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 #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: Helter Skelter 9

It's been about two weeks since "Helter Skelter 9" was posted on this blog, and nineteen people have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #543: Helter Skelter 9

PUZZLE #543

HELTER SKELTER 9

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

Each 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) 😭, 😂, and 🤔, to name a few

2) She played Angela on Who's the Boss?

3) Cinnamon _____ Crunch (General Mills cereal)

4) A half dozen cans of Canada Dry, perhaps: Hyph.

5) Sudan's capital city

6) Other, in Spanish (answer hidden in FOOTRACE)

7) Online retailer that didn't have its first profitable year until 2003

8) White spreads to put on chicken sandwiches from Popeyes

9) "Once Bitten, Twice _____" (highest-charting song by Great White)

10) Book of church music

11) Mangle, mar, or mutilate

12) Japanese automaker that still makes cars, none of which are sold in America since 2009

13) Stomach-strengthening exercise: Hyph.

14) Turns on a dime

15) Surreal 1997 computer adventure game named after black volcanic glass

16) The _____ Bugle (newspaper that Peter Parker works for in Spider-Man)

17) Adage or maxim

18) Artsy-craftsy lilac-colored unicorn from My Little Pony: Make Your Mark

19) Thanksgiving tubers

20) Friend for Speedy Gonzales

21) Ravine ravaged by flash floods

22) Labor management class for expectant mothers

23) First-person pronoun for Miss Piggy

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 8

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Helter Skelter 8" was posted on this blog, and an impressive eighteen people have solved it since then:

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #476: Helter Skelter 8

PUZZLE #476

HELTER SKELTER 8

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 verb

1) Invertebrate that loves to read?

2) _____ oblongata (brain part)

3) Indirectly refer (to)

4) Totally clueless as to what's going on

5) Ohio birthplace of both Stephen Curry and LeBron James

6) Wendy's, to Burger King and McDonald's

7) Pickle brand with a stork mascot

8) James who hosted The Late Late Show from 2015 to 2023

9) Material for Levi's 501 jeans

10) Avenger who puts on the "Hulkbuster" armor in Avengers: Age of Ultron: 2 wds.

11) Emptying an udder

12) Barry, Robin, or Maurice from the Bee Gees

13) "You're gonna need a _____ boat" (quote from Jaws)

14) With "The", Batman foe with a suit covered in question marks

15) Even less lofty in status

16) Schoolhouse _____! (Saturday morning cartoon)

17) What kernels grow on

18) Gospel groups

19) Broke up clods in the dirt

20) Smallest Great Lake, in both size and name

21) Ferrari who founded the Ferrari company (anagram of ZONE)

22) Org. that once had Ulysses S. Grant and Charlton Heston as presidents

23) Arthur _____ Stadium (the world's largest tennis stadium)

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

ANSWERS: Helter Skelter 7

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

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

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #418: Helter Skelter 7

PUZZLE #418

HELTER SKELTER 7

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

Each 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 associated with mathematics

1) Recorded film scene that might need to be redone multiple times

2) Chicken _____ (Ukrainian dish)

3) Nevada city that's home to the Penn & Teller Theater, for short

4) Milton's prized paper-fastening device from Office Space

5) Gullible sap

6) Hairy creature from DreamWorks' Abominable, for example

7) Installing ceramic squares on a floor

8) PlayStation video game series featuring the deity-slayer Kratos: 3 wds.

9) Subtitle of the Thor movie with Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster

10) Islamic book fully memorized by a hafiz: Var.

11) Costume designer's creations

12) Throw in the _____ (phrase that originated from boxing)

13) Annoying delay of button presses in an online game

14) Staring open-jawed

15) Jane Jetson's husband

16) Time for prime time TV

17) Number of seasons that Seinfeld ran for

18) Toe part made of keratin

19) Type of pre-Christmas calendar containing chocolates

20) Battery measures

21) _____ gun (rhyming tool for self-defense)

22) Sheepskin boot brand originally popular with surfers

23) Sudden burst of wind

24) Ingredient in a Skor bar

25) Surround an airport with heavy mist, say: 2 wds.

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

ANSWERS (and Contest Results!): Helter Skelter 6

It's been almost two weeks since my first contest puzzle in two years, "Helter Skelter 6", was posted on this blog. I'll get to the winners soon, but first, I have to list the nineteen people who have solved this puzzle:

• Grant Fikes (opted out of the contest)
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield (opted out)
• Alex Sisti
• Tyler Hinman
• Karen Spencer
• Tamara Brenner
• Sam Levitin
• Meg Duvall
• Mindy Moore
• Yossi Fendel
• Michael Lebowitz
• Lbray53
• Wendy Walker
• Mom (ineligible)
• Peter Abide
• Lynn Sweeney
• Giovanni Pagano (opted out)

Since I have so many solvers, I've decided to give away two copies of Octopus Crosswords by Brendan Emmett Quigley! And the randomly-chosen winners of that book are: Mindy Moore and Wendy Walker! Congratulations you two, and I hope you'll enjoy that prize!

Now that the contest is officially over, head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #352: Helter Skelter 6 (CONTEST PUZZLE!)

CONTEST!

PUZZLE #352

HELTER SKELTER 6

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

This puzzle is also something that I haven't done in a long time (over 100 puzzles ago, in fact): a contest puzzle! Unfortunately, these contest puzzles may continue to be a rare sight in the foreseeable future, as when I told Grant Fikes that I was planning to turn this puzzle into a Contest Puzzle, he pointed out a pretty big loophole: those who got this puzzle early on Patreon may have an unfair advantage over those who don't (in this case, more time to solve it than usual), hence why his Contest Puzzles became separate posts and not his usual Wordy Wednesdays. In response, I've decided to dodge any potential pay-to-win scenarios by not letting Patreons know that a contest was attached to it until after they solved it, which seems to have worked out.

But anyway, back to this current contest. The prize for winning it is a copy of Octopus Crosswords by Brendan Emmett Quigley (basically, a book full of these Helter Skelter puzzles)! There will only be one winner for this contest (who will be selected at random), though if I get a high enough amount of solvers, it'll increase to two winners. If you don't want to enter this contest, you can still solve this puzzle and not partake in the contest, but you'll have to let me know if you do decide to opt out. So now with all that out of the way, here are the directions on how to solve it!

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) Up to the task

2) Graphic novel, e.g.

3) Was indebted to someone

4) Nick Jr. character who often says "Swiper, no swiping!"

5) Negatively charged atom

6) Org. co-founded by W.E.B. Du Bois

7) Simba's family, say

8) Form a thought in one's brain

9) The Importance of Being _____ (Oscar Wilde's final play)

10) Chem. or phys.

11) Baby bird call

12) Ancient Greek astronomer who compiled the original 48 constellations

13) Short-tempered Sam from various Looney Tunes shorts

14) "Sign o' the _____" (Prince song)

15) 1999 film co-starring Tom Cruise that ends with raining frogs

16) Doom's rhyming partner

17) Moved aside (for): 2 wds.

18) Railway service set to retire their Acela trains by late 2022

19) Reduce to ripped rags

20) Finnish company whose 3310 mobile phone is notoriously hard to damage

21) Illustrations and such

22) The "O" in "MMORPG"

23) Intl. military alliance headquartered in Belgium

24) Foreboding signs

25) Hernando de _____ (Spanish explorer)

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 5

Before I reveal the answers to "Helter Skelter 5", I should point out that the usual list of solvers is gonna look a little different from here on out. Before now, I've colored the names of people that are currently supporting me on Patreon in red, but starting with this Answers post, those Patreon supporters will be colored orange instead. The main reason for this is that the Blogger page which I use to schedule and type out my upcoming posts had a "mobile-friendly" redesign not too long ago which altered the default colors that I could use to change the text's hue. The normal shade of red that I use wasn't included in that set, so instead of trying to add a "custom color" (which keeps getting removed for some reason) or constantly editing the HTML code every time, I've decided to change that red hue to a shade of orange already included in the defaults, since orange is one of the colors used in Patreon's logo. So now with that long-winded explanation out of the way, here's the eleven people that have solved my puzzle from two weeks ago:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Cindy Heisler ****
• Joe Bernard ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Kevin Orfield ****
• Patrick Jordan ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Stephen Potter ****
• Mom ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Debbie Benford ****

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

PUZZLE #289: Helter Skelter 5

PUZZLE #289

HELTER SKELTER 5

Each answer in this crossword variation starts at the indicated number, and then moves towards the direction of the next number (thought 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) Villain from The Great Mouse Detective who was voiced by Vincent Price

2) Non-profit org. that provides roadside assistance

3) Tactical military shooter series by Bohemia Interactive (don't worry, another answer fully overlaps this one)

4) Ms. Monroe whose first film appearance was in Dangerous Years (1947)

5) Eye part that can be brown, blue, or green

6) Frozen polar covering on both Earth and Mars

7) Geese and ducks and such

8) Speedy vehicle that goes forwards and backwards?

9) Larry Bird, back when he played for the NBA

10) Where in Time is _____ Sandiego? (educational computer game)

11) Seven-digit riches

12) Fluid measurement equal to two tablespoons

13) Second-largest member of the deer family (after the moose)

14) Type of destiny where "what goes around comes around"

15) Website that can help you trace your family tree

16) Hexagonal piece of land from Catan

17) The one for Starbucks depicts a twin-tailed mermaid

18) Brian May's instrument

19) _____ ego

20) Prayer beads

21) Board game where you move four colored pawns by drawing numbered cards

22) Precipitates

23) Footwear that can be turned into a simple puppet

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 get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) 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 4

Roughly two weeks have passed since "Helter Skelter 4" was posted here on this blog, and a whopping eleven people since then have successfully solved it, as you can see in the list below:

• Grant Fikes ****
• M. Sean Molley ****
• Joe Bernard ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Patrick Jordan ****
• Mom ****
• Debbie Benford ****
• Michael Avanessian ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Tom Coldron ****

Now all that's left is for you to head below the break and look at the answers!

PUZZLE #240: Helter Skelter 4

PUZZLE #240

HELTER SKELTER 4

Each answer in this crossword variation starts at the indicated number, and then moves towards the direction of the next number (thought 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) https://www.nintendo.com, for one
2) Rely upon, as a person for advice: 2 wds.
3) Underground routes for moles
4) Like a triangle with three unequal sides
5) Bob who directed The Great Piggy Bank Robbery and Porky in Wackyland
6) Copying a drawing using a transparent sheet
7) Long-tongued KISS bassist Simmons
8) The Penguin, to Batman
9) Yellow egg parts also called "vitelluses"
10) Sing-along music for plastered adults
11) Cosmetics brand that still uses door-to-door salesladies
12) Made a memo
13) Use a dynamite plunger
14) _____, meeny, miny, moe...
15) Word preceding "system" or "breakdown"
16) Big chunk of meat or marble
17) Final segment of a certain game show with a choice between Door #1, Door #2, or Door #3: 2 wds.
18) The only one of Snow White's Seven Dwarfs to wear glasses
19) Tear-inducing vegetables
20) Swimwear brand founded in Australia
21) Star Trek: _____ Space Nine
22) Kagan of the Supreme Court
23) Catches a crook

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 get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) 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 two versions you can print out: a .PNG and a link to a .PDF!

ANSWERS: Helter Skelter 3

Before I reveal the answers to "Helter Skelter 3" from roughly two weeks ago, I just wanted to plug my Patreon once again. As you most likely already know, if you pledge a certain dollar amount, you'll get an exclusive Patron Puzzle every month, and this month's offering is a pair of Overstuffed Sandwiches, so be sure to check those out if you haven't already! Now then, here are the seven people who have solved my third "Helter Skelter" puzzle:

• Grant Fikes *** (He wanted to subtract 1 star for looking up an answer)
• Sam Levitin ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Tyler Hinman ****
• Mom ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Dan Simonds ****

Now head below the break for the answers as well as a comment from one of my solvers!

PUZZLE #159: Helter Skelter 3

PUZZLE #159

HELTER SKELTER 3

Happy New Year, everyone! I don't have much more to add to that, so I'll just get on to the directions:

Each answer in this crossword variation starts at the indicated number, and then moves towards the direction of the next number (thought 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) Jamaican tune also known as "The Banana Boat Song"
2) Unrestrained party
3) Foo Fighters singer Dave
4) Puzzle video game where you have to save lots of green-haired rodents
5) Real Sports with Bryant _____
6) Coffee cups
7) Attacked from all sides
8) Gum brand that comes in "Ice" and "Fire" varieties
9) Like someone well past retirement age
10) Blue-haired maid from Re:Zero (or a sleep phase acronym)
11) _____ on a Bench (Jewish version of Elf on the Shelf)
12) Ship that got wrecked in a Longfellow poem
13) "Eh, why not?"
14) Extended dance version of a song, say
15) Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy _____
16) Frozen stalactite
17) Planet in Universal's logo
18) _____ Square (where they play the song mentioned in Clue 19 every New Year's Day)
19) "New York, New York" singer Frank
20) More sore
21) Request for another card at a blackjack table: 2 wds.
22) One of three won by Ben Bailey for hosting Cash Cab
23) Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
24) Smoked salmon placed on bagels

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 get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) 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 version you can print out!

ANSWERS: Helter Skelter 2

Happy New Year! I know this is usually a time to reflect on the preceding year, but outside of sports and entertainment, 2016 sucked eggs hard. And not just in World News, either; not only did I have a crisis about getting solvers to stay on this blog and not only did my last remaining pet die, but also my suicidal thoughts reached a fever point after the conclusion of this overlong election! It's almost enough to forget that I got a new solver and friend who works in the video game industry, that I've reached a milestone 100 puzzles on this site, and that this blog got mentioned by The New York Times...'s Numberplay blog! I'm heavily doubtful that 2017 will be any better (mostly because of a certain Golden Raspberry Award winner that I won't name) but I've survived the Terrible 2000s, so I can hopefully weather this storm as well. Anyways, here are all the people who have solved "Helter Skelter 2":

• Chris Hendricks ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Mom ***
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• Dan Simonds and Katie Moulton ****
• YYW ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****

Now just head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #105: Helter Skelter 2

PUZZLE #105

HELTER SKELTER 2

Each answer in this crossword variation starts at the indicated number, and then moves towards the direction of the next number (thought 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) Bikini top
2) Super _____ Crag (The final stage in Global GUTS)
3) Topaz or Turquoise, e.g.
4) Customizable avatar created by Nintendo
5) Lick _____ (KISS album and song): 2 wds.
6) Diagram that sadly does not taste like apple or cherry: 2 wds.
7) Cumberbatch's role in The Imitation Game
8) Oscar from Sesame Street, for one
9) Children's book about a teddy bear looking for a button
10) _____ Jones (live-action/animated movie)
11) Busytown creator Richard
12) Downward dog discipline
13) Croc's cousin
14) High school in Grease
15) Finalizes, as a guess on Don't Forget the Lyrics!: 2 wds.
16) Title character in a 2016 stop-motion film by Laika
17) "Tar" in Spanish (which makes the name of a certain tar pit group rather redundant...)
18) Like the tin roof in "Love Shack"
19) Green Teletubby
20) Screamed
21) Law that's been heavily abused to unfairly take down Youtube videos and such: Abbv.
22) "Be that _____ may ...": 2 wds.
23) Full House surname

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 get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) 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 version you can print out!

ANSWERS: Helter Skelter

Before we reveal the answers to my "Helter Skelter" puzzle from a couple weeks ago, I got some news I'd like to share with you: this little blog of mine got mentioned by the New York Times! Well, technically, it actually got mentioned in their Numberplay blog, but it's still impressive nonetheless! You see, Yossi Fendel, one of my occasional solvers, was inspired by my "Coined Phrases" puzzle from not too long ago, and he sent Numberplay a poser inspired by it, and just last Monday, it finally got published there! If you want to take a crack at Yossi's puzzle, go to this link, and if you're stuck, the answers are in the comments section.

Now that I got the good news out of the way, Let's look at who solved "Helter Skelter":

• YYW ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Punjit Sharma ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Grant Fikes ***
• Lynn Sweeney & Mom ***
• Debbie Benford ***
• Dan Simonds *
• Brad Eldredge ****
• Adam Weaver ****

Now just head below the break for the answers, along with some solver comments and how I messed up on one of the answers!

PUZZLE #74: Helter Skelter

PUZZLE #74

HELTER SKELTER

Each answer in this crossword variation starts at the indicated number, and then moves towards the direction of the next number (thought 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) The titular Swan Princess from the animated film of the same name
2) "Double, double, _____ and trouble..."
3) Defunct toothpaste brand whose mascot was Bucky Beaver
4) Condo or flat: Abbv.
5) Distressed damsel in the original Donkey Kong arcade game
6) Daggett's brother from The Angry Beavers
7) Magazine that had Lucille Ball's baby on its very first cover: 2 wds.
8) Tex Avery toon who says "You know what? I'm happy"
9) Search engine founded by Jerry Yang and David Filo
10) Appliance that might clean itself?
11) Little _____ in Slumberland
12) Alien from Warioware Inc.
13) It's usually eaten at noon
14) Male spouse, slangily
15) Times long past
16) Six, in Japanese
17) Music video director Joseph who did Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood"
18) Pet food brand that Garfield was once a "spokescat" for
19) Blueprints and such
20) What "People Are", according to The Doors
21) _____! Ghost! (arcade game with a physical diorama)
22) Pull with great difficulty
23) Inventor from Ducktales
24) Philbin's last co-host before he retired
25) Gadget that uses ringtones

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 get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured that one out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!