Cryptoquote Spoiler – 05/16/18

“Many people die at twenty-five and aren’t buried until they’re seventy-five.”   —   Benjamin Franklin

(Ol’ Ben seemed to roam from humorousness to profundity, with great ease.  Don’t think you are grown, friends.  Don’t stop learning.  Keep on your toes, and you may stay forever young.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

(Tough) Jumble Spoiler – 05/16/18

Visual Description:  Center of attention?

DAGUR  =  GUARD,  SEEAC  =  CEASE,  DOTUIS  =  STUDIO,  PRISTC  =  SCRIPT   —   Giving us:  UADCESESTOSRIT

Clue/Question:  When the basketball player appeared as a witness, the jury had – – –

Answer:  COURT–SIDE SEATS

(This one was far from obvious, for me!  I thought the answer had more to do with the jury being so star-struck, by the player’s presence.  I also didn’t get why there was a hyphen.  I guess I never really thought of courtside as a single – compound – word before.  I’m not alone though.  WordPress has just flagged it as a misspelling!  None of today’s clue words are new, though all of the jumbles appear to be.  Though new, none of them gave me any pause.

The answer letter layout was a jumble masterpiece!  It certainly hid all the answer words from me.  Through some head scratching, the word COURT came to me, as it just seemed to make sense, considering where everyone was.  I wasn’t 100% sure if it was the first word, or the third, at first.  But, a bell went off, and everything fell into place.

Looking at the cartoon now, I can see that Jeff was giving us a clue, by having the jury box so close to the witness stand.  Still, everyone’s mouth being open, except for the judge’s, was making me think along the lines of star-struck something.  It seems like a fairly informal court, with the judge’s bench not looking elevated, and the witness stand just being a chair.  But, now I’m also noticing the courtroom floor.  It looks like a gym floor!  This was a tough one for yer old uncle.  How ’bout you folks?  Did you see it right away, or did you struggle some?  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google