-up neckwear

3) Hot rod's rod

    "On the Internet, _____ knows you're a dog" (caption of a New Yorker cartoon)

4) Hines from Curb Your Enthusiasm, or the role she plays

    Got a perfect score on

5) Stretchy, like Mister Fantastic's superpowered body

    Newton who was the Panthers' quarterback in Super Bowl 50

6) Word following "belly" or "go-go"

    Turnable part of a 1950s TV set

7) Entertainer in a kimono

    Wily maneuver

8) Route for avoiding road construction

    "Yankee Rose" singer David Lee

9) Florida-based NFL team with a human mascot, for short

    Temporary mobile phone

10) Gland located below the Adam's apple

      Gibson _____ Paul (classic guitar model)

PENTOMINOES (Five letters per answer)

• HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

• THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

• _____'s Razor (principle that says the simplest solution is usually the correct one)

• Feral donkey in Mexico

• Mold and mildew remover owned by Clorox

• They write "Happy Birthday" on cakes, sometimes

• Like a dream that you can control

• Cape Fear actress Jessica

• Sits around doing nothing

• Short-tempered pigeon from Animaniacs' "Goodfeathers" segments (or a green sauce)

• To Say the _____ (short-lived word-guessing game show from the '70s)

• Last choice on a survey question, often

• Any musician's first album, say

• In a gallant manner

• Like a spring day with too much precipitation

• Protective clothing worn by Mama from the Cooking Mama video games

• The _____ & Scratchy Show (Bart Simpson's favorite cartoon)

• Vandalized a car with a tool meant to unlock it

• Needed a massage

• Color of a zebra's skin underneath its fur

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: Honeycomb 4

It's been nearly two weeks since "Honeycomb 4" was posted on this blog, and plenty of people have solved it since then (over fifteen, in fact):

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Chris Kochmanski
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield
• Sam Levitin
• Wendy Walker
• Mike Armstrong
• KeoFam
• Mom
• Michael Lebowitz
• Tyler Hinman
• Patrick Jordan
• Lynn Sweeney
• Tamara Brenner

Now head below the break for the answers!