Jumble Spoiler – 07/17/17

Visual Description:  A peak performance!

PRAAT  =  APART,  FTORN  =  FRONT,  ROMPIT  =  IMPORT,  DEULHD  =  HUDDLE   —   Giving us:  PRTFOTMOHE

Clue/Question:  When they sang songs at the summit, they sang them – – –

Answer:  FROM THE TOP

(A very nice, stinky pun!  All of the clue words are old favorites, again.  We’ve seen “praat” before, but the other jumbles are coming up as new.  The answer letter layout was a superb jumble.  It gave nothing away.  I don’t have the cartoon in front of me, as I never received the newspaper today, and I wrote it free-hand, from viewing it on ArkansasOnline.com.  But, I’m sure the cartoon was the pinnacle of Jeff’s abilities!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Cryptoquote Spoiler – 07/17/17

“We all know that a good example is more effective than advice.  So, set a good example, and it won’t take long for others to follow.”   —   Anne Frank

(If she actually wrote the diary that’s been attributed to her, she was wise far beyond her years.  I’ve seen claims that someone else wrote it a few years after the war, as kind of a propaganda piece.  I think it’s something that can’t possibly be proven, one way or another.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Sunday Jumble Spoiler – 07/16/17

Visual Description:  A James “Buster” Douglas type deal.

HGRACE  =  CHARGE,  HARWTT  =  THWART,  OHHTUG  =  THOUGH,  CILOPE  =  POLICE,  NOMIEC  =  INCOME,  CENBOK  =  BECKON   —   Giving us:  HAETHTTHUPOCINMBE

Clue/Question:  The boxer was expected to win easily, but his opponent – – –

Pre-Answer:  Five Words  (4-letters) (3-letters) (2-letters) (3-letters) (5-letters)

Answer:  BEAT HIM TO THE PUNCH

(Who doesn’t like a good boxing pun?  Great Jumble!  There were no new clue words today, but 5 of the jumbles were new.  Hoyt has used “cenbok” some time before.  They all came to me pretty easily.  The answer letter layout was very impressive.  Nothing obvious about it.  As usual, the clue/question and the cartoon – and dialog – set things up very nicely.  The Don King-esque promoter was a nice touch. 

I remember watching the Buster Douglas upset of Mike Tyson, on HBO, a bunch of years ago.  Even though I had been a Tyson fan, he had grown arrogant and boorish.  The fight was in Japan, and there were some Japanese dignitaries in the ring, during the pre-fight ceremonies, and Tyson completely dis-respected them.  I was glad that Douglas beat him.  I also remember watching the relatively unknown,  but up and coming George Foreman stun Joe Frazier, in a fight carried on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, when I was 15 years old.  Everyone expected it to be a fight, as Frazier, the champ, was heavily favored.  But, the combination of Foreman’s brute strength, and Frazier’s straight forward style of “boxing”, made it a slaughter, that didn’t even last 2 rounds.  I thought that Howard Cosell was going to have a stroke, the way he shrieked:  “Down goes Frazier!  Down goes Frazier!  Down goes Frazier!”  It’s one of those memories that are indelibly etched in my brain.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Sunday Cryptoquote Spoiler – 07/16/17

“When I speak my native tongue in its utmost purity in England, an Englishman can’t understand me at all.”   —   Twain

(Very funny, and true.  Our American English is a far cry from the “original”, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Queen herself could understand me better than some Cockney!  That’s English???  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR