Image by dherrera_96 via Flickr
Visual Description: Commuters improvising a passage of Puget Sound.
OTCTNO = COTTON, RESRRO = ERRORS, ANINKP = NAPKIN, PIATCM = IMPACT, NEMTDA = TANDEM, SMICOA = MOSAIC — Giving us: TTNRROSNAIMPTTAOSA
Clue/Question: The sailboat provided this after the ferry was shut down.
Answer: “MAST“ TRANSPORTATION
(Wow! 18 answer letters! This might be some kind of record for the longest Jumble answer. EVERYTHING was scrambled well, today. Excellent clue words. And, there was no give away in the answer letters. This could be the guys’ masterpiece! I even had to double check myself on “errors”, as they are supposed to stay away from making nouns plural. But, when you use the word as a verb tense then it is permissible. I bet a lot of you wordsmiths struggled some getting this one. Enjoy the day, guys. Be well and do good.) — YUR
Related articles
- Upcoming fishing and outdoor calendar with activities datebook (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
- Digging for geoducks: Work is hard, but rewards are big (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Unclerave's Wordy Weblog 
In my SANTA BARBARA NEWS PRESS a mistake was made by SOMEONE! On the word IMPACT ….in the circles I M & C . . . they should have put the circle where the T is to make the correct first word “MAST”. It really messed me up until I discovered there should be 4 T’s in the answer not 3 with using the incorrect circled C!
I feel your pain. And, hope you complain . . . to the editor of your newspaper. They need to realize that we puzzle people take these things seriously!
— YUR
I’m not sure how the circles would be changed by someone. The puzzle is sent as is to all the newspapers, they should not be doing anything but dropping in the paper.
I agree with LUJBEM FEJF.
The papers just run what they are sent, as received.
All Jeff is saying is what they (the newspapers) SHOULD be doing. Any individual at any newspaper, with the proper access, *could* still be affecting some some kind of change. As much as we love the puzzles, they aren’t the friggin’ Manhattan Project.
— YUR
Manhattan Project! Ha! Anyway, YUR, you said that verbs could be used that end in S. For example: SKATES (plural noun) and SKATES (present tense verb). However, I don’t think ERRORS is a verb. Is it? I keep thinking it is ERRS for the verb form. I didn’t look it up, but that one really threw me because I didn’t think the guys used plural nouns. Even adding ED to the end of some clue words throws me off. It took me from Sunday morning until Monday night to finish this puzzle. I was busy and well…foggy headed, I think!