ANSWERS: Chain Reaction: Extra Links 12

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Chain Reaction: Extra Links 12" was posted on this blog, and seventeen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Kevin Orfield
• Josie Giles
• Mike Armstrong
• Chris Kochmanski
• Stasi Gustafson
• Marie desJardins
• Derek Allen
• KeoFam
• Wendy Walker
• Tamara Brenner
• Sam Levitin
• Mom
• Steve Gunter
• Lynn Sweeney

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #517: Wordy Web 6

PUZZLE #517

WORDY WEB 6

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!

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: a common fear

CIRCLES
1) Grasping tool used to grab ice cubes

    Unearth, with "up"

    South Asian country with a white "Thunder Dragon" on its flag

    Grew older

    Paint with a nozzled can, perhaps

2) Disney _____ (touring figure skating show with Disney characters): 2 wds.

    Sudden impulse

    One half of a pair of jeans

    Liam who played Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins

3) Gaining use of copyrighted songs to use in a TV soundtrack, usually for a not-so-small fee

    Black woodwind commonly seen in crossword puzzles

    Friend, in Italy (HINT: It's the same as the Spanish version, but with a "C" instead of a "G")

4) Like a never-before-seen product that just hit store shelves: Hyph.

    Dental plan or employee discount, e.g.

    Hems and _____ (doesn't decide)

5) Actor White who played Urkel and once voiced Sonic the Hedgehog

    Breakfast chain that serves "Cinn-A-Stack" flapjacks: Abbr.

6) Cliff Clavin went on Jeopardy! (and blew it) in an episode of this sitcom set at a bar

STRANDS

A) Big _____ (California attraction with a lengthy coastline)

B) Messing who played Grace on Will & Grace

C) Scientific study of the environment

D) Golden Raspberry-"winning" film flop from 2003 starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez

    Former Nair competitor

E) Record of a 12-month period

    Inexpensive and immensely inferior, slangily

F) Creak, squeak, and shriek, to name a few

    The Greatest _____ (musical biopic of P. T. Barnum)

G) Response to a quizmaster's question

     Enlivening (up)

H) Having harmonious sounds

     Removes a video tape from a VCR

I) "_____ Somebody" (hit song by Kings of Leon)

   Chubby fourth-grader from Hey Arnold! (or a literary kid with a purple crayon)

J) Comedy club annoyance who might say "You stink! Get off the stage!"

K) Boring shade of light brown

L) Appropriate place for this puzzle's last listed entry

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: Word Squares: Projectors 7

It's been almost two weeks since "Word Squares: Projectors 7" was posted on this blog, and eighteen people (the most ever for this tough puzzle type!) have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Michael Lebowitz
• Josie Giles
• Mike Armstrong
• Derek Allen
• Sam Levitin
• Tamara Brenner
• Wendy Walker
• Patrick Jordan
• Chris Kochmanski
• Mom
• Lynn Sweeney
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #516: Chain Reaction: Extra Links 12

PUZZLE #516

CHAIN REACTION: EXTRA LINKS 12

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: Chess Words 5

It's been almost two weeks since "Chess Words 5" was posted on this blog, and eighteen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Mike Armstrong
• Sam Levitin
• Michael Lebowitz
• Stasi Gustafson
• Derek Allen
• Mom
• Chris Kochmanski
• Tamara Brenner
• KeoFam
• Josie Giles
• Lynn Sweeney
• Wendy Walker
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #515: Word Squares: Projectors 7

PUZZLE #515

WORD SQUARES: PROJECTORS 7

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 1970s horror movie.

CLUES

• Anklebones (anagram of STAIR)

• Comic book artist with black pens

• Contraction similar to "won't", as spoken by someone from the 1800s

• Department store that Chicago's Willis Tower used to be named after

• Mr. Kokoshka from Hey Arnold!, or Mr. Schindler from Schindler's List

• Songwriters' org. (answer hidden in SEASCAPE)

• "There's _____ in the Bottom of the Sea" (children's song): 2 wds.

• Tummy trouble supposedly caused by stress (it's not, for the record)

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: Sunburst 6

It's been about two weeks since "Sunburst 6" was posted on this blog, and twenty people have successfully solved it since then, as you an see in the list below:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Mike Armstrong
• Josie Giles
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Tamara Brenner
• Chris Kochmanski
• KeoFam
• Steve Gunter
• Derek Allen
• Patrick Jordan
• Wendy Walker
• Stasi Gustafson
• Lynn Sweeney
• Mom

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #514: Chess Words 5

PUZZLE #514

CHESS WORDS 5

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 full at the moment, so you might have to resort to PayPal if you still want to make a request of your own.

Eight 8-letter words are scrambled on the chessboard, all of which are the answers to the provided clues. Each chess piece starts on the first letter of one of the words, and can be moved across the board via standard chess moves to spell the rest of the word. Every square is used exactly once. The chess pieces move as follows:

King: one space in any of the eight directions
Rook: any number of spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction
Bishop: any number of spaces in a diagonal direction
Queen: any number of spaces in any of the eight directions
Knight: two spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction and then one space in a perpendicular direction

Once all the words have been found, read down the last letter of each filled-in word, in order, to get the FINAL ANSWER: an 8-letter word

  Queen's Rook: T _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                a1 
Queen's Knight: F _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                b1 
Queen's Bishop: O _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                c1 
         Queen: J _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                d1 
          King: L _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                e1 
 King's Bishop: E _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                f1 
 King's Knight: H _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                g1 
   King's Rook: C _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                h1

CLUES
• Brazilian martial art that one may grapple with?

• Commit fraud

• Element with a single-digit atomic number

• Group of three achievements

• Joey who ate 83 hot dogs in ten minutes in a 2024 Netflix special

• Like tepid tap water

• Sticky snare for some insects

• Way too lengthy, as a speech

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: Lucky Sevens 14

It's been nearly two weeks since "Lucky Sevens 14" was posted on this blog, and nineteen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Mike Armstrong
• Sam Levitin
• Stasi Gustafson
• Derek Allen
• Mom
• Tamara Brenner
• KeoFam
• Josie Giles
• Patrick Jordan
• Chris Kochmanski
• Wendy Walker
• Lynn Sweeney
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #513: Sunburst 6

PUZZLE #513

SUNBURST 6

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, solve each 4-letter word listed in the first set of clues, then rearrange them and attach an extra letter to its end (which will be up to you to determine) to form a 5-letter word that matches one of the answers listed in the second clue set. For example, if an answer is ATOP, scramble those letters, add another letter to the end, and form the 5-letter word TOPAZ. Next, place each resulting 5-letter word into the Sunburst at their corresponding numbers, starting at the outermost tile and reading inwards. Since all the 5-letter words have the exact same final letter, make sure that each 5-letter word ends in the center of the grid.

Once the grid has been filled in, the outermost ring of the Sunburst, when read clockwise from 1 to 18, will spell out the FINAL ANSWER: The name of a Minor League Baseball team

4-LETTER WORDS

1) Raising the Flag on Iwo _____ (famous photograph from World War II)

2) Flightless birds with three-toed feet

3) Clever remark from Groucho Marx

4) They brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh

5) Resident of Leicester or London

6) Either end of a horseshoe magnet

7) Square diagram that makes up a crossword, e.g.

8) State where Arches National Park is located

9) Natalie Portman's Oscar-winning role in Black Swan

10) Disinfectant target

11) Japanese wrestling practiced by Hinako from The King of Fighters 2000

12) Two, in Toulon, France

13) Taylor Swift: The Eras _____ (2023 concert film)

14) Near at hand, poetically speaking

15) Surname of Dorothy from the book Ozma of Oz

16) Hide a card in one's hand like a magician (or a hand's part)

17) Prompted an offstage actor

18) Extra-large or extra-small, say

5-LETTER WORDS

• Bill Withers hit once covered by Hootie & the Blowfish: 2 wds.

• Bus driver's path

• Clicking thing used to play point-and-click adventure games

• _____ couture

• Crow, Cree, or Cherokee

• Dating app that's "designed to be deleted" (supposedly)

• Feature of a Ruffles chip

• 40-40 tie in tennis (or a song from Kiss' debut album)

• In Living Color comedian and Beat Shazam host Foxx

• Irritated state

• Marahute from The Rescuers Down Under, for one (HINT: She's a bird of prey)

• Mirror _____ (reversed reflection)

• Musical based on a comic strip about a redheaded orphan

• Ooze, such as charm

• Take someone's property by force

• Turn two companies into one

• Wed without anyone else knowing

• With plenty to spare

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: Zigzagnut 8

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Zigzagnut 8" was posted on this blog, and twenty people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Cathy Bowen
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield
• Mike Armstrong
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Mom
• KeoFam
• Wendy Walker
• Chris Kochmanski
• Patrick Jordan
• Pavel Curtis
• Stasi Gustafson
• Steve Gunter
• Derek Allen
• Tamara Brenner
• Josie Giles
• Lynn Sweeney

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #512: Lucky Sevens 14

PUZZLE #512

LUCKY SEVENS 14

Stacked together below are seven Sevens made up of 7 squares each. The answers to each Seven start in their respectively numbered squares and continue along its path surrounded by a bold outline, going right and then down. Meanwhile, the answers to the Rows go straight across the grid, including those with only one or two letters in them.

Once you've filled in the grid, the letters in the colored squares (in the order of the Sevens that they appear in, starting with the Seven marked with a 1) will spell out this week's FINAL ANSWER: A seven-letter word associated with video games

ROWS

i) First word in Iowa's most populated city

ii) Mai _____ (alcoholic drinks)

iii) "Golden Age of Hollywood" icon Clark

iv) Someone who joined Sam's Club, say

v) Assign to a job

vi) Snow-White's sister in a fairy tale that has just one dwarf (not seven): Hyph.

vii) More massive

viii) Cereal with flavored pieces such as Raspberry Red and Orangey Orange

ix) Pimple

x) Decisive victory in the boxing video game Punch-Out!!: Abbr.

xi) Letter on the cover of Sue Grafton's final alphabet-themed mystery novel

SEVENS

1) Wayne who was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame the same year he retired

2) Actress Dawson who voiced Batgirl in The Lego Batman Movie

3) Bon _____ (French phrase meaning "Enjoy your meal")

4) Former cassette tape manufacturer that went bankrupt in 1996

5) More talkative

6) Rearmost part: 2 wds.

7) Baked Alaska or Mississippi mud pie, e.g.

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: Pathfinder 5

It's been almost two weeks since "Pathfinder 5" was published on this website, and eighteen people have successfully solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Cathy Bowen
• M. Sean Molley
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Josie Giles
• Mike Armstrong
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Chris Kochmanski
• KeoFam
• Stasi Gustafson
• Lynn Sweeney
• Steve Gunter
• Derek Allen
• Tamara Brenner
• Mom

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #511: Zigzagnut 8

PUZZLE #511

ZIGZAGNUT 8

The numbered clues are for the zigzags, which work their way down through the diagram in the outlined areas. The "Rows" clues are for the answers, two per row, to be entered straight across each row in the diagram, but to make things harder, you don't know which specific rows the answers will go into! (Though the answers in the rows themselves are in the correct order)

This week's FINAL ANSWER is the answer entered in the unclued entry in the middle of the diagram (marked with two question marks): the name of a video game made by Nintendo

ROWS (in random order; each contains two answers)

• Command from the king

  Pokémon that can evolve into Vaporeon, Flareon, and six others (answer hidden in SLEEVE ENDS)

• Bering _____ (waterway separating Russia and Alaska)

  Diet that's high in fat, but low in carbs

• Lloyd's telekinetic little sister from Lloyd in Space (anagram of FINANCER)

  Tennis racket's handle

• Fresca, Fanta, or Faygo, for one

  _____ Row (London street with many tailors)

• Wooden ducks

  Sci-fi princess with a "cinnamon bun" hairdo

• Motion picture's place

  McGregor who starred in the Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries on Disney+

• In an emotionless manner, comparable to a statue

  Got along with

• Square-shaped cereal used to make the snack Muddy Buddies

  Same old story, same old song and dance

• "_____ Like a Back Road" (country song by Sam Hunt)

  Restaurant's atmosphere

• Mighty Morphin Power Rangers villainess Repulsa (or EGOT winner Moreno)

  One of Bob Marley's backup singers

• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

  Walked onstage

ZIGZAGS
1) _____ butterfly (people person)

2) Resident of Aarhus, Aalborg, or Copenhagen

3) Siri-like A.I. who dated Joaquin Phoenix's character in the 2013 movie Her

4) What Nielsen ratings measure

5) Emulated the Tower of Pisa

6) Wrench-wielding worker such as Tails from the Sonic the Hedgehog games

7) Calm, cool, and collected

8) Killer Krueger

9) Country with the Temple of Olympian Zeus (or rather, what's left of it)

10) Like the hooved feet of giraffes and goats: Hyph.

11) "Peace of Mind" rock band, or the state capital they hail from

12) The _____ Horror (haunted house film starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder)

13) Systems of trains, train tracks, train stations, and so on

14) Take long steps

15) Peninsula containing Spain and Portugal

16) Mexican food sometimes served as a Tuesday special

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: Empty Word Ladder 4

It's been almost two weeks since "Empty Word Ladder 4" was posted on this blog, and an impressive twenty people have solved it since then:

• Cathy Bowen
• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Pavel Curtis
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield
• Josie Giles
• Mike Armstrong
• Michael Lebowitz
• Chris Kochmanski
• Wendy Walker
• Stasi Gustafson
• Sam Levitin
• KeoFam
• Tamara Brenner
• Steve Gunter
• Lynn Sweeney
• Mom
• Patrick Jordan
• Derek Allen

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

PUZZLE #510: Pathfinder 5

PUZZLE #510

PATHFINDER 5

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 full at the moment, so you might have to resort to PayPal if you still want to make a request of your own.

In this puzzle, each answer starts in the correspondingly numbered square, goes in the indicated direction, and makes at least one right-angled turn as it winds through the grid. When you're finished, every letter will be used in exactly two entries.

Once the grid is filled out, there should be another entry inside it that doesn't have a corresponding clue, nor does it start in a numbered space. This unlisted word is this week's FINAL ANSWER: the name of a nerdy cartoon character

1W) Elvis Presley's middle name [4]

2W) Bearded dwarflike creatures from Gravity Falls [6]

3E) Dots in numbers like 2.71828 and 3.14159 [7 6]

4S) Beaded calculator [6]

5N) Snake-eating relative of ferrets [8]

6N) Wrens' residences [5]

7N) Long Island _____ tea (drink that doesn't even have tea) [4]

8N) Mexican Mrs. [6]

9N) "Same here!" [1 2 3]

10N) Allen Funt-hosted prank show that debuted on TV in 1948 [6 6]

11N) Gold bar [5]

12E) White bird used in classic magic tricks [4]

13N) Harshly reprimand [7]

14N) 1996 movie musical where Madonna sings "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" [5]

15S) _____ Armstrong (elastic action figure) [7]

16E) Coughing Revenge of the Sith character who can wield four lightsabers at once [7 8]

17W) Less than zero [8]

18S) Stick that one uses to stuff a cannonball down a cannon [6]

18S again) Mischievous little imp [6]

19N) Making a face like a purple McDonaldland character? [9]

20S) The _____ Bucket (restaurant from SpongeBob SquarePants that serves ground-up bait) [4]

21S) Handyman's kit [7]

22S) Purple plants which are New Hampshire's state flowers [6]

23W) College student’s quarters [4]

24W) Joe Biden's wife [4]

24E) Oxymoronic shrimp size [5]

25E) Robbed during a riot [6]

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: Flower Power 8

It's been about two weeks since "Flower Power 8" was posted on this blog, and twenty people have successfully solved it since then, as you an see in the list below:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Cathy Bowen
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Josie Giles
• Mike Armstrong
• Michael Lebowitz
• Chris Kochmanski
• KeoFam
• Sam Levitin
• Mom
• Stasi Gustafson
• Tamara Brenner
• Steve Gunter
• Wendy Walker
• Lynn Sweeney
• Patrick Jordan
• Derek Allen

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #509: Empty Word Ladder 4

PUZZLE #509

EMPTY WORD LADDER 4

In normal word ladders, you have to turn one word into another word by changing it one letter at a time (such as CAT — COT — DOT — DOG). However, this word ladder is completely blank, meaning that the starting and ending words are completely unknown. To fill it in, we've provided clues to all of the words that link the two mystery words, though they're not listed in any particular order. Rearrange the clues' answers so that they form a proper word ladder in the white spaces, then figure out the two mystery words on the ladder's top and bottom, signified by the yellow spaces. Combine both words in either order to create the FINAL ANSWER: a two-word tennis term or a two-word surfing term.

CLUES

• WORD AT THE START OF THE LADDER

• WORD AT THE END OF THE LADDER

• Beagle, Borzoi, Briard, or some other specific dog type

• Five Guys Burgers and _____

• Growing _____ (sitcom that lasted seven seasons)

• Handlebar coverings

• Island excursions given away as prizes on Wheel of Fortune, say

• Loaf that you can bake in the computer game Ultima VII

• Makes an attempt

• Puts on a few pounds

• Radio DJ Alan who was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986

• Smiles like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland

• Unshackles

• Watching this dry is insanely boring, according to a well-known idiom

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: Drop Tower 12

It's been nearly two weeks since "Drop Tower 12" was posted on this blog, and an impressive twenty people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Cathy Bowen
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Josie Giles
• Wendy Walker
• Mike Armstrong
• KeoFam
• Dan Simonds
• Michael Lebowitz
• Chris Kochmanski
• Mom
• Stasi Gustafson
• Sam Levitin
• Tamara Brenner
• Derek Allen
• Lynn Sweeney
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #508: Flower Power 8

PUZZLE #508

FLOWER POWER 8

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!

The answers to this petaled puzzle will go in a curve from the number on the outside to the center of the flower. Each number in the flower will have two 5-letter answers, one going in a clockwise direction, and the other going in a counterclockwise direction.

Once you're done, look through the adjacent numbered petals to find two more words (going either clockwise or counterclockwise), and combine them both to get the FINAL ANSWER: The name of an optical illusion

CLOCKWISE

1) New Agey auras

2) Quickly sped-through section of "The Alphabet Song"

3) Little bits, or letters in Ancient Greece

4) "¡Hasta _____!" (Spanish for "See you later!")

5) "Get _____ of yourself, man!": 2 wds.

6) Dull metallic thump

7) Like a barely audible sound

8) Material used for Beanie Babies and other stuffed toys

9) Soup stock

10) Libel and slander, for two

11) Sam who directed both Evil Dead II and Spider-Man 2

12) Act overdramatically

13) Swizzle _____

14) Burr played by Leslie Odom Jr. in Hamilton

15) Added to the staff

16) Sam Cooke song named after a Valentine's Day icon

17) Made a mosaic

18) One creating a leaf pile

COUNTERCLOCKWISE

1) Logically sound

2) Gave a thumbs-up to a post on Facebook, perhaps,

3) Implant firmly: Var.

4) Introvert

5) Bugattis, Ferraris, and Infinitis

6) Like anything that costs less than a dollar

7) Gives a severe whupping to with a whip

8) São _____, Brazil

9) Duck hunter's hideout

10) Part of an elm or an elephant

11) Hens' house

12) The Day the _____ Stood Still ('50s sci-fi film)

13) "Will 2K" rapper Will

14) The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy creator Maxwell (or molecule parts)

15) Caribbean country east of Jamaica

16) Sorceress from Greek myths who often turns her enemies into pigs

17) Titular dinosaur hunter from a 1997 Nintendo 64 game (answer hidden in ARTURO KENNY)

18) Mature like a melon

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: Anacrossword 5

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Anacrossword 5" was posted on this blog, and nineteen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Cathy Bowen
• Pavel Curtis
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield
• Josie Giles
• Michael Lebowitz
• Chris Kochmanski
• Sam Levitin
• Tamara Brenner
• Mom
• Mike Armstrong
• Wendy Walker
• KeoFam
• Steve Gunter
• Stasi Gustafson
• Derek Allen
• Dan Simonds

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

PUZZLE #507: Drop Tower 12

PUZZLE #507

DROP TOWER 12

Starting with an 8-letter word on top of the "tower", drop one letter and rearrange the rest to form a 7-letter word. Continue this process until only a 2-letter word remains. Since the tower is completely blank, use the randomly-ordered clues to figure out the words that go in each row.

Once the grid is completely filled in, look inside it for this week's FINAL ANSWER: a six-letter word that can be read going down and in a straight diagonal line.

CLUES

• Influential animator Iwerks (answer hidden in DOUBLES)

• Like the "Eye" in the title of a Toni Morrison book

• "No ifs, ands, or _____!"

• Not nearly as blatant

• Port on a PC

• Squeezable paint containers

• Winnie the Pooh and the _____ Day (Oscar-winning short film)

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: Dial Tunes 5

It's been almost two weeks since "Dial Tunes 5" was published on this website, and a whopping twenty-one people have successfully solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Mike Armstrong
• Chris Kochmanski
• Josie Giles
• Sam Levitin
• Stasi Gustafson
• Derek Allen
• Tamara Brenner
• Wendy Walker
• Tower
• Michael Lebowitz
• KeoFam
• Mom
• Patrick Jordan
• Lynn Sweeney
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #506: Anacrossword 5

PUZZLE #506

ANACROSSWORD 5

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 full at the moment, so you might have to resort to PayPal if you still want to make a request of your own.

Solve the clues below and transfer their answers into the crossword grid. Then, transfer the letters in the filled numbered squares to each of the correspondingly numbered dashes. Work back and forth between the crossword and the numbered dashes until the crossword is filled and the dashes read out a legible sentence.

Once you're done with everything, the sentence will spell out a hint to the FINAL ANSWER: a person's name.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
​01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97

CLUES
• Ask the _____ (Lifeline on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?)

• '60s sitcom where the role of Darrin was played by two different actors named Dick

• Type of point at the end of this sentence!

• Spanish word for “party”

• Pats down like a TSA agent

• With "The", 1985 adventure film with characters named Chunk, Data, and Sloth

• The Boston Celtics' mascot, for one

• Like a loutish lummox

• Poisonous shrub with white flowers

• Futuristic firearms for Kirk and Spock

• Rehabber's reversal (or an Eminem album)

• Sports team lineups

• "Whenever, Wherever" singer who voiced Gazelle in Zootopia

• Irish clubs which are really difficult to spell

• Cylindrical crop containers

• Alternate name for the Eurasian ermine

• _____ pigeon (informant)

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: Honeycomb 6

It's been almost two weeks since "Honeycomb 6" was posted on this blog, and an astounding twenty people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Mike Armstrong
• Wendy Walker
• Michael Lebowitz
• Chris Kochmanski
• Sam Levitin
• Patrick Jordan
• Josie Giles
• Derek Allen
• Mom
• Tamara Brenner
• KeoFam
• Lynn Sweeney
• Stasi Gustafson
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #505: Dial Tunes 5

PUZZLE #505

DIAL TUNES 5

First, answer as many of the numbered clues as you can and enter them into the first grid. Each clue ends with an arrow indicating the direction its answer should be entered: from top to bottom [↓], from bottom to top [↑], or even either way [↕]. For example, if the answers were JIB [↓], IRE [↓], SAD [↑], EVE [↕], AT [↑], and O [↕], you would enter them like this:

Next, try to decode the message (in the form of song lyrics) by replacing every circled letter with another letter that shares the same number on a telephone keypad, which we've provided on top of these directions (for example, B can be replaced by A or C). The decoded message should be entered into the second grid, as shown here (note that the bold vertical lines indicate divisions between words):

(From "Row, Row, Row Your Boat")

The FINAL ANSWER is the name of the song containing the decoded lyrics.

Place the answers to the following clues here

1) Only consonant used for a blood type [↕]

2) Bass _____ Shops (sporting retailer with a pyramid-shaped location in Memphis) [↑]

3) Ascots, cravats, and clip-ons [↓]

4) Cab that you drive in the 1994 computer game Quarantine [↑]

5) Type of "pit" at a rowdy punk rock concert [↑]

6) Antacid whose advertising jingle is to the tune of the Dragnet theme [↓]

7) Canadian First Nations tribe (answer hidden in DECREES) [↓]

8) '80s Tom Hanks movie with a wish-granting Zoltar machine [↓]

9) Alphabetically-first conjunction mentioned in "Conjunction Junction" [↑]

10) "A long time _____ in a galaxy far, far away...." [↓]

11) Like a fiddle, in an alliterative saying [↑]

12) Greek letter preceding Xi [↑]

13) Machine such as the Atari ST or Acer Aspire (which runs Windows) [↓]

Place the decoded lyrics here

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: Dilly Dally 7

It's been about two weeks since "Dilly Dally 7" was posted on this blog, and nineteen people have successfully solved it since then, as you an see in the list below:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Michael Lebowitz
• Mike Armstrong
• Josie Giles
• Sam Levitin
• Stasi Gustafson
• Tamara Brenner
• Patrick Jordan
• Mom
• Steve Gunter
• KeoFam
• Lynn Sweeney
• Wendy Walker
• Derek Allen
• Chris Kochmanski

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #504: Honeycomb 6

PUZZLE #504

HONEYCOMB 6

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!

Each six-letter word is to be entered clockwise or counterclockwise around the correspondingly numbered black cell, though the direction and starting point of each answer is for you to determine.

Once the grid has been filled out, the colored hexagons, when read either clockwise or counterclockwise (but not both at once), will spell out the FINAL ANSWER: the 6-letter name of a fictional character

1) Largest Native American tribe

2) Technical language that may make no sense to a layman

3) Second-to-last rainbow color

4) Relax after a hard day at work

5) Harold and the Purple _____ (children's book)

6) Takes pleasure in

7) Luncheon of the Boating Party painter Pierre-Auguste

8) The King of Queens actress and People Puzzler host Leah

9) Country that borders Mozambique and Zambia

10) Entertainer Miranda well-known for her fruit hats

11) Luxury boats perfect for listening to Christopher Cross's "Sailing" on

12) Black _____ cake (German dessert)

13) More promising

14) Whom Simple Simon met

15) Pacific cooling phenomenon whose name is Spanish for "The Girl": 2 wds.

16) High point, or a former TV manufacturer bought out by LG in 1999

17) Halloween Is _____ Night (Emmy-winning TV special featuring Dr. Seuss' green meanie)

18) Series of stairs

19) Very many: 2 wds.

20) Colt Mustang or Desert Eagle, for one

21) Not out of bounds, as a soccer ball: 2 wds.

22) Carelessly playing (with), like someone's feelings

23) Purple-maned fashionista pony from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (or something very uncommon)

24) _____ of error

25) Alfred who played Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2 (2004)

26) "Purring" parts of cars

27) In abundance

28) Bon _____, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!) (1980 film)

29) Evening Shade star Henner

30) Season for "leaf peeping"

31) Isles from Rizzoli & Isles, and other namesakes

32) Trap also known as a "deer-leap" (HINT: Despite its name, it has nothing to do with pepper's partner)

33) Sires, Biblically speaking

34) Freddi Fish's best friend in the Freddi Fish computer games (or the middle name of MLK)

35) Indisputable facts

36) The _____ Dodger (pickpocket from Oliver Twist)

37) Grownups

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: The Block List 6

It's been nearly two weeks since "The Block List 6" was posted on this blog, and an impressively high twenty people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Michael Lebowitz
• Wendy Walker
• Mike Armstrong
• Sam Levitin
• Josie Giles
• KeoFam
• Mom
• Derek Allen
• Chris Kochmanski
• Tamara Brenner
• Lynn Sweeney
• Stasi Gustafson
• Jake Weaver
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #503: Dilly Dally 7

PUZZLE #503

DILLY DALLY 7

Each answer in the grid below consists of two words that both start with the same letter, like ASKING ABOUT. However, each clue's answer only makes up half of the phrase (either the first or second half), while the second half is in a separate list of clues, in random order. It's up to you to match up the answers from both lists to fill in each two-word phrase.

Once the grid has been filled out, hidden inside and going up, down, or diagonally will be the FINAL ANSWER: A television show from the 2000s whose name also consists of two words starting with the same letter.

NUMBERED WORDS

1) Opposite (anagram of SEVERIN)

2) Inviting greeting from a doormat

3) Surface for a game of Scrabble

4) Cloud _____ (service provided by Dropbox and Google Drive)

5) Rock trio whose "Sunshine of Your Love" was covered in Guitar Hero III

6) Red Dawn, Red Sonja, or Turning Red, for one

7) Bison that used to be on the back of a nickel

8) Anti-smoking aid which you stick onto your arm

9) Part of FDIC or FBI

10) Purple flavor of Crush soda

11) The Umbrella _____ (Netflix series starring Elliot Page)

12) It's to the left of the "Z" key on a keyboard

MISSING WORDS

• Backs a successful campaign on Kickstarter, perhaps

• "Beastly" energy drink brand

• Ducks' beaks

• Earthshaking, literally

• Gottfried who voiced Mr. Mxyzptlk in Superman: The Animated Series

• Gourd that turns into a coach for Cinderella

• _____ Invaders (classic alien-shooting arcade game)

• Radio Flyer toy

• Spitting _____ (exact likeness)

• Sticky stuff inside a Rolo

• The Tony for Best Scenic Design of a Play, say

• Tightrope walker's skill

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: Pieces of Nine 12

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Pieces of Nine 12" was posted onto this blog, and eighteen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Kevin Orfield
• Josie Giles
• Mike Armstrong
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Chris Kochmanski
• Wendy Walker
• Mom
• Patrick Jordan
• Jake Weaver
• Stasi Gustafson
• Tamara Brenner
• Lynn Sweeney
• Steve Gunter
• Derek Allen

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #502: The Block List 6

PUZZLE #502

THE BLOCK LIST 6

In each numbered row of squares, fill in the squares of each color with one of the given words below from the set of that color, keeping the letters in their original order, so that the entire row spells out a single longer word. However, you have to figure out what each smaller, color-coded word is based on the clues given.

Once you're done with the first four rows, enter the letters of the remaining words into the last row of squares similarly to spell out the FINAL ANSWER: a summertime movie whose title is more than one word.

RED WORDS

• Ending for "Velvet" or "Hallow"

• Give away a secret, verbally

• Greenish-blue hue on a Jacksonville Jaguar's jersey

• _____, Lose or Draw (game show co-created by Burt Reynolds and Bert Convy)

BLUE WORDS

• Double-decker disc in a game of checkers

• Get _____ of (throw away)

• "Golden" body of water in the name of a Henry Fonda film

• Moonves who's been married to Julie Chen since 2004

GREEN WORDS

• Feathery tool used to write the Declaration of Independence

• It's initially $35 for Park Place in Monopoly

• Japanese lunch box (Anagram of "T-BONE")

• _____ the Hedge (DreamWorks film where Bruce Willis voices a raccoon)

ORANGE WORDS

• Hurt in the head

• "It's fun to _____ at the Y.M.C.A." (lyrics to a disco hit)

• Native American corn

• Parts of Apple computers, or central parts of apples

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: Pent Words 20

It's been almost two weeks since my 500th puzzle on this website was published, and nineteen people have successfully solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield
• Wendy Walker
• Josie Giles
• Mike Armstrong
• Chris Kochmanski
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Pavel Curtis
• Tamara Brenner
• KeoFam
• Derek Allen
• Mom
• Patrick Jordan
• Lynn Sweeney
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #501: Pieces of Nine 12

PUZZLE #501

PIECES OF NINE 12

Arrange the trigrams (blocks with three squares/letters in them) to make nine 9-letter words. After that, sort the new words so that the first one alphabetically is in row 1, the second one alphabetically is in row 2, and so on.

Once you're done, read down two of the columns for the FINAL ANSWER: the two-word name of a company

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: Touchword 2

It's been almost two weeks since "Touchword 2" was posted on this blog, and just like last week, an astounding twenty people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Cathy Bowen
• M. Sean Molley
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield
• Mike Armstrong
• Michael Lebowitz
• Wendy Walker
• Sam Levitin
• Tamara Brenner
• Josie Giles
• Derek Allen
• KeoFam
• Darth
• Mom
• Lynn Sweeney
• Steve Gunter
• Chris Kochmanski
• Pavel Curtis

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #500: Pent Words 20

PUZZLE #500

PENT WORDS 20

It's been almost 10 years since I've started this blog, and today, I reach an important milestone of 500 puzzles! I sincerely thank you and everyone else who has supported me up to this point, and I'm truly grateful for all of you helping me keep this little blog going for so long. Now, for my 500th puzzle, I've decided to go back to basics, all the way to my very first puzzle on this site: Pent Words! The directions are the same as usual (save for a very minor twist regarding the Final Answer), but if you want a refresher on what those instructions entail, then read on!

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 three unclued pentominoes to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a three-word phrase

ACROSS (Two answers per row)

1) Guilty party

    The _____ & Stimpy Show

2) Moved on one's stomach, like a baby

    Midriff muscles, for short

3) Video game walkthrough, e.g.

    It's provided by a mythical fountain sought after by Ponce de León

4) The Jetsons dog with the same original voice actor (and speech impediment) as Scooby-Doo

    One of 12 grinders in a human mouth

5) Bring under control

    "You _____ Love a Bad Name" (Bon Jovi song)

6) Architectural blueprint

    Soaks in the tub

7) Defunct company that published NBA Jam for Super Nintendo (EASIER CLUE: Enthusiastic praise)

    Post-op stop in a hosp.

8) Word preceding "year" or "frog"

    Dinner table linen that can be folded like origami

9) Any possible reward for correctly matching panels in Classic Concentration

    Cliff's projection

10) Sand trap or thin ice, say

      _____-N-Pepa (female rap duo)

PENTOMINOES (Five letters per answer)

• FIRST PART OF THE FINAL ANSWER

• SECOND PART OF THE FINAL ANSWER

• THIRD PART OF THE FINAL ANSWER

• First Greek letter

• Last Greek letter

• _____ and Present Danger (Harrison Ford film)

• Handed out hands of cards

• Don't be a greedy hog

• Mel who was the original voice for both Bugs and Daffy

• I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense character named after Canada's national tree

• Mea _____ (Latin for "my fault")

• Geeky-sounding hard candy

• Most populated city in the United Arab Emirates

• Tween girl whose inner emotions are the main characters of Pixar's Inside Out

• Fill a Toyota's tank: 2 wds.

• Popeye's girlfriend

• Not as narrow

• Mad _____ You ('90s sitcom)

• Taking to court

• Stock market movement

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!