Visual Description: The Tower of Big Ben . . . again.
DIOIGN = INDIGO, GHUTTA = TAUGHT, RUNEMA = MANURE, CTIELI = ELICIT, TOAANS = SONATA, GLIEMN = MINGLE — Giving us: IDGTAMAEIINTAMNE
Clue/Question: They’d seen London’s famous clock tower on numerous occasions and enjoyed it – – –
Pre-Answer: Four Words (4-letters) (3-letters) (4-letters) (5-letters)
Answer: TIME AND TIME AGAIN
(Of course! With a big, famous clock tower you just had to know that the word TIME was going to be part of the answer. My initial reaction, after reading the clue/question, and before looking at the answer letter layout was: EACH AND EVERY TIME. Of course the letters didn’t allow for that particular answer, but it allowed me to see the actual answer. Maybe they’ve used EACH AND EVERY TIME before. Or, maybe we’ll see it in the future???
I just had to go out on a limb yesterday, and say that our friend Hoyt would NOT give us a new clue word today! Well, he did it anyway. Yup, somehow they have avoided using the world’s oldest fertilizer – “manure” – until today. So, our good friend, ralis95, will have to add it to his world famous database! Five of the six jumbles appear to be new, with “ghutta” having definitely been used some time in the past. The answer letter layout was an impressive sixteen letter jumble. Nothing given away there. The final answer was set up perfectly by the clue/question and the cartoon, with its dialog.
Another top notch Big Ben cartoon, from our buddy, Jeff. Ya gotta love his stereotypical tourists! Some just pointing up, another taking a picture with his cell phone. And, the main characters, especially the guy, with his Union Jack tee-shirt, Rolling Stones baseball cap, and a fanny-pack, taking a selfie using a selfie-stick! Classic! Be well and do good, friends.) — YUR
Images courtesy of Google
What a load of horsestuff our new word is. It fails the Sunday morning puzzle breakfast test* and earns a spot on my difficult Jumble word list as well as ralis95’s database today, all in one reeking pile.
I had to back into MANURE in reverse. Doing the puzzle online in the gerfluckte Flash version as seen at the Seattle Times, when stuck on the fourth Sunday word, one can’t even see the fifth and sixth regular words until the fourth word is solved, which makes backing in more of a challenge, because it’s unclear which letters have to go in the circles. Having solved the final answer from the clue, cartoon, and letter pattern, I could only deduce that the uncircled letters in MANURE had to include the R and the U, since those do not appear in the final answer. That’s what finally gave me enough of a kick in the pants to get to the fertilizer gold. You people.
*The Sunday morning puzzle breakfast test: Puzzle editor asks constructor: “Is this a word we want to think about while solving the puzzle over Sunday breakfast??” Lately the NYTimes Crossword puzzle has been testing this traditional barrier with occasional “vulgarities” that had been previously off-limits, like CRAP (though clued in their case to the gambling dice game), which as you might imagine, has generated some online discussion among traditionalists about our descent into a cultural abyss.
All the bastions of civilization are crumbling, David! — YUR