PUZZLE #424: Sudokurostic 3

PUZZLE #424

SUDOKUROSTIC 3

Below is supposed to be a sudoku/wordoku puzzle, but unfortunately, the whole grid is completely blank. To fill it in, solve the clues so that the answers fill out the dashes (one letter per dash), then transfer each letter to the grid according to the coordinates below each dash, like an anacrostic puzzle. For example, if the coordinates were "d5", then its corresponding letter should go in the square in row "d" and column "5". Not all of the grid's squares will ultimately be filled in, so it's up to you to complete the rest of the wordoku puzzle, making sure that each row, column, and 3x3 box contains the same nine unique letters without any repeats.

Once the grid has been completely filled, look through it like a word search to find the FINAL ANSWER: a common noun that's at least six letters long

• "Break My Soul" singer

   __ __ __ __ __ __ __

   g2 d4 g8 f1 a1 f6 e2

• Crime such as offering a politician money under the table

   __ __ __ __ __ __ __

   i6 g4 e8 b3 c6 a8 f7

• Kermit the Frog's nephew (or a red-breasted songbird)

   __ __ __ __ __

   i9 h7 a4 c2 e9

• Scottish actor Sean who voiced Draco in Dragonheart

   __ __ __ __ __ __ __

   i5 d9 c4 d3 b1 h1 e5

• The smallest 10-digit number

   __ __ __ __ __ __ __

   e1 h9 b9 g6 a5 c8 i2

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: Masquerade Party 2

It's been about two weeks since "Masquerade Party 2" was posted on this blog. Quite a few people have successfully solved it since then, and they're all listed below:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #423: Word Squares: Projectors 6

PUZZLE #423

WORD SQUARES: PROJECTORS 6

One of the clues in this puzzle contains a 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!

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 location from an animated Disney movie.

CLUES

• Dead Space protagonist Clarke (or "Living Space" author Asimov)

• Eldest daughter of The Goldbergs' titular family

• "Hi!", in a state abbreviated HI

• Latin word for "nothing" which lends its name to a pointless philosophy?

• Pertaining to bees

• Scoville _____ (measurement of chili peppers' heat)

• Shakespearean verb hidden in the phrase "PELICAN STATE"

• To the left, on an ocean liner

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: Fronts Off 6

It's been nearly two weeks since "Fronts Off 6" was posted on this blog, so now's the time for me to reveal the list of everyone who has solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #422: Masquerade Party 2

PUZZLE #422

MASQUERADE PARTY 2

Below are rows of blanks that each need to be filled in with a 6- or 7-letter word; these words are clued in no particular order. However, one letter in each word is "in disguise" as another word. The locations of the disguised letters are indicated by symbols and the disguises themselves are clued next to those symbols below. Replace each symbol/disguised letter with its corresponding word to form a longer word.

Once everything has been correctly filled out, the letters that have been replaced by symbols will spell out the FINAL ANSWER: a literary character who has worn many disguises

WORDS

• Credit card carrier

• Forging or feigning (HINT: It also starts with "F")

• Given, like a genie's wish

• Inmate's supervised release

• Like mummies and zombies

• Skin swelling

• Throw _____ to the wind (act recklessly)

• Troop members selling Samoas and Thin Mints

• Weavers who (pretend to) make an outfit in The Emperor's New Clothes

DISGUISES

∮) Great horned owl's sound

␥) Involuntary twitch

☊) Astrological sign between Virgo and Scorpio

✾) PlayStation's second (and last) handheld console

⧯) Prog rock band whose album Fragile contains the hit song "Roundabout"

⇶) Pair of poles passed through while slalom skiing

♜) Former Dateline NBC anchor Curry

℺) Soft _____ ice cream

⧩) Proofreading symbol that's an upside-down "V"

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: Brick By Brick 10

Roughly two weeks have gone by since my first puzzle of the year, "Brick By Brick 10", was posted on this blog. Quite a few people have solved it since then, and they're all listed below:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #421: Fronts Off 6

PUZZLE #421

FRONTS OFF 6

First, find the answers to each clue so that there are two words in each rectangular box. Then change the first letter of each word to the new same letter for both words of a pair to form two new words, and write the new letter in the square box to the left of the rectangle.

Once you're done, read down the boxes to get the FINAL ANSWER: a seven-letter word

1) Surname of the oldest American President

    Small balls that fall in a game of KerPlunk

2) Disney sci-fi film with a famous "Light Cycle" sequence

    Nutrition shake brand introduced in the '70s

3) TV censor's sound

    The Cricket on the Hearth author Charles

4) Elfman who played Dharma in Dharma & Greg

    Tailed after someone

5) Spinning purple Tiny Toon Adventures character (or what you'll feel like after too much spinning)

    _____ George (book series about a monkey constantly getting into trouble)

6) Mend like broken bones

    Autocracy ruled by Palpatine in the Star Wars universe

7) Flat photographic finish

    Not as advanced, age-wise

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: Anagram Magic Square 7: Still More Subtracting & Scrambling

It's been close to two weeks since my seventh "Anagram Magic Square" puzzle was posted on this blog, and fifteen people (plus a team working as a family) have solved since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #420: Brick By Brick 10

PUZZLE #420

BRICK BY BRICK 10

 

Place the 2x3 bricks into the grid below so that a crossword puzzle with rotational symmetry is formed. Each of the Across and Down clues hint at answers that appear in that row or column, all of which are in order. Be careful with the rows marked with a 7, 8, and 9, as the bricks that are placed in those rows will be split in half by a blue line, which you can see in the diagram above. Also, the letters that go in the blue line's squares will complete one answer in every Down column, though you'll have to figure out what those letters are.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is the name of a a television show that will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2023

ACROSS

1) Comedian Philips born in Chicago

    The one worn by V from V for Vendetta resembles Guy Fawkes' face

    Confuse and confound

2) Villain from Sackboy: A Big Adventure whose name means "annoy"

    Shepard who was the oldest person to walk on the Moon

    2009 biopic about a famous female aviator

3) Suffix for "elephant" or "serpent"

    Stage _____ (leap onto a crowd during a rock concert)

    Inability to distinguish musical notes

4) Meal carrier for an elementary schooler

    Tree's protruding knot

5) "Good Morning Starshine" musical

    Christian Louboutin product

6) 7–10, in bowling

    It links up the answer to 3-Down's first clue

    Trim a photo in Photoshop

7) Pulsing organs that octopi have three of

    Baby Alive, for one

    First number in Italian (be sure to use the feminine version)

8) THE FINAL ANSWER

9) _____ Geo Wild (cable channel)

    Sound effect heard in the MGM logo

    Jackal-headed Egyptian god whose wife is named Anput

10) Frozen character born on the Winter Solstice

      Small strand of smoke

      In a deadpan manner

11) Unable to eat another bite

      Gal from Glasgow

12) Dutch birthplace of painter Jan Vermeer

      Location for a Schoolhouse Rock song about words like "and", "but", and "or"

13) Nitwits

      Operatic solo

      Number of people in the new wave group Erasure

14) Noisy napper

      Repeated riff in jazz music

      Poetic nightfall

15) "Look at Me, I'm _____ Dee" (Grease song)

      Sheltered, at sea

      Letters next to "6" on a phone keypad

DOWN

1) What three monkeys can't see, hear, or speak

    "Rise and _____!"

    Bad-mouth like a rapper

2) Restaurant's reading material

    Of prisons

    Pulitzer-winning novelist Ferber

3) Plow-pulling bovines

    Perseveres

    1995 life-sim computer game where you play as a maned big cat

4) Sound of a cricket

    Manage to pay for

5) Mind-controlling foe of Batman who's heavily inspired by Alice in Wonderland

    Out-and-out

6) Cover story for a defendant

    Grouch's glare

    Spanish translation of "Mrs."

7) Having lots of umami taste

    An American _____: Fievel Goes West

8) Construction toy with rods and connectors that debuted in the '90s

    Awful aromas

    The world's most populated island

9) Heath bar's competitor

    Not singular, in grammar

10) Mammal that might be leaf-nosed

      Bully from Hey Arnold! with a big pink bow

      Genre for shows such as Made in Abyss and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha

11) Pal in Puerto Rico

      Smartphone orientation that's the opposite of "portrait"

12) Smallest fox breed

      Limp Bizkit frontman Fred

13) Insect name that can precede "market"

      British sport similar to American football (but with much less protective gear)

      Line-_____ veto

14) Witness that committed perjury, say

      Buck who was the first African-American MLB coach

      Marley & Me star Wilson

15) Jimmy Carter's middle name

      Victim of a scam

      Double negative?

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 7

Happy New Year! Since it's midnight in my time zone when this post gets published, I should stay up a little bit longer in order to list everyone who solved "Helter Skelter 7" from almost two weeks ago:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• M. Sean Molley
• Chris Kochmanski
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield
• Mike Armstrong
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Mom
• Tamara Brenner
• Steve Gunter
• Tyler Hinman
• Patrick Jordan
• KeoFam

Now head below the break for the answers!