Cryptoquote Spoiler – 02/28/19

“You can imagine me as a kid growing up in redneck Texas with ballet shoes, tucking the violin under my arm.”   —   Patrick Swayze

(Maybe not the world’s greatest actor, but very talented to say the least.  And, he had great looks.  He was People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive in the early 1990s.  He was in a slew of very memorable films, like “The Outsiders”, “Uncommon Valor”, “Red Dawn”, “Dirty Dancing”, “Road House”, “Ghost”, “Point Break”, and more!  I knew about the ballet, but I didn’t know he also played the violin!  He died, way too young, from pancreatic cancer that had spread to his liver.  He had been a heavy smoker most of his life, and that likely was a factor in his illness.  Don’t smoke people!  Nothing good comes from it.  We welcome Patrick to the Cryptoquote Club today.  Too bad he’s not around to enjoy it.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Spoiler – 02/28/19

Visual Description:  Extensive European bus tour.

VRFEE  =  FEVER,  SOEBE  =  OBESE,  SOLIRA  =  SAILOR,  TONEMM  =  MOMENT   —   Giving us:  FEEOESSORMET

Clue/Question:  Between the Baltic and the Mediterranean, they visited sites – – –

Answer:  FROM “SEE“ TO “SEE“

(Wow!  You could probably see a good ten, or twelve, countries on a tour between those two seas!  More, if you zigzag a little.  Seems a little ambitious, but I’d be game to try.  Some of the countries, that were once part of other countries, are pretty small, but they all offer some great sights.  I wonder how long a tour like that would take.  Ten days to two weeks, I suppose.

All of today’s clue words are on the latest version of the ralis95 clue word database, that the big boss man sent to me and Hoyt last week.  We are only eight words shy of a full 33 pages of clue words!  That brings us to a current total of 3,259 clue words.  And, ralis95 made a number of suggestions to David L. Hoyt for some other – as of yet – unused clue words.  All of today’s jumbles are coming up as new.  “Soebe”  reminds me of the line of drinks called SoBe.  If you drink too many of them you will likely become “obese”.  “Solira” sounds like another new pharmaceutical that we need to ask our doctors about!  What a racket!  The answer letter layout was a grand 12-letter jumble.  Nice and cryptic.  I think today’s answer would qualify as being on the difficult side.

The cartoon is great.  I can’t tell what country and city they ended up at, but with all the beach activity it looks to be a warm climate.  Maybe Monaco, or the Cote D’Azur.  That looks like our buddy Jeff getting off the tour bus!  Great maritime vista, with the classic sinking sailboat on the horizon.  Plenty to like about today’s Jumble.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Spoiler – 02/27/19

“Human beings can lose their lives in libraries.  They ought to be warned.”   —   Saul Bellow

(Very humorous, Saul.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Spoiler – 02/27/19

Visual Description:  Pete Schweaty?

RYDTI  =  DIRTY,  KMISP  =  SKIMP,  NEETTX  =  EXTENT,  CCHITE  =  HECTIC   —   Giving us:  IYSKENET

Clue/Question:  Her husband smelled horrible after his workout, so she gave him the – – –

 

Answer:  STINK EYE

(I don’t think anyone would ague with me that this is a good stinky pun!  I’m not sure how common the phrase is, but I am familiar with it.  I never heard it as a kid, but plenty over the years.

All of the clue words are familiar old friends.  And, three of the jumbles have been used sometime before.  Only “rydti” is coming up as new.  Dirty spells out in alphabetical order.  I was able to see all the clue words right away.  The answer letter layout was kind of sneaky, for a simple eight letter jumble.  It took me a minute to complete the clue/question, and see the answer.

Fun cartoon, of a married couple, in their kitchen, in the morning.  I pull the same routine as the husband when I come in from mowing the lawn, during the summertime.  Great fun.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

 

 

Curtain Raiser

Decidedly more than “two cents”. Oh, and whoever doesn’t like this can lump it. — YUR

CollTales

Help Children Save Their Future, Colltalers

Less than a month since the Trump administration decided to oust Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, the country is in turmoil, clashing with neighbors, and facing civil war. What it’s farther from achieving, though, is the social stability Venezuelans want.
It’s another make-believe threat, to be sustained until or if this week’s North Korea summit produces a sliver of good news the president can boast about. It’ll further deplete the already poor climate change media coverage, the only war we should be fighting.
It’s inspiring to see the young, mostly children, in fact, jumping into the trenches for the climate fight, with the resolve and maturity rarely seen in our leaders. By pushing them hard, the kids are also exposing some pretty vexing realities about the adult world.
When members of the Sunrise Movement, middle and high school children advocating for climate action, visited California’s…

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Cryptoquote Spoiler – 02/26/19

“We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.”   —   Neal A. Maxwell

(One of those:  Don’t hide your light under a bushel basket kind of thoughts.  Many of us do it though.  A kind of confidence needs to be instilled in us from an early age.  Knowing better . . . later doesn’t make enough of a difference.  Mr. Maxwell has been gone quite a while now, but we welcome him into the Cryptoquote Club today!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Spoiler – 02/26/19

 

Visual Description:  Pair-ants?

NUDHO  =  HOUND,  BBIER  =  BRIBE,  OIDING  =  INDIGO,  RGYGOG  =  GROGGY   —   Giving us:  HUNBEIGRGG

Clue/Question:  The ant’s eggs hatched, and she didn’t mind a bit when the babies started – – –

Answer:  BUGGING HER

(A beautiful stinky pun . . . of a classic nature!  I’m pretty sure we’ve seen similar scenarios with flies and mosquitoes, somewhere throughout the long, and illustrious, history of the Jumble.  To humans, and to many mammals I suppose, insects are annoying.  That’s got to be part of the connection of being bugged by bugs.

All classic clue words today.  Some of them we haven’t seen in quite a while.  All of their jumbles appear to be new though.  I didn’t struggle with any of them though.  The answer letter layout was another fine jumble.  Not obvious.  As usual, the clue/question set the whole thing up very nicely.

The cartoon is great.  The mommy ant looks very motherly.  It looks like dad could be in construction.  I liked the little welcome mat, and the neighbor’s anthill across the way.  But, why does this ant family have a side door, instead of a top door like most anthills???  Some ants can be very destructive, but most are cool.  Except for fire ants!  They are literally a pain!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google.

Cryptoquote Spoiler – 02/25/19

“In an underdeveloped country, don’t drink the water:  in a developed country, don’t breathe the air.”   —   Jonathan Raban

(Probably still true today, at least to an extant.  I’ve never heard of this guy, but we welcome him to the Cryptoquote Club today.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Spoiler – 02/25/19

Visual Description:  Unhappy tenants.

NALUN  =  ANNUL,  USENE  =  ENSUE,  TRIGYT  =  GRITTY,  RUVEDO  =  DEVOUR   —   Giving us:  ANNEEGRTDEV

Clue/Question:  When their brand new heating/cooling system broke again, he – – –

Answer:  VENTED HIS ANGER

(Very good, stinky pun.  I guess they’re owners, not renters.

No new clue words today.  Three new jumbles, with “nalun” having been used before.  The answer letter layout was a fine 11-letter jumble.

Swell cartoon.  I hate when things don’t work.  Especially, new things.  Extra-especially, new things that you payed a lot of money for.   I like the snowman outside the window.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Sunday Cryptoquote Spoiler – 02/24/19

“You’ll never have a quiet world until you knock patriotism out of the human race.”   —   George Bernard Shaw

(George is/was correct.  Patriotism is just an amped up version of tribalism.  No group of people is inherently better than any other group of people.  We all love our children, and we all bleed red.  Why concern ourselves with questions of color, or creed, or sexuality, or gender identification, or nationality?  We are so much better when we work in concert with each other.  Let’s try to view the human race as a symphony orchestra.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google