Sunday Cryptoquote Spoiler – 12/31/17

“The place of the father in modern society is a very small one, particularly if he plays golf.”   —   Bertrand Russell

(Maybe during the 1950s and ’60s, but today’s dads are much more involved with their families.  Happy New Year to one and all!  Be well, be safe and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Sunday Jumble Spoiler – 12/31/17

Visual Description:  Very loose New Year’s Eve tie-in.

SISNTI  =  INSIST,  PSYELE  =  SLEEPY,  CNATOE  =  OCTANE,  NULEGO  =  LOUNGE,  TERAGY  =  GYRATE,  GRILEB  =  GERBIL   —   Giving us:  INSSLOTNLOGGRTGI

Clue/Question:  The weightlifters were in their 70s and 80s, but they were – – –

Pre-Answer:  Three Words   (5-letters)  (5-letters)  (6-letters)

Answer:  STILL GOING STRONG

(If it weren’t for the one old gent wondering if he could make it to midnight, there would be nothing about this Jumble to tie to New Year’s Eve.  But, the Jumble worked regardless.  There are all old favorite words to close out 2017, with only one returning jumble, in “sisnti”.  The other five jumbles appear to be new.  I wrote all but “gyrate” instantly.  But, when I wrote out the answer letter layout, and read the clue/question, I realized I’d made a mistake . . . somewhere.  Turns out I made TWO mistakes.  In my feeble addled mind, the words ELYPSE and CANOTE seemed perfectly acceptable!  Knowing the answer allowed me to back into the correct clue words.  At least I had enough for STILL GOING, but the ECNTGR provided for my uh-oh moment!  Fun cartoon.  I see a lot of older guys working out at the gym.  That is when I go!  Be well, be safe – if you’re out on the roads tonight – and do good, friends.  Happy New Year to David and Jeff, and all of the loyal Jumble fans!)   —   YUR

Cryptoquote Spoiler – 12/30/17

“There’s just something beautiful about walking in snow that nobody else has walked on.”   —   Carol Rifka Brunt

(It’s magical.  Fresh snow still thrills me today, as it did when I was a small boy.  This is our first quotation from Carol Rifka Brunt, since I’ve been posting these spoilers.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Jumble Spoiler – 12/30/17

Visual Description:  Lin–Manuel Miranda, eat your heart out!

TICPH  =  PITCH  =  ROURB  =  BURRO,  GIHMYT  =  MIGHTY,  FITANN  =  INFANT   —   Giving us:  PTUMHIA

Clue/Question:  The pigs who put on the musical loved to – – –

Answer:  HAM IT UP

(Ham-ilton is a must see!  Of course, I haven’t seen it yet.  But, maybe someday.  And of course, at $1000 – $1200 a ticket, it could be a long wait for yer dear old uncle!  Pigs, hamming it up, has been a popular recurring solve for The Jumble, but this one dove-tailed perfectly with the wildly popular Broadway show.

All of today’s clue words are old favorites, yet all of their jumbles came up as new.  I always hesitate a little on “burro” because of burrow, but they were all fine jumbles.  The answer letter layout made for a fine jumble too.  The cartoon is even more entertaining than yesterday’s barnyard scene!  It looks like yesterday’s “ESCAPE” GOAT made it back for the performance.  I guess he sowed his wild oats, and came back for the camaraderie of his fellow farm friends.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Jumble Spoiler – 12/29/17

Visual Description:  Barnyard jailbreak.

XEPLI  =  PIXEL,  AOOCC  =  COCOA,  GIMSAT  =  STIGMA,  TUBENA  =  BUTANE   —   Giving us:  PECOSGATAE

Clue/Question:  When one of the barnyard animals got out, the other animals blamed the – – –

Answer:  “ESCAPE“ GOAT

(Until I realized there was no D, I thought the first word might be scaped.  I know it’s not really a word, but that’s how my wife pronounces escaped!  None of today’s clue words are new, however three of the jumbles appear to be.  We’ve definitely had “gimsat” before.  I love the word “stigma” though.  It’s a simple, but powerful word.  The answer letter layout was an excellent jumble!  It reads like some town in the southwest.  Pecos Gate, New Mexico?  Cute cartoon.  Who doesn’t like talking animals?  In the distance you can see the faint visage of one said billy-goat!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Cryptoquote Spoiler – 12/29/17

“Love has no uttermost, as the stars have no number and the sea no rest.”   —   Eleanor Farjeon

(A nice poetic line, from a poet who appears to be new to the Cryptoquote.  I’ve got to be in the right mood to *enjoy* poetry, as I’m a very simple man.  I couldn’t figure out this last name to save my life.  I was extremely surprised to find that she was English, as the last name sounds about as British, to me, as Ndamukong  Suh sounds German!  I was also frustrated in not being able to learn “Farjeon”‘s origin and/or meaning.  Has the end of net neutrality already come into play???  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Cryptoquote Spoiler – 12/28/17

“Mistakes are part of the game.  It’s how well you recover from them, that’s the mark of a great player.”   —   Alice Cooper

(Our first Alice Cooper quote!  At least, since I’ve been posting these spoilers that is.  I always got a kick out of “Alice” Cooper.  And, to an extent, “Marilyn” Manson.  Kind of a reversal of George Sand,  George Eliot, and Isak Dinesen, to name a few.  For a completely different reason, I know.  But, still amusing to me.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Jumble Spoiler – 12/28/17

Visual Description:  Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’.  Keep them dogfish rollin’.  Keep them dogfish rollin’, rawfish!!!

HABEY  =  HYENA,  VARFO  =  FAVOR,  TONINO  =  NOTION,  EPTREM  =  TEMPER   —   Giving us:  HYAFAVOINTEER

Clue/Question:  Restaurants in Tokyo sell sushi to customers who – – –

Answer:  HAVE A YEN FOR IT

(I’m not real up on the exchange rate for the Yen, but I’m pretty sure you’d need much more than “A YEN” to pay for sushi.  But, this did make for a fun pun.  I knew the answer immediately, so I handed it off to my 26 year old daughter, to see if she was familiar enough with the idiom, to come up with the answer.  She wasn’t!  From the wording of the clue/question, she did figure out that the first two words were HAVE A, but I had to give her a hint for the third word.  She only knew YEN as a currency, and not as a synonym for desire. 

The guys have to be careful with these types of cartoon/puzzles though.  There could be some militant Asian types who – somehow – find this offensive!  “Why?” you might ask.  The better question these days is “Why not?”.  Because, give an overly sensitive type an inch, and they’ll take a mile.  Or, take you to court.  Actual court, or the court of public opinion, aka:  social media.  Where the butterfly affect almost always takes a minor ripple, and turns it into a freaking tsunami.   Always quick to judge . . . and convict, using today’s morays.  But, usually reticent to forgive – or even understand – the fact that people viewed a slew of things differently in the past. 

And, forget about retractions.  Charges and allegations are always Front Page HEADLINE News, while the withdrawal of the insulting, slanderous aspersions are almost always buried on page nine or ten, in a very minor font.  Forgive the old-school newspaper reference.  I can’t think of the instant gratification equivalent. 

But, suffice to say that I am not happy with today’s “political correctness”, because it has just become an absolute mania.  It’s the 21st Century version of the Salem witch hunts, or the 1950’s McCarthy Era “communist” outing and shaming.  Low, low depths in American history.  And, if you try to play devil’s advocate, or try to see the other side of the coin, you also get branded as some kind of traitor.  It has become ludicrous, because the people who had always preached tolerance are now the intolerant ones.  I hate the term, because I’ve always considered myself a very progressive liberal, but I think we are experiencing a kind of liberal fascism.  We really need to take a step, or two, back . . . and just breathe.  Or pretty soon we all might be reciting a revised version of “First They Came . . .”  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Cryptoquote Spoiler – 12/27/17

“Kindness is always fashionable, and always welcome.”   —   Amelia Barr

(I sure wish that more of us were more fashion conscious, in this respect.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Jumble Spoiler – 12/27/17

Visual Description:  Philadelphia, Denver, or San Francisco?

TYTKI  =  KITTY,  VICCI  =  CIVIC,  GIDNIO  =  INDIGO,  NIWONM  =  MINNOW   —   Giving us:  ITTCIINDOMNNO

Clue/Question:  When the coin-production facility was completed, it was in – – –

Answer:  MINT CONDITION

(This one made me chuckle!  “The coin-production facility”!  Ya gotta love it!  All of the clue words are familiar old friends, yet all of the jumbles came up as new.  The answer letter layout was actually an excellent jumble.  If you didn’t pick up from the clue/question, and the cartoon and its dialog, you might have had some difficulty deciphering the answer letter layout.  The cartoon is a fun period piece.  From the clothing, I’m guessing this is the Denver Mint, opened in 1906.  But, I could be wrong.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR