XWord Muggles Forum

Hello solvers! There's a new contest puzzle from Fill Me In. I'll rate this one 2.2 bananas on a scale of 5 bananas. (Bananas has nothing to do with the puzzle, it's just a 1-to-5 scale we made up.)

The puzzle is called "They're All Tied Up!" and was constructed by me (Brian Cimmet). The solution to the puzzle is a 9-letter word.

The crossword can be downloaded from here. You're welcome to solve, you're even welcome to join in the chatter about the puzzle -- but if you want to be eligible for a prize, you have to listen to the podcast for this week's password. The podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, our own website, or wherever you collect your podcasts.

Once you've solved the puzzle, submit your answer and this week's password by email to fmi@bemoresmarter.com. You can also contact us with any suggestions, questions, comments, or ideas. Thanks for playing along!

Solved

There’s a bonus thingy after you solve…..

Interesting. Maybe the bonus thing depends on how you solved?

Thanks, Brian! Very creative.

Got it, and think I know what @Meg is referring to, but not completely certain.

Let me rephrase. If you solved on paper, there’s a thing you can do after solving. I hope this is not a spoiler!

Got it.

I've split the banana.

This one really deserves a graphic to go along with the answer explanation, which will be difficult to do on the podcast:)

Banana's split.
Great construction!

Thanks to Meg for reminding me of the puzzle—easy and fun. I also see the extra piece at the end. Great job by Brian as always. Loved having a few baseball references and a clue about one of my favorite TV shows ever, House.

Got it...as always, I very much enjoy the FMI meta style. I can definitely see the bonus thingy hiding in plain sight and look forward to a paper solver posting a pic when the answer is revealed.

Very nice!

Solved. Great puzzle!

Hello solvers,

The solution to this contest was SHOELACES.

The puzzle was a rebus puzzle, with nine squares that were an O plus another letter. The nine other letters spelled SHOELACES.

But more to the method -- there was a specific pattern to follow, not just anagramming. The nine O's were meant to graphically represent the eyelets that shoelaces are woven through, and if you draw lines connecting the O's in the pattern you would weave your laces, the letters go in order to spell the answer. (As an added bonus, there were no other O's in the grid except for the nine rebus squares.)

There's a new contest puzzle, and a new post in this forum for it. I hope you give it a try!

(One of our more talented muggles would have figured out how to put a pretty bow on top, but this is the best I could manage.)