PUZZLE #316: Pathfinder 2

PUZZLE #316

PATHFINDER 2

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

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

1W) James Bond film that will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2021 [8 3 7]

2E) Horse-_____ cart [5]

3S) Extremely skeptical [11]

4N) Eyelash thickener [7]

5N) Amelia Bedelia, and others in her line of work [5]

6E) Deep, deep sleeps [5]

7E) Pixar movie featuring two blue elf brothers [6]

8N) Bank vault that tends to land on cartoon characters [4]

9S) Paula who was a judge on the first eight seasons of American Idol [5]

10E) Partner of "Bed" and "Bath" in a store's name [6]

11W) Wealthy teen girl from Archie comics [8]

12S) Film studio that originally distributed Clerks [7]

13S) Wisconsin's state animal [6]

14S) _____ En-lai [4]

14S also) Sprouting "pet" that comes in a "Weird Al" model [4]

15N) Church, like the one in Westminster [5]

16S) Create computer software [7]

17N) Like contestants on a reality show hosted by RuPaul [2 4]

18N) Instrument heard in the iPhone's default ringtone [7]

19S) What "♥" can represent [4]

20N) Laser_____ (DVD ancestor) [4]

21S) Strong string often balled up [5]

22W) Flag holder [4]

23W) Prove Darwin's theory right, in a way [6]

24W) Band that performed silly love songs like "Silly Love Songs" [5]

25W) Hubble whom a telescope was named after [5]

26W) With "The", Adam Sandler movie where he performs '80s songs like "Love Stinks" [7 6]

27E) Approximate [7]

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 a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Link-Letters 9

Happy New Year (and good bleeping riddance to 2020)! I can't think of anything to smoothly segue from that, so here are the twelve people who solved "Link-Letters 9" from thirteen days ago:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Joe Bernard ****
• Kevin Orfield ****
• Patrick Jordan ****
• Stephen Potter ****
• Tyler Hinman ****
• Mom ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Dan & Lisa Simonds ****

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #315: Slide Show: Double Feature 2

PUZZLE #315

SLIDE SHOW: DOUBLE FEATURE 2

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 musical television show

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or 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: Brick By Brick 8

It's been close to two weeks since "Brick By Brick 8" was posted on this blog, and a whopping thirteen people since then have successfully solved it, as you can see in the list below:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Cindy Heisler ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Joe Bernard ****
• Kevin Orfield ****
• Tyler Hinman ****
• Stephen Potter ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Mom ****
• Brittany Trofimovich ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Elliott Frankfother ****
• Dan Simonds ****

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #314: Link-Letters 9

PUZZLE #314

LINK-LETTERS 9

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 eight 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 1980s computer game

1) _____ Rogers in the 25th Century

    Miami team that Shaquille O'Neal played for

2) Fester from The Addams Family, e.g.

    Actor Beatty who's not related to Warren Beatty

3) Sandwich made with pita bread

    Handles hard times

4) Gun a motor

    Tony-winning musical with the song "Seasons of Love"

5) When doubled, a #1 hit by the Archies

    Big lummox

6) Boat's bottom

    Jungle Book bear who later starred in TaleSpin

7) It's directly to the right of the "M" key on a QWERTY keyboard

    Leaping mammal on a yellow "XING" sign

8) Minute to _____ It (NBC/GSN game show)

    Conclusive evidence in court

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 a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Snake Charmer 5

Thirteen days have gone by since "Snake Charmer 5" was posted onto this blog, and twelve people since then have successfully solved it, all of whom are listed below:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Cindy Heisler ****
• Joe Bernard ****
• Tyler Hinman ****
• Kevin Orfield ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Patrick Jordan ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Mom ****
• Stephen Potter ****
• Elliott Frankfother ****

There aren't any solver's comments this week, but you can still head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #313: Brick By Brick 8

PUZZLE #313

BRICK BY BRICK 8

Place the 2x3 bricks into the grid below so that a crossword puzzle with rotational symmetry is formed. Each of the Across and Down clues hint at answers that appear in that row or column, all of which are in order. Be careful with the rows marked with a 7, 8, and 9, as the bricks that are placed in those rows will be split in half by a blue line, which you can see in the diagram above. Also, the letters that go in the blue line's squares will complete one answer in every Down column, though you'll have to figure out what those letters are.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is the name of a popular song from the 1970s

ACROSS

1) "Here I come to _____ the day!" (quote from Mighty Mouse)

    Monopoly space between Connecticut Avenue and St. Charles Place

    Clickable desktop image

2) Rome's largest fountain

    Long bone next to the radius

    Bull-ish lawnmower brand

3) Milky white heron

    "God of Mischief" portrayed by Tom Hiddleston

    Once more from the top

4) Newspaper with 130 Pulitzer Prizes: Abbr.

    Whirl around, like Crash Bandicoot

    Baby beluga

5) Symbol at the start of a music staff

    "High" shoe type

    Brandish a big blade

6) White shape on a soccer ball

    Opened a DVD player's tray

7) TV channel originally known as PAX

    In a bygone time

    Tetley beverage

8) THE FINAL ANSWER

9) Monkey that Genie turned into an elephant in Aladdin (1992)

    Honey _____ Cheerios

    Saucer in the sky, supposedly

10) TV-14 and PG-13, for two

      Pseudoscience that wanted to turn copper into gold

11) Home of Japan's largest manga museum

      Hawaii's state dance

      Layered cookie that once had a Caramel Apple flavor

12) Initials on an invitation

      Owned by that lady

      Trashy tabloid

13) Soft and white French cheese

      Large film format that won a Technical Oscar in 1997

      A Scanner Darkly star Reeves

14) Lunch or brunch, e.g.

      Dwayne Johnson's role in Moana

      Make a few changes

15) Star Fox 64 character who's a gray howling canine

      People seen on C-SPAN, for short

      Mario _____ Tour (mobile game)

DOWN

1) Malodorous odor

    Are You Afraid of the _____? ('90s Nickelodeon show)

    Parent company of Rolls-Royce

2) Diamond-shaped pattern on some socks

    Auction site that owns StubHub

    Old car company from the founder of Oldsmobile

3) Polygon's corner

    Video game stage that teaches you how to play it

4) WALL-E's love

    County event with a livestock show

    Last word of an FDR quote regarding fear

5) Part of FWIW or TGIF

    Female friend of Gumby with blonde hair and shapeshifting abilities

    Mo. when Daylight Saving Time ends in America

6) Calling on a cell

    _____ My Ride (2000s reality show hosted by Xzibit)

7) Lemur King from the Madagascar series

    Derriere

    Tiny and adorable Demon Lord from Endro! (or a former Chinese chairman)

8) Heart song that spent three weeks at #1

    Word following "pop" or "op"

    Moving company with orange and white trucks

9) Cartoonist's liquid

    Building block company that released Super Mario sets in 2020

    The Handmaid's Tale actress Bledel

10) Not of the clergy

      Jokey and silly

11) Stupefied state

      Fast food chain serving Popcorn Nuggets

      Punk subgenre performed by Less Than Jake and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones

12) Type of tilted text

      Silver salmon

      Antlered animal on Idaho's state flag

13) Colored bits that rain on $100,000 winners of Wheel of Fortune

      List of slip-ups

14) Minecraft's mineral resource

      Internet slang also known as "1337"

      Not as nice

15) _____ Hear This (surreal Looney Tunes short)

      June 6, 1944

      Chobani product

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: 5-Star Stumper 5

It's been almost two weeks since my fifth "5-Star Stumper" puzzle was posted on this blog, and twelve people since then have successfully solved it, as you can see in the list below:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Cindy Heisler ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Joe Bernard ****
• Kevin Orfield ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Tyler Hinman ****
• Patrick Jordan ****
• Stephen Potter ****
• Mom ****
• Lynn Sweeney ***
• Adam Weaver ****

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

PUZZLE #312: Snake Charmer 5

PUZZLE #312

SNAKE CHARMER 5

Enter the answers to each clue in the grid, starting in the correspondingly-numbered space and ending in the space before the next consecutive number. The chain of answer words will overlap itself, winding their way twice around the snake-shaped grid.

Once you've filled in the grid, unscramble the green squares to get the FINAL ANSWER: An eight-letter word

1) Tea variety whose name translates to "black dragon"

2) "The Way It Is" singer Bruce

3) Witness's statements that can be cross-examined in the Ace Attorney games

4) Breakfast of Champions author Kurt

5) Afternoon nap in Acapulco

6) Victorious

7) Eritrea's capital

8) Female role found in both Othello and The Taming of the Shrew

9) Ice down again

10) Wrinkly organ seen in the box art for Cranium

11) Incarcerated Let It Be producer Phil

12) The Price is Right game that involves swapping numbered blocks to complete five prices

13) Baseball team from the University of Texas at Austin

14) 8-bit units

15) _____ & Pumbaa ('90s Disney cartoon)

16) Actress Strahovski of NBC's Chuck

17) The most daring

18) Skylit lobby

19) Cult classic horror film with an eerie undertaker known only as "The Tall Man"

20) Horse breed that originated in the Middle East

21) Without a worry in the world

22) On Beyond _____! (Dr. Seuss book about adding more letters to the alphabet)

23) Gadget and Clouseau, for two

24) With "The", video game trilogy (later a Netflix series) starring a monster slayer named Geralt

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 a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: All Four One

It's been close to two weeks since a new format in the form of "All Four One" premiered on this blog, and twelve people since then have successfully solved it, as you can see in the list below:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Cindy Heisler ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Joe Bernard ****
• Kevin Orfield ****
• Tyler Hinman ****
• Stephen Potter ****
• Mom ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Elliott Frankfother ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Dan Simonds **

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