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!

ANSWERS: Compound Crosswords 12

About two weeks have gone by since "Compound Crosswords 12" 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
• Marie desJardins
• Joe Bernard
• Pavel Curtis
• Okieboy2008
• Derek Allen
• KeoFam
• Sam Levitin
• Chris Kochmanski
• Patrick Jordan
• Kevin Orfield
• Wendy Walker
• Mom
• Steve Gunter
• Lynn Sweeney

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #586: Touchword 4

PUZZLE #586

TOUCHWORD 4

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 a normal crossword, words cross each other; in this puzzle, they simply touch. More specifically, all answers read across each numbered row (ranging from two to three answers per row), and every letter touches, along an edge, at least one identical letter above or below it. Since the top and bottom rows also loop around and connect with each other, they're considered touching as well.

Once everything is filled out, read out the highlighted diagonal line for the FINAL ANSWER: the name of a comic strip that premiered in the 21st century

1) Panera _____ (fast casual restaurant chain)

    It's home to the most recently-formed NHL team: the Mammoth

    Gas pump number

2) "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" singer Lee

    Fluffy fox appendage

    Eric Cartman's mother in South Park (answer hidden in AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH)

3) Starbucks' largest size (but it's only for cold drinks)

    13-digit numbers

4) Reward for a good dog

    Skateboarding trick done off of half pipes

    "_____ & Cones" (instrumental song by Blue Man Group named after retina cells)

5) Like some floorboards that are noisier than others

    Taxi trip: 2 wds.

6) Deal with it

    Motion-sensing camera for the Xbox 360 (HINT: It's a homophone of a word meaning "Join together")

    Pickle juice

7) Kansas city where the classic rock band Kansas formed

    Fruit best described as a "fuzzless peach"

8) Word following "demo", "double-sided" or "duct"

    Dave the Barbarian character who hates being called a monkey (EASIER CLUE: pointy tooth)

    Any non-profit that celebrities on game shows usually play for

9) Yellow fabric tossed onto the football field well after a play has finished: 2 wds.

    Maybelline spokesmodel Turlington

10) Medieval bard's version of a guitar

      Essay "writers" that didn't bother to do any actual writing

11) Erect (as in the verb, not the adjective): 2 wds.

      Different editions of Monopoly with different rules, say

12) Country with llamas and Lima

      The only mountain higher than K2

      _____ of the above (last option in all of Inquizition's multiple-choice questions)

13) In essence: 2 wds.

      Elementary student's time out for fun

      Hawaii's state bird

14) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead _____ Chest (2006 movie)

      Honors with one's presence, perhaps

      Gumbo and goulash, for two

15) Capital of Nicaragua

      Members of a Native American tribe originally based in the Mississippi area

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: Slide Show: Double Feature 8

It's been almost two weeks since "Slide Show: Double Feature 8" was posted on this blog, so now's the time to look at all of the people who have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #585: Compound Crosswords 12

PUZZLE #585

COMPOUND CROSSWORDS 12

Fit the words hinted at by the clues into the nine grids below so that the two words in each grid combine to create a two-word phrase or compound word. There may be multiple possibilities for these phrases, but there's only one way that all the words will fit in all of the grids.

Once each grid is filled out, the pink letters in each grid will spell out the FINAL ANSWER: a compound word

CLUES

• 7–10 _____ (dreaded sight for bowlers)

• Betty Spaghetty, Baby Alive, or any one of the Bratz, e.g.

• Bodily organ punnily described as an "air bag"

• "_____ Child (Slight Return)" (Jimi Hendrix song)

• Deneb, for one (HINT: It's part of the constellation Cygnus)

• Empty's opposite

• Honking waterfowl such as Gladstone Gander

• Large group of groupers (or any other sort of fish)

• Locale for trials in the Ace Attorney series

• One Battle _____ Another (Golden Globe-winning Leonardo DiCaprio film)

• Part of a baseball fanatic's season pass

• Puzzle magazine with "The World's Most Ornery Crossword"

• Reduce prices slightly (or reduce a full head of hair to nothing, in a way)

• Set of stairs

• Tosses yolk-filled ammunition

• Use Yahoo (which now uses results from Bing), perhaps

• Waffle _____ (kitchen device used to make... well, waffles)

• Well-balanced artwork hanging from the ceiling

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: Take Two

Two weeks have passed by since a new-to-this-blog format called "Take Two" was posted on this blog, so now's the time to look at everyone who has solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers, and also a solver's comment!

PUZZLE #584: Slide Show: Double Feature 8

PUZZLE #584

SLIDE SHOW: DOUBLE FEATURE 8

In each of the two puzzles below, slide the 18 letters surrounding each grid into the empty squares so that four words are made reading across and five words are formed reading down. Letters above and below the grids slide vertically to any position without changing columns, and letters to the left and right slide horizontally without changing rows. All of the exterior letters are used only once, and as a help, each grid has two letters already placed inside.

Once both grids have been filled in, pick out one word from each and combine them to get the FINAL ANSWER: the two-word name of a brand seen in grocery stores

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: Puzzle in the Round 9

Two weeks have passed by since "Puzzle in the Round 9" was posted on this blog, and nineteen people have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #583: Take Two

PUZZLE #583

TAKE TWO

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, fill in the blanks with two words that correspond to each numbered clue; each word will be separated by a slash. Once each line is filled out, take away one letter from either side of the slash (one from each word) to form a new six- or seven-letter word.

Once the new words have been formed, The removed letters, when read in order, will spell out the FINAL ANSWER: the name of a romantic movie

1) _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _

2) _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _

3) _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _

4) _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _

5) _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _

6) _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _

CLUES

1) Cafeteria carrier

    Like dorms that aren't single-sex

2) Triplet of Dewey and Louie in Quack Pack

    _____ Jones' locker

3) Docking spot such as the one in Santa Monica

    Pigpen's swinging opening

4) Brogan, Gretched, or Shrek from Shrek Forever After, for example

    Ore-Ida _____ Tots

5) Rocks out like the rock group Phish (or things similar to jellies)

    America's only single-syllable state

6) More bashful (anagram of HEIRS)

    Orion's _____ (certain constellation feature)

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: Line 'Em Up 15

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Line 'Em Up 15" was posted on this blog, which means it's time for me to post the list of everyone who has solved it puzzle since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Marie desJardins
• Kevin Orfield
• Okieboy2008
• Michael Lebowitz
• Stasi Gustafson
• Sam Levitin
• Derek Allen
• Wendy Walker
• Chris Kochmanski
• Eli Zarconi
• Mom
• Patrick Jordan
• KeoFam
• Michael Gulden
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #582: Puzzle in the Round 9

PUZZLE #582

PUZZLE IN THE ROUND 9

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

To solve this tough puzzle, fill in as many of the 5-letter answers next to their clues as you can. Next, look for shared letters, and then enter each letter into its correct place in the diagram (though you'll most likely need to scramble the order of the letters to make them fit). The letter in the grid's center will be shared by all of the answer words. As a little hint, look for unshared letters to help you determine the letters that will go in the outer ring to form the FINAL ANSWER, reading from 1 to 24.

The FINAL ANSWER is the name of a grammatically incorrect Internet meme

1) Brazilian ballroom dance

     _ _ _ _ _

2) The Silence of the _____ (1991 horror film)

     _ _ _ _ _

3) Culpability often shifted onto someone else

     _ _ _ _ _

4) "Ehhh, it's a possibility"

     _ _ _ _ _

5) The city of Townsville's leader in The Powerpuff Girls, for one

     _ _ _ _ _

6) Trashy talk show well-known for its paternity tests that lasted over 30 seasons

     _ _ _ _ _

7) Supply with weapons again

     _ _ _ _ _

8) Honey-colored

     _ _ _ _ _

9) 2016 animated Disney movie set in Polynesia

     _ _ _ _ _

10) Perry _____ (fictional TV lawyer)

     _ _ _ _ _

11) Angel's opposite

     _ _ _ _ _

12) He never stays in the same place for very long

     _ _ _ _ _

13) Gru's eldest adopted daughter in the Despicable Me films

     _ _ _ _ _

14) 24th (and final) letter in ancient Greece

     _ _ _ _ _

15) Action hero first played by Sylvester Stallone in First Blood (1982)

     _ _ _ _ _

16) "When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that's _____"

     _ _ _ _ _

17) Florence Foster Jenkins star Streep

     _ _ _ _ _

18) Atlanta university where Jimmy Carter once taught

     _ _ _ _ _

19) Literal gold digger such as Donkey Kong at the start of Donkey Kong Bananza

     _ _ _ _ _

20) Filthy stuff to scour out

     _ _ _ _ _

21) Paris _____ (French subway system)

     _ _ _ _ _

22) Basement Jaxx song named after Juliet's lover

     _ _ _ _ _

23) Lament a loss

     _ _ _ _ _

24) Standards that are to be expected

     _ _ _ _ _

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: Insiders 5

Before we get to the list of everyone who solved "Insiders 5" from about two weeks ago, I just wanted to give a shout-out to one of my former solvers (and primary author of one of my earliest puzzles, "Which-Way Words"), Paolo Pasco, for sweeping the Jeopardy Tournament of Champions Finals last week! Congratulations on that feat, and good luck with Jeopardy Masters in a few months!

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

Now that the solvers list is out of the way, head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #581: Line 'Em Up 15

PUZZLE #581

LINE 'EM UP 15

Place the answers to each numbered clue in the squares to the right of each corresponding number (a number in brackets following each clue will tell you how many letters are in each answer). Once you have the answers, align them properly in the grid so that going down, a two-word phrase will be spelled out by the two red columns in the grid's center.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is the two-word name of a well-known Broadway show tune

1) With "The", U2's lead guitarist [4]

2) America's largest ridesharing company (just ahead of Lyft) [4]

3) Send a document via phone lines [3]

4) _____ Nicole Brown (actress who played Shirley on Community) [6]

5) Square root of XLIX (that's 49 for those who aren't from ancient Rome) [3]

6) Brief beginning? [5]

7) Like a video game full of too many glitches (ALTERNATE CLUE: Horse-drawn carriage) [5]

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: Triangle Tangle 8

Crud! I forgot to schedule this post 'til now! Ah, well, better late than never, I suppose. Anyway, here's the list of the twenty people who have solved "Triangle Tangle 8" from two weeks ago:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #580: Insiders 5

PUZZLE #580

INSIDERS 5

Before we get to my latest puzzle, I have some news I wanted to share! You see, Diary of a Crossword Fiend's ORCA Awards for the best crosswords of 2025 are coming up, and at least one of my puzzles got nominated in the "Best Variety Crossword" category! Not only that, Crossword Fiend has also crafted a puzzle pack featuring most of this year's nominees (the proceeds of which will go to a suicide prevention nonprofit), and my nominated puzzle(s) managed to get included! Donors who purchase this pack will not only gain access to plenty of other puzzles and support a good cause in the process, but also get early access to the final ORCAs ballot, which won't get posted publicly until February 3rd. You can find more details regarding the ORCA Awards Puzzle Pack (as well as how to get it for yourself) at https://crosswordfiend.com/14th-orca-award-puzzle-pack/. Now then, with all that info out of the way, here are the directions to this week's puzzle:

Each row in this puzzle consists of two answers, clued in the order in which they appear. Going across both of these answers is a third word, known as an "Inner Word". For example, if a row's two answers were JETSAM and PLEA, then the Inner Word for that string of letters would be SAMPLE (like so: JETSAMPLEA). The Inner Words are listed in no particular order, and shading them or crossing them out in each row is highly recommended.

Once everything's been filled in, all of the letters not used in the Inner Words, when read left to right and row by row, will spell out a clue to the FINAL ANSWER: a two-word title

ROWS

1) Dilapidated dwelling

    _____-Pot (trademarked slow cooker brand)

2) Superlative suffix for "rich" and "poor"

    "Rich" is this to "poor", grammatically speaking

3) Shape of Subaru's starry logo

    Military units that you control in the Total War series of strategy computer games

4) Pollute or poison, as water

    Less polite

5) Stand-up comedienne Rudner

    The _____ of the Shrew (play that 10 Things I Hate About You is loosely based on)

6) The two smallest of ten fingers

    Letter after sigma

7) Wooden boards for a carpenter's construction project

    Answering machine’s beep, e.g.

8) "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" duo

    "There's No Business Like Show Business" singer Ethel who also acted in a film of the same name

INNER WORDS

• Blatantly ignore a "No Trespassing" sign, maybe

• Darkest, like a graphic novel illustration that's mostly black

• Foucault's Pendulum author whose last name "Eco" is usually an answer in a crossword

• Japanese floor mat

• Kindergartener's shoe fastener that was inspired by plant burs

• Please _____ Don't Hurt 'Em (diamond-certified album with "U Can't Touch This")

• WALL-E director Andrew

• Word following "false" or "burglar"

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: Sudokurostic 6

Two weeks have passed by since "Sudokurostic 6" was posted on this blog, so now's the time to look at everyone who has solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Marie desJardins
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Michael Lebowitz
• Okieboy2008
• Nicholas Weaver
• Sam Levitin
• Chris Kochmanski
• Eli Zarconi
• Mom
• Steve Gunter
• Derek Allen

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #579: Triangle Tangle 8

PUZZLE #579

TRIANGLE TANGLE 8

To solve this puzzle, enter the 4-letter answer to each clue into the diagram either from top to bottom or diagonally upward. There are two numbers starting each clue; each answer begins in the triangle marked with the first number, and ends in the triangle marked with the second.

Once the grid has been filled in, there are two more words hiding in the topmost row of letters and the bottommost row of letters. Combine them both to get the FINAL ANSWER: the name of an anime TV series

1-2) The canine leader of the Bad Guys from DreamWorks' The Bad Guys, for one

2-3) Part of an envelope that gets licked

3-4) Second-lowest scoring hand in poker (just above "nothing")

4-5) Kelly from Live with Kelly and Mark who once hosted Generation Gap (2022-23)

5-6) Imitated a gorilla?

6-7) _____ Avenger (parodic computer game about a buck sick of getting shot at by hunters)

7-8) 2000s sitcom starring country singer McEntire

8-9) Swedish band that did "Money, Money, Money" and "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"

9-10) "All that and _____ of chips": 2 wds.

10-11) Laundry detergent brand in a green bottle

11-12) Africa's longest river

12-13) Tickle Me _____ (hot toy of Christmas 1996)

13-14) Arabian country whose name becomes a person if you remove its first letter

14-15) Japanese word for "WHAT?!" (answer hidden in "UNANIMOUSLY")

15-16) Still competing: 2 wds.

16-17) Date Night (2010) actress Fey

17-18) Ancient Egyptian cross worn by some goths

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!