PUZZLE #604: Pieces of Nine 14

PUZZLE #604

PIECES OF NINE 14

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: a two-word phrase

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: Drop Tower 14

Two weeks have passed by since "Drop Tower 14" was posted on this blog, and sixteen people have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #603: Quadruple Cross 7

PUZZLE #603

QUADRUPLE CROSS 7

To begin solving this puzzle, view each numbered square in the grid as being in the center of a plus-shaped cross where two five-letter clue answers intersect. There are two clues corresponding to each number, and each numbered pair of crossing answers has the same middle letter. Here's the tricky part: which one of each pair's two answers goes across and which one goes down is for you to figure out, so make sure all of the answers overlap each other properly!

Once the grid has been filled in, read the sixteen outermost letters in a clockwise fashion to get the FINAL ANSWER: the name of a video game for the original PlayStation

CLUES

1) Charlie Chaplin losing a Charlie Chaplin-lookalike contest, for example

    Magnifier attached to a sniper rifle

2) "Kick it up a _____" (catchphrase of Emeril Lagasse)

    Plucked piece of a peony

3) Car rental company surprisingly not based in Texas, despite its name

    Irritate, like a too-tight spandex suit

4) Big, Big Hero 6, or Big Trouble in Little China, e.g.

    Crow cousin

5) Bespectacled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character and others with the same name (anagram of RAMIS)

    Naiad or dryad, for one

6) _____ con carne

    Stage actor's line spoken directly to the audience

7) Barrier that may be topped with barbed wire

    Dame Judy who played M in eight James Bond films

8) Group of at least three musical notes

    Really tall mushroom with a really tiny cap

9) _____ Food (Ben & Jerry's flavor named after a jam band)

    Gooey gunk that the panelists on Nickelodeon's Figure It Out often get covered with

10) Genius group whose name comes from the Latin word for "table"

      Tablecloth material

11) Westernmost capital city in America's 48 contiguous states (HINT: It's in Oregon)

      Yo-Yo Ma's stringed instrument

12) Small stall in a mall

      ✅, 🚫, or 🤷

13) Act as a sheep's barber, so to speak

      Like the best possible possibility

14) Excuse such as "I was at the arcade at the time"

      Huge computer built in the mid-1940s

15) _____ certificate (paper for a new baby)

      Singer of "Yellow Flicker Beat", "Green Light", and "Royals"

16) Head held by Hamlet (or what's left of that head, at least)

      Hitchhiker's digit

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: All Four One 2

Whoops! I forgot to schedule this one 'til now! Sorry for the extra wait! Anyhoo, here's the list of all sixteen people who have solved "All Four One 2" from two weeks ago:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #602: Drop Tower 14

PUZZLE #602

DROP TOWER 14

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

• Deiced one's windshield, in a way

• Hang down loosely

• One jumping jack, e.g.

• Prickly _____ cactus (state plant of Texas)

• San Diego MLB team whose mascot is the "Swinging Friar"

• Spin doctor's specialty: Abbr.

• Where to write down who's currently winning at minigolf, say

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 Fill-In

About two weeks have gone by since my first "Diagramless Fill-In" puzzle was posted on this blog, which means that it's time for me to reveal the list of everyone who has solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Marie desJardins
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Okieboy2008
• Chris Kochmanski
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Mom
• Derek Allen

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #601: All Four One 2

PUZZLE #601

ALL FOUR ONE 2

There are four mostly-empty 4x4 crossword grids, as well as four sets of eight clues. Arrange the answers from each set of clues into a grid where they can all properly fit, so that every grid has four words reading down and four words reading across. After that, transfer the completed grids into the four sections of the larger diagram beneath them so that four 8-letter words are formed reading across the top and bottom, and down the left and right sides.

Once everything is correctly filled in, take one of the newly-formed 8-letter words and combine it with one of the 4-letter entries (not necessarily in that order) to get the FINAL ANSWER: the name of a hit song from the 1980s

SET #1

• Away from the wind, to a ship's captain

• Egyptian Monster High character named after her country's last queen

• Iranian currency that becomes an animal den when spelled backwards

• Norwegian capital with a viking ship museum

• Pumice or Petoskey stone, for example

• Roundish roller coaster segment

• Speck of land on an ocean map

• "You _____ Me Hangin' On" (#1 hit by the Supremes or Kim Wilde)

SET #2

• Birthstone for October

• Dog food brand that anagrams to the previous clue's answer

• Finish Press Your Luck with four Whammies and no dollars, say

• Grunge band fronted by Courtney Love

• Power_____ Simulator (pressurized water cleaning-based video game)

• "Red" and "Yellow" bodies of water (but not "Blue", weirdly enough)

• Sweater fabric that a ewe grew

• Vowel-heavy form of margarine

SET #3

• Brickell who sang "What I Am" with the New Bohemians

• Colored part of a human eyeball

• Grew older, but not necessarily wiser

• Malice (1993) actor and one-time Match Game host Baldwin

• Person wearing a pearl earring in a famous Vermeer painting

• Sneaker brand hiding in the name "OCTAVIAN"

• The "D" in CD-ROM

• Veni, _____, vici

SET #4

• Chess position where a checked king has nowhere to go, for short

• "Coming _____ to a theater near you!"

• Make a buck or two

• Princess from Flash Gordon (or a New Age-y glow)

• Swirl around a swizzle stick, perhaps

• Vehicle from Volvo or Volkswagen

• What kilograms measure (HINT: it's not "weight"; that'd be too long)

• Yakko, Wakko, and Dot from Animaniacs, for one

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: Gryptics 10

It's been almost two weeks since "Gryptics 10" was posted on this blog, so now's the time to look at everyone who has solved it since then:

• Marie desJardins
• Cathy Bowen
• Grant Fikes
• Kevin Orfield
• Okieboy2008
• Derek Allen
• Chris Kochmanski
• Patrick Jordan
• Wendy Walker
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Mom
• Bart Gold
• Lynn Sweeney

Now head below the break for the answers as well as a couple solvers' comments!

PUZZLE #600: Diagramless Fill-In

PUZZLE #600

DIAGRAMLESS FILL-IN

This puzzle type was (partially) 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.

It's my 600th puzzle! And whenever I reach a big milestone like that, I tend do do something special for the occasion, and this time, it's an all-new-to-this-blog format! This one will be a toughie, however, so I'd suggest reading the directions carefully before jumping straight in.

Below is a fill-in crossword, where all of the answers have been given and all you need to do is to put them into the grid so that they'll all mesh together correctly. However, almost all of the black squares have disappeared, and the only thing left are all of the places where the letter "E" appears. To get started, look for patterns in the provided "E"s that will match the words in the answer list; words with double "E"s and/or multiple "E"s will help out the most. Then, continue fitting the remaining words into the grid. Don't forget to add black squares before and/or after each word (where applicable), and then add their counterparts on the opposite side of the grid so that all of the black squares will have rotational symmetry (two black squares have already been filled in to provide a visual example).

There are two words in the list that have not been revealed, neither of which contains an "E". Figure them out, then combine them to get the FINAL ANSWER: a two-word phrase

3 Letters

ADS

COY

END

FIX

LAW

LOX

OFF

RUG

RUN

TOM

VEG

ZEO

4 Letters

ATOP

BLUE

DEFT

DENS

FLAG

FREE

HIYA

MOCK

OMEN

OPEN

PAPA

REIN

SNOT

TAXI

TEED

YALE

5 Letters

ASIAN

CYCLE

ELITE

FLEES

FORTY

GETUP

GIFTS

GRIEF

LEERS

PESOS

PETER

PSHAW

ROPED

VAPOR

6 Letters

APOGEE

ARTIER

EXOTIC

GINKGO

GUSHED

GYRATE

HEREIN

SNEEZE

TOBIAS

TOYOTA

7 Letters

ASSORTS

CHIEFLY

DEFAMED

EXECUTE

PERPLEX

REPTILE

8 Letters

HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

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: Mini-Marching Bands 9

It's been close to two weeks since "Mini-Marching Bands 9" was posted on this blog, and sixteen people have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #599: Gryptics 10

PUZZLE #599

GRYPTICS 10

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!

Insert a single letter in each space of each grid so that each grid's five rows and five columns spells a word from left to right or top to bottom (including the letters outside the grid).

Once you're done, take a word from the first grid and a word from the second grid and pair them up to get the FINAL ANSWER: a piece of construction equipment

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: Edges of Glory 5

Two weeks have passed by since "Edges of Glory 5" was posted on this blog, and it must've been on the tougher side, since the number of solvers has decreased from the weekly average:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Kevin Orfield
• Okieboy2008
• Sam Levitin
• Michael Lebowitz
• Bart Gold
• Mom
• Chris Kochmanski
• Derek Allen
• Wendy Walker

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

PUZZLE #598: Mini-Marching Bands 9

PUZZLE #598

MINI-MARCHING BANDS 9

The answers in this grid march both across the Rows and around the Bands. Each row contains two answers, clued in order. Their dividing point is for you to determine, except in Row 5, where the two answers are separated by a black square. The answers in each Band will be entered clockwise, starting at a lettered square (A-D) and ending in the space below that square. The dividing points in each band's string of words are also for you to determine. Each square will be used twice; once in a Row's word, and once in a Band's word.

Once you've filled everything in, read the letters on the diagonal dashed line for the FINAL ANSWER: The name of a fictional villain

ROWS
1) Molds and mushrooms, e.g.

    Ran in the wash

2) Email pretending to be from Amazon asking for your password, most likely

    Chinese bear such as Ling Xiaoyu's pet in Tekken 8

3) Protects with metal suits, maybe

    "To _____ is human, to forgive divine"

4) Action word

    Nationality that lends its name to the alphabetically last of the seven "-stan" countries

5) Smallest dollar amounts in Monopoly

    Evil plumber from the "Ghost Story" episode of Salute Your Shorts (answer hidden in MAZE KEEPER)

6) Sister with a habit

    Pete's _____ (1977 live-action/animated Disney flick)

7) Scattered all over

    Prefix for "corn" and "cycle"

8) Redheaded WarioWare character who shares her name with a da Vinci painting

    Apple music players discontinued in 2022

9) Literal pick-me-up?

    Another name for the crazy, nasty honey badger

BANDS

A) The "F" in "NFTs"

     Turn down the brightness

     Puny part of an archipelago

     Movies that are stereotypically incomprehensible to everyone except their directors: 2 wds.

     Stars that suddenly become a lot brighter

B) Go roughing it

     "The Giant" of 1980s pro wrestling

     Organizing consultant Marie who asks "Does it spark joy?"

     Someone who makes baby grands pitch perfect: 2 wds.

C) Samuel with an eponymous telegraph code

     "We've Only Just _____" (hit song by the Carpenters)

     Jewish actor Klemperer who played Colonel Klink in Hogan's Heroes

D) Vulture relatives such as Beaky from Looney Toons

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: Vanishing Act 6

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Vanishing Act 6" was posted on this blog, and quite a few people have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #597: Edges of Glory 5

PUZZLE #597

EDGES OF GLORY 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.

There are several squares divided into four triangles each, plus a grid to fit them all into. First, fill in the squares with the 4-letter answers to each corresponding clue, starting with the numbered triangle, and going clockwise. Then, fit all of the filled-out squares into the grid below (without rotating them) so that wherever two squares touch along one of the heavy lines, the letters on both sides of the line are the same.

Once everything's in its proper place, the outer edges of the grid, when read clockwise, will spell out the FINAL ANSWER: The name of a platformer video game

1) Titular "Alligator Boy" from an animated Netflix film (anagram of ORAL)

2) Oozing red monster from a 1958 sci-fi movie

3) Abel's brother in DC Comics' House of Mystery (and the Bible)

4) _____ Factor (stunt-based reality/game show once hosted by Ludacris)

5) It's a lot like a lyre, and that's no lie

6) Nasty-sounding partner of median and mode

7) Command to sled dogs

8) Lobster traps

9) Feng _____ (art of rearranging furniture)

10) Tart-tasting

11) The most recent U.S. President to have a moustache

12) Bulky brass instrument that Larry the Cucumber plays in VeggieTales' theme song

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: Question Quest 3

About two weeks have gone by since "Question Quest 3" was posted on this blog, which means that it's time for me to post the list of everyone who has solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Marie desJardins
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Wendy Walker
• Sam Levitin
• Michael Lebowitz
• Chris Kochmanski
• Okieboy2008
• KeoFam
• Mom

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #596: Vanishing Act 6

PUZZLE #596

VANISHING ACT 6

Below are a set of what are supposed to be valid words, but instances of one duplicated letter in each word have all disappeared! Your job is to reinsert the missing duplicate letters into each numbered string of letters so that the resulting words all match up to the provided clues (listed in no particular order). The number in square brackets next to each group shows how many of the same letter need to be inserted into it. For instance, if one of the groups is "XAMPL [2]", then you'll need to insert a letter two times ("E" in this case) to get "EXAMPLE".

Once you've completed everything, the letters that have been added back in, in order, will form another incomplete string of letters. Insert three more of the same letter to get the FINAL ANSWER: an 11-letter noun

CLUES

• 1996 tornado movie that got a sequel 28 years later

• Broadway play that was brought back, say

• Chocolate candies from Hershey's with paper strips sticking out of them

• Hit song by one-hit wonder Shawn Mullins whose chorus contains the word "rockabye"

• Mass multiplied by velocity

• Silencing someone with a tied-up handkerchief, perhaps

• Small booklet with instructions on how to play an Atari 2600 game

• Triangular flag waved by a baseball fanatic

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 10

It's been almost two weeks since "Helter Skelter 10" was posted on this blog, so now's the time to look at the seventeen people who have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #595: Question Quest 3

PUZZLE #595

QUESTION QUEST 3

This puzzle contains a word or phrase suggested by Patron M. Sean Molley. Support me on Patreon at $15 or more per month to suggest one word or phrase for me to put into a puzzle every month!

Below, there's a sentence with multiple blanks, and the words that fill in those blanks have been split apart and scattered throughout the grid. Your job is to locate the correct first letter for each word and then follow the given compass directions throughout the grid for each answer (So for example, "2W" means to move two spaces west). Each letter in the grid will be used exactly once. As a helpful tip, try to look at the directions for the following letters to see how far from the grid's top, bottom, or sides you must look. For instance, if the directions for a word's second letter are 6N, the first letter must be somewhere in the bottom two rows.

Once you've filled in all of the blanks and finished each word, read the finished sentence and solve the resulting clue for the FINAL ANSWER: a two-word title

What __ __ __ __ __ __ __   __ __ __ __ __ __ __

     ?? 5N 5W 6S 2E 5N 2E   ?? 5E 3N 3W 5S 3W 2S

__ __ __ __ __ __ is about a __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

?? 2N 3E 3S 3E 2N            ?? 2S 1E 3S 3E 2N 2W 3N

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ sent to the __ __ __ __ __ __

?? 2W 3N 1W 1N 4W 1S             ?? 4W 4S 1W 2N 4E

after being __ __ __ __ __ into a __ __ __ __ __ __ by a

            ?? 5S 3E 2E 4N        ?? 2S 3W 2S 2E 5N

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __   __ __ __ __ __ __ __?

?? 1W 2N 4W 3N 3E 4S 4W 1S 2E 4N 4E 1S   ?? 1W 2S 4E 5N 4W 2S

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Deck It Out 11

It's been close to two weeks since "Deck It Out 11" was posted on this blog, and seventeen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Sam Levitin
• Derek Allen
• Chris Kochmanski
• Okieboy2008
• Patrick Jordan
• Bart Gold
• Michael Lebowitz
• Mom
• Lynn Sweeney
• Steve Gunter
• Qmark

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #594: Helter Skelter 10

PUZZLE #594

HELTER SKELTER 10

Each answer in this crossword variation starts at the indicated number, and then moves towards the direction of the next number (though it may or may not stop there). The direction of the last answer is to be determined by the solver.

Once the grid has been filled out, unscramble the gray squares to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: An 8-letter word

1) Least quiet

2) Wife _____ (2000s reality show ripped off by Trading Spouses)

3) Promising prodigy

4) Tropical fruit in smoothies

5) "Get Him Back!" singer Rodrigo

6) Nonliteral saying

7) Eye-related (anagram of RUCOLA)

8) Quinn who played Benny in Benny & Joon

9) Home planet of Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

10) Caffeinated root beer brand claiming "It's Good Since 1898"

11) Rapper from A Tribe Called Quest named after a stick with cotton swabs

12) Bible quote such as "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another"

13) Lunchmeat with the first name of O-S-C-A-R?

14) Book-loving pig from U.S. Acres

15) Under the effects of Novocain, say

16) Chicago-style deep dish pizza chain, informally

17) The _____ of '76 (patriotically-named pinball machine)

18) Garlic-crushing device

19) Sword holder

20) The horizontal line seen in the answer to clue #11

21) Classical element other than water, fire, or air

22) Card such as the Wheel of Fortune

23) Wrapped-up headwear worn by Piccolo from Dragon Ball Z

24) Cruel boor

25) Progressive rock band with vocalist Geddy Lee

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Link-Letters 15

Two weeks have passed by since "Link-Letters 15" was posted on this blog, and eighteen people have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #593: Deck It Out 11

PUZZLE #593

DECK IT OUT 11

Fill in the answers to the clues below, then transfer the letters marked with playing card symbols to their proper places in the grid below. The number (or letter) of each clue will tell you what column to place those letters in. Once it's completely filled in, the grid will spell out a sentence that will provide a hint to the FINAL ANSWER.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is a proper name

A) Nationality that precedes "bread", "horn" and "kiss"

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♥   ♠   ♦           ♣

2) Vole, mole-rat, or regular rat, for example

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

            ♠   ♣   ♦   ♥

3) Thin, rectangular layers inside a Kit Kat bar

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♣           ♦   ♥   ♠

4) Once in _____ (occasionally): 2 wds.

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♣   ♦   ♠   ♥

5) "Ladies and Gentlemen" hard rock band named after spit (yes, that’s really what they went with)

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♣   ♠   ♦       ♥

6) Fool's gold

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

        ♦   ♠   ♥   ♣   

7) Pointy punk hairstyle

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

            ♣   ♥   ♦   ♠

8) Medieval funnyman wearing a cap with bells

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

        ♣   ♠   ♥   ♦

9) Mythological Greek beasts that grow more heads every time you chop one off

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♣       ♦   ♥   ♠

10) How to Train Your _____ (DreamWorks film series with Hiccup and Toothless)

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

            ♥   ♦   ♣   ♠

J) Patterns usually seen on Scottish kilts

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♥       ♦       ♠   ♣

Q) Male Manx or Maine Coon, maybe

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

    ♠       ♦   ♥       ♣

K) Hate, hate, hate, haaaate something or someone

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

        ♣   ♥       ♠   ♦

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Pent Words 22

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Pent Words 22" was posted on this blog, and eighteen people have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #592: Link-Letters 15

PUZZLE #592

LINK-LETTERS 15

There are two clues for each numbered row. The answers to each row's first clue go in the squares to the left of the first black bar in each correspondingly numbered row in the puzzle's grid, and the answers to the second clue go into the squares to the right of the second black bar. Then a single letter (the "Link-Letter") goes in the square in the middle to complete a single word that reads all the way across. For example, if the two words are CON and ACT, you can put a "T" between them to get CONTACT.

Once you've filled out all nine rows, the central letters will spell out two words reading down. Add a letter between those two words in the red square to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: the name of a sitcom that premiered in the 2010s

1) 16-minute-long movie, maybe

    "_____ of the mornin' to ya, laddies!" (catchphrase of Irish YouTuber Jacksepticeye)

2) *NSYNC song about the genre of music performed by *NSYNC

    Frilly doily material

3) Emulate a "grim" figure with a scythe

    Doing more than just fibbing

4) "Big" burger courtesy of the Golden Arches

    Uses a scale from 1 to 10, say

5) A-1 (HINT: Remove the "V" from IMPROV and scramble the remaining letters)

    Use a rotary phone, say

6) Cereal eaten by Little Mikey in a long-running ad campaign

    Peter from the 2002 Disney film Return to Neverland

7) Marx brother who "talks" with a bulb horn

    Neighbor of the Simpsons who says "Hi-Diddily-Ho!"

8) Main protagonist of Stellar Blade (or the day before Christmas, say)

    Putting _____ (golf course part)

9) Furnish for free, as a hotel room

    Striped structure where the characters of The Amazing Digital Circus live

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Semicircle Sorting 8

About two weeks have gone by since "Semicircle Sorting 8" was posted on this blog, which means that it's time for me to post the list of everyone who has solved it since then:

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

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

PUZZLE #591: Pent Words 22

PUZZLE #591

PENT WORDS 22

This puzzle (suggested by Patron Grant Fikes) contains a word or phrase suggested by Patron M. Sean Molley. Support me on Patreon at $15 or more per month to suggest one word or phrase for me to put into a puzzle every month!

For this puzzle, you must divide the grid into pentominoes (they’re sorta like Tetris pieces, except they’re areas made up of five squares each) and put a letter in each cell. The rows, reading from left to right, will contain the words hinted at by the ACROSS clues. The letters in the pentominoes, reading left to right beginning with the top row, will form the words hinted at by the PENTOMINOES clues; these clues are presented in no particular order. (In the example above, the rows spell out CHINS, PARTY, and ANKLE, and the pentominoes spell out the words CHINA, STYLE, and PRANK.) Use the across answers to figure out where the pentominoes go.

Once you're done, combine the two unclued pentominoes to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a two-word phrase

ACROSS (Two answers per row)

1) Costello's partner in comedy

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

2) Bark at the moon

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

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

    Robert who delivers a memorable monologue as Quint in Jaws

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

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

5) Change for the better (we hope)

    Make a touchdown on the tarmac

6) Trouble with the stomach's lining

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

7) Like the pastoral countryside

    Actress Heche or actress Hathaway

8) Got down (anagram of TAIL)

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

9) Jeff Bridges' older brother

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

10) About as fresh as month-old bread

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

PENTOMINOES (Five letters per answer)

• HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

• THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER

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

• Twisted around a vertical axis

• Happen over and over again, like a nightmare

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

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

• Six-year periods for a senator

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

• Adam Goldberg's sister in The Goldbergs

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

• The largest moon of Saturn

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

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

• Furry blue member of the X-Men

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

• Loathe entirely

• With "The", restaurantgoer's regular order

• Semiaquatic mink relative

• Venom, to Spider-Man

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Loopy Links 3

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

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

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

PUZZLE #590: Semicircle Sorting 8

PUZZLE #590

SEMICIRCLE SORTING 8

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: the two-word name of a sci-fi movie from the 2000s

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: Dilly Dally 9

Happy Easter, everyone! Sorry for the delay; I forgot to schedule this post until now. Anyway, here's the list of everyone who has solved "Dilly Dally 9" from two weeks ago:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #589: Loopy Links 3

PUZZLE #589

LOOPY LINKS 3

All of the answers in this puzzle weave through the grid in a single long chain via a series of straight lines and right-angled turns. Each square is used once except where the answers link together in squares with circles in them, each serving as the last letter of one answer and the first letter of the next. The letters in these circled squares are blank and for you to fill in. The chain begins and ends in squares that have letters already filled in.

Once you've solved this puzzle, the circled letters (when read left to right starting at the topmost row) will spell out a clue that will lead you to the FINAL ANSWER: a brand name

1) Non _____ (Latin phrase usually used to describe random nonsense)

2) Green rabbit from CatDog (or another word for "rotten")

3) Type of Pinscher dog that won Westminster's "Best in Show" in 2026

4) New, in Nantes, France (make sure it's the masculine variant)

5) Immortal

6) Raring to go: Hyph.

7) International _____ Committee (sports governing body)

8) Folded pizza, essentially

9) House of Stairs and Relativity artist M. C.

10) Catalytic RNA molecule

11) Hit Sabrina Carpenter song you may hear in a coffee shop?

12) Plain, average, mediocre, run-of-the-mill, et cetera, et cetera

13) Opposite of "eldest"

14) What Jill did after Jack fell down and broke his crown

15) "_____ (Forget About Me)" (#1 single from the Breakfast Club soundtrack): 2 wds.

16) Linux operating system that starts and ends with the same vowel

17) Free a French Bulldog, perhaps

18) Circular toy featured in The Hudsucker Proxy: 2 wds.

19) Postseason game

20) Fast _____ (DVR remote button)

21) The "O₂" in "CO₂"

22) Goes "HOLY CRAP!!!", e.g.

23) Iowan heavy metal band named after what a lasso is tied with

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: Chain Reaction: Extra Links 13

Two weeks have passed by since "Chain Reaction: Extra Links 13" was posted on this blog, and seventeen people have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #588: Dilly Dally 9

PUZZLE #588

DILLY DALLY 9

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 comic book series whose name also consists of two words starting with the same letter.

NUMBERED WORDS

1) A Chorus _____ (Tony-winning musical)

2) Sports analyst Esiason who was the NFL's MVP in 1988

3) Density times volume

4) Magician Lim who won both Penn & Teller: Fool Us and America's Got Talent (or the lower front leg)

5) Spanish party, or the Spanish word for "party"

6) "Ring of Fire" singer Johnny

7) Aims (at), as with one's index finger

8) Temporary tuxedo to be used on prom night, say

9) Burial _____ (cemetery)

10) 2000s Game Show Network series where contestants stay up for 24 hours to study frantically

MISSING WORDS

• 200 feet, for an NHL hockey rink (for comparison, it's 85 feet wide)

• Alternative to debit

• Brace for a broken wrist

• Four-_____ meal

• Gerald who was the 40th Vice President of the U.S.A.

• Novel's basic storyline

• Part of a Clue accusation other than the suspect or weapon

• "_____ Peace a Chance" (anti-war song written by John Lennon)

• Rugrats character such as Tommy or Dil, but not their parents

• Where the first little piggy went

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 4

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Touchword 4" was posted on this blog, which means it's time for me to post the names of everyone who solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #587: Chain Reaction: Extra Links 13

PUZZLE #587

CHAIN REACTION: EXTRA LINKS 13

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!

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 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!