PUZZLE #550: Squeezed in the Middle 22

PUZZLE #550

SQUEEZED IN THE MIDDLE 22

It's my 550th puzzle! My last milestone puzzle involved a return to my very first puzzle type on this site, and this time, it'll be a return to my signature creation, "Squeezed in the Middle". What makes this particular one so special is that it'll be my largest one of this type that I've crafted so far, with ten rows and twenty clues in all! If you need a refresher on how to solve this particular puzzle type, then keep on reading!

For this puzzle, you're going to sandwich together words (entered in the white rectangles) by surrounding it with a letter on each side, one at the beginning and one at the end, making a new word in the process. Once you're done, the extra letters you've added in the "crust" (the brown squares) will spell out a two-word phrase. In the example above, the words URN, RAT, and OVER become BURNT, IRATE, and GOVERN, and the letters in the brown squares, reading down, spell out BIG TEN. However, to make things trickier, the "Wholes" will be in no particular order, so it's up to you to figure out which one of the "Centers" it matches up with!

Once you've filled out everything, the letters in the brown squares, reading down, will spell out this week's FINAL ANSWER: something useful for crafting word puzzles

CENTERS

1) Weird, like the case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

2) Strategic board game based on Portuguese tiles that has a "Crystal Mosaic" expansion

3) Actress Long, Peeples, or Vardalos

4) Misplaces one's car keys, say

5) "We want _____!" (chant from baseball fans sick of batters whiffing pitched balls): 2 wds.

6) Letters before the Enterprise's name in Star Trek

7) 4:3 or 16:9, for one

8) Water pitcher seen in many still life paintings

9) Stand-up comedienne Margaret who competed on Celebrity Jeopardy in 2025

10) Frau's husband

WHOLES

• Avengers: Endgame co-director Anthony or Joe (or Rene who acts in said film)

• Blood of the Greek gods

• Flavor of the bright red LifeSavers candy

• Highest (and largest) island in French Polynesia

• Huge computer built in the 1940s

• Lapis _____ (deep blue metamorphic rock, or a Steven Universe character)

• Least distant

• Not on speaking terms, like some exes

• Public speech

• The MLB's exclusive baseball cap manufacturer (or a time period to "usher in"): 2 wds.

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 Spiral Squared 8

It's been about two weeks since "The Spiral Squared 8" was posted on this blog, and nineteen people have solved it since then:

• Marie desJardins
• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield
• Okieboy2008
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Chris Kochmanski
• Derek Allen
• Wendy Walker
• Tamara Brenner
• Craig Leach
• Patrick Jordan
• Mom
• Steve Gunter
• Lynn Sweeney
• Pavel Curtis

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #549: Deck It Out 10

PUZZLE #549

DECK IT OUT 10

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 noun

A) Spelunking site mentioned in the lyrics to "Clementine"

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♥       ♣   ♦   ♠

2) Sealing ring that’s metaphorically blown when one gets really angry

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♦   ♥       ♠   ♣

3) Pro baseball team humorously nicknamed the "Motor City Kitties"

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

        ♠   ♣   ♦       ♥

4) Resident of Mumbai

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

        ♦       ♥   ♣   ♠

5) A bit burned

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♣       ♥   ♠       ♦

6) Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (anagram of OAK ASH)

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♦   ♣       ♥       ♠      

7) Little Jack Horner sat in one

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

        ♣   ♠   ♥       ♦

8) Manufacturer of the Tacoma and Tundra trucks

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♠       ♦       ♣   ♥

9) "Weird", "beard", and "cleared", for three

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

        ♠       ♥   ♣   ♦

10) Top 5 Matchbox Twenty hit that’s also a synonym for "ill"

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♠       ♦   ♥       ♣

J) Pixar movie featuring two blue-skinned elf brothers

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♦           ♣   ♠   ♥

Q) Fern leaves

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♥   ♦       ♣       ♠

K) Scribble aimlessly

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♣   ♥       ♦   ♠

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: Section Six 11

Two weeks have passed by since "Section Six 11" was posted on this blog, and nineteen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Marie desJardins
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield
• Okieboy2008
• Sam Levitin
• Michael Lebowitz
• KeoFam
• Wendy Walker
• Steve Gunter
• Mom
• Tamara Brenner
• Derek Allen
• Lynn Sweeney
• Stasi Gustafson
• Pavel Curtis
• Craig Leach

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #548: The Spiral Squared 8

PUZZLE #548

THE SPIRAL SQUARED 8

This puzzle turns in two directions. The Spiral's "Inward" clues yield a sequence of words to be entered clockwise in the spaces from 1 to 100. The "Outward" clues yield a different set of words to be entered counterclockwise from 100 to 1. Fill in the answers, one letter per space, according to the numbers beside each clue. Make sure to keep track of which way you're going!

Once you've filled out the grid, read out the highlighted squares diagonally to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a ten-letter word.

INWARD

1-5: Large tobacco item in Groucho Marx's mouth

6-9: Star _____: Deep Space Nine (1993-99 TV series)

10-14: Weeping statue of Greek myth

15-20: Croatia's capital

21-25: Winnie-the-Pooh author whose first two initials stand for "Alan Alexander"

26-33: He made Icarus' wings and warned him not to fly too close to the sun

34-41: Leave: 2 wds.

42-46: Frasier Crane's brother on Frasier

47-51: Man-goat hybrid seen in the "Fracture Hills" level of Spyro 2

52-58: Diamond style named after a thorny flower: 2 wds.

59-66: Go from Point A to B instantaneously (but only if you're a sci-fi character)

67-70: Bulky boats like the one used by Noah

71-76: The dots over the "O" in Blue Öyster Cult's name

77-81: Walking sticks used by Cranky Kong and Scrooge McDuck

82-90: Naruto's catchphrase (or part of the title of Ripley's "strange but true" series): 2 wds.

91-96: "Holy" city in Ohio?

97-100: Japanese spider _____ (world's largest crustacean)

OUTWARD

100-94: Supermarket scanner's target

93-88: Nickname of Tiana's best friend in The Princess and the Frog (anagram of ELIOTT)

87-84: Face covering for a belly dancer, sometimes

83-79: Buddy who played the title role in Barnaby Jones

78-73: Based on fact

72-66: Semiaquatic rodent in love in a Captain & Tennille song

65-62: Soap on a _____

61-55: One of the ingredients in a BLT

54-50: "Apologetic" board game similar to Parcheesi

49-41: Adorning with those swingy things on top of graduation caps

40-36: Tenet director Christopher

35-30: Tentacled Disney villainess who sings "Poor Unfortunate Souls"

29-24: Make soundproof

23-18: Flexible and lithe

17-12: Octagonal park pavilion

11-7: Comic book's line artist

6-1: _____ Kingdom (multi-platinum album by No Doubt)

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: Pieces of Nine 13

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Pieces of Nine 13" was posted on this blog, and twenty-one people have solved it since then:

• Marie desJardins
• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Okieboy2008
• Derek Allen
• Mom
• Steve Gunter
• Michael Lebowitz
• Tamara Brenner
• KeoFam
• Patrick Jordan
• Lynn Sweeney
• Wendy Walker
• Chris Kochmanski
• Craig Leach
• Sam Levitin
• Stasi Gustafson

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #547: Section Six 11

PUZZLE #547

SECTION SIX 11

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!

This puzzle's grid has six rings and six sections. Each ring contains a series of words placed end to end, reading either clockwise OR counterclockwise; all the words in a given ring will read in the same direction. Ring 1 (the outermost ring) contains six answers that read clockwise; the starting spaces are numbered in the grid. Clues for the answers in the remaining rings are given in order, and each answer’s starting points are marked with a dot [•]. However, which direction they proceed in is for you to figure out. The sections (separated by the heavy lines radiating from the center) will help you figure out the letters in the inner rings: in a given section, each ring segment contains all but one of the letters in the next segment outward. In other words, a section's outermost segment contains six letters; the next segment inward contains five of those six letters in some order; and so on, until only one of the original six letters remains.

Once you're done, unscramble the six spaces with stars in them to get the FINAL ANSWER: a six-letter word.

RING 1

1) Covering for a classic Kit Kat bar

2) Her #1 song "Raise Your Glass" went five times platinum

3) Sun blocker on a baseball cap

4) Poison used in old Agatha Christie mysteries

5) Like a bug in a rug

6) _____-Webster (dictionary company)

RING 2

• Blondie's pet dog in Blondie (or an oxeye flower, e.g.)

• The "C" in the mathematical memory aid "SOH-CAH-TOA"

• Crucially important, like a literal turning point?

• _____ of the board (male committee leaders)

• Strongly advise

RING 3

• Status of a volcano currently erupting lava

• Too loud

• Calvin Klein, or the type of clothes his company makes

• Video game plumber who appears as a baby in Yoshi's Island

RING 4

• Supercuts' parent company (or former Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host Philbin)

• Manufacturer of the Airblade hand dryer

• British Queen with an African lake and an African waterfall named after her

RING 5

• Letter between Romeo and Tango

• Novelty song by C. W. McCall based on the CB radio fad of the 1970s

RING 6

• Johnny who hosted over 6,700 episodes of The Tonight Show

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 8

It's been almost two weeks since "Dilly Dally 8" was posted on this blog, so now it's time to take a look at all twenty people who have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #546: Pieces of Nine 13

PUZZLE #546

PIECES OF NINE 13

Arrange the trigrams (blocks with three squares/letters in them) to make eight 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: a two-word phrase used in video gaming

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 21

It's been almost two weeks since "Pent Words 21" got posted on this blog, and twenty people have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!