New Year’s Eve Cryptoquote Spoiler – 12/31/19

“Make a resolution to stay safe this New Year’s Eve; don’t drink and drive.”   —   Your Puzzle Friends

(Very appropriate advice!  If you’re not used to drinking this is a bad night to start.  Plus, you might be okay and in control, but there are plenty of others out there who might be out of control.  Tonight is THE night to practice defensive driving.  Be careful, folks.  Make sure you have a Happy New Year!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Spoiler – 12/31/19

Visual Description:  22 years ago???

VYRAG  =  GRAVY,  PIWRE  =  WIPER,  FEXRIP  =  PREFIX,  NABREN  =  BANNER   —   Giving us:  GRYWEREIANN

Clue/Question:  When he proposed to her on December 31, they were able to – – –

Answer:  RING IN THE NEW YEAR

(A wonderfully stinky pun . . . that I got right away today!  No misdirection for me this time!  No doubt the answer slots, separated by IN THE, also made this a simpler solve, for me.  I was a little confused by the cartoon, because I first thought that was the MGM Grand lion, and this might be Las Vegas, and not New York.  But, because of the way the couple are dressed, and the steam coming out of her mouth, NYC made much more sense.

I really thought that we might have a new clue word, in “prefix”, because I don’t remember seeing it before.  But, not only is it not new, we’ve seen it with this exact jumble before!  The other three clue words are also old, yet their jumbles are coming up as new.  The answer letter layout was Hoyt’s well-constructed eleven letter jumble, but for the reasons stated above I got the answer right away.

A sweet, nostalgic cartoon from our buddy, Jeff.  After ruling out the MGM Grand lion, my mind went to “The Lion King” musical, which opened on Broadway a little over 22 years ago.  Did this proposal, to the lovely Kathy, take place 22 years ago?  21 years ago?  I’m trying to go by Sydney’s general age, now that she’s in college.  Anyways, a great New Year’s Eve Jumble.  I hope that everyone has a Happy, Healthy, Safe and Prosperous New Year!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Spoiler – 12/30/19

“It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly.”   —   Source Unclear

(No argument from me.  You’re not supposed to put the cart before the horse.  I like how they introduced UNCLEAR to the Source Obscure/Uncertain/Unknown stable.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Tough Jumble Spoiler – 12/30/19

Visual Description:  Urban fixtures?

MOSPT  =  STOMP,  NRIBE  =  BRINE,  ROSMYT  =  STORMY,  CANGLE  =  GLANCE   —   Giving us:  STPRINESTRLANE

Clue/Question:  The mimes had worked together for years and enjoyed being – – –

Answer:  SILENT PARTNERS

(Oh, sure.  NOW I get it!  But, when was the last time we saw a fourteen letter answer on a Monday?  Really!  The pun makes perfect sense, now that I see it.  But, boy, at first I was NOT seeing it.

First things first.  It is looking like we have a new clue word today, in “brine”.  The ralis95 clue word database goes from BRING to BRINY, but no “brine”.  So, there you go.  Two of the jumbles came up as new, but we’ve definitely seen “mospt” and “cangle” before.  The answer letter layout was an enormous fourteen letter jumble, which I thought did a super job of disguising the final answer.  My first thought was that the mimes were street performers, so the first word was going to be STREET.  But, I couldn’t make squat out of PNSRLNIA!  Then their shirts told me that maybe the first word was STRIPE, but that left me with NSTRLANE.  I could work with that, but the answer STRIPE LANTERNS just didn’t ring very punny.  Then I thought maybe the the second word was STRIPERS.  But, nothing can be made out of NTLANE!  I was about to throw in the towel, as I was beginning this post, when the answer just came to me.  I wasn’t even looking at the letters.  I had to check off the letters, one by one, to see that it was correct.  Now, guys.  PLEASE don’t tell me the answer was STRIPE LANTERNS!

Great cartoon of a couple of mimes, and a small crowd.  It was the woman’s comment that made me think the first word might be STREET!  I liked the tips hat on the ground, but it didn’t stand out that well because of all the feet.  I just hope that most of you had an easier time with this one than I did.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Sunday Jumble Spoiler – 12/29/19

Visual Description:  State sanctioned, televised gambling.

CPCETA  =  ACCEPT,  MTYLIE  =  TIMELY,  TBUDIO  =  OUTBID,  VSEEWR  =  SWERVE,  TUOGEA  =  OUTAGE,  GMTENA  =  MAGNET   —   Giving us:  ACTELOIDSWROGAN

Clue/Question:  The TV show where they determined the winning lottery numbers was – – –

Pre-Answer:  Four Words  (7-letters)  (2-letters)  (1-letter)  (5-letters)

Answer:  DRAWING TO A CLOSE

(Ooh!  I like this stinky pun!  Drawing is a great synonym of a lottery.  It’s all the luck of the draw.  No skill, or knowledge of the game, required.  It’s like the box-pools for the big games.  No odds, point spreads, or bookies involved.  And, you don’t have to deal with some cheesy phone app.  But, there is always the slight chance that some kind of fix is in.  Always is, when big money is involved.

There are no new clue words today, so ralis95 can rest easy.  It looks like all of today’s jumbles are coming up as new though.  The only one that I hesitated on was “outbid”.  I’ve never been a fan of those compound words!  The answer letter layout was a super fifteen letter jumble.  It took me a few looks before I saw the answer.

Great cartoon of a lottery television studio!  In New York they mainly use lady hosts, although they do have one dude calling the numbers.  We play, occasionally, but we’d be just as happy winning the second prize of those multi-state lotteries.  A cool million would get our butts out of debt, and provide us with a little cushion going forward.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

 

Sunday Cryptoquote Spoiler – 12/29/19

“Even children learn in growing up that “both” is not an admissible answer to “which one?”.”   —   Paul Samuelson

(I don’t know, Paul.  When I’m out at the bar with my buds, and they ask me:  Which one, the blonde or the brunette?  I usually say both!  Not that I’d ever leave with both!  Or one, for that matter.  I’m an old married man, for Christ’s sake!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Belated Cryptoquote Spoiler – 12/23/19

“Visits always give pleasure – if not the arrival, the departure.”   —   Portuguese Proverb

(It kind of depends on who the visitors are, and how long they stay.  It looks like this is our first Portuguese proverb!  Cool!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Belated Jumble Spoiler – 12/23/19

Visual Description:  Planting the seeds of knowledge.

ENHOY  =  HONEY,  LRIEN  =  LINER,  PLUCTS  =  SCULPT,  CAJEKT  =  JACKET   —   Giving us:  HNELINSULAT

Clue/Question:  Acorns turn into oak trees.  That’s the explanation – – –

Answer:  IN A NUTSHELL

(Warning:  This Jumble was produced in a facility that processes tree nuts!  Some people are so allergic to peanuts and other nuts these days, and it’s no joke.  Anaphylaxis can be deadly.  When I was growing up it was inconceivable to be so allergic to something as simple as a peanut.  Perhaps man’s evolution has peaked, and now we’re devolving???  It seems like all forms of tolerance these days are shrinking as well.  That could also be a sign of our decline.  At least scientists are working on making those allergic types more tolerant.  Once they get that down, maybe they could work on our other declining tolerances?

All of this day’s clue words were already on the ralis95 clue word database.  Two of the jumbles came up as new, but we’ve seen both “enhoy” and “plucts” sometime in the past.  The answer letter layout was a great eleven letter jumble.  Nothing about it was obvious.

Nice classroom cartoon.  It’s kind of hard to gauge the age of the students.  They might be middle schoolers.  I’ve always liked acorns.  They just look cool, and feel great in my hand.  And, they have great potential.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

 

Belated Sunday Jumble Spoiler – 12/22/19

Visual Description:  Family holiday tiff.

GTIPSO  =  SPIGOT,  SEEPOX  =  EXPOSE,  PTMRIO  =  IMPORT,  REDDEG  =  DREDGE,  VAHNEE  =  HEAVEN,  CIREEF  =  FIERCE   —   Giving us:  SIOPSEIRTRDEAEFRC

Clue/Question:  When each of them thought they were going to plan Christmas dinner, it was a – – –

Pre-Answer:  Three Words  (6-letters)  (3-letters)  (8-letters)

Answer:  RECIPE FOR DISASTER

(I seem to remember this as being a tough solve!  I think it took me a while to catch the plan/recipe connection.  I’m pretty sure the ugly and disaster connection was a little more evident to me.

This Jumble did present us with a new clue word, in “spigot”.  Hopefully, our friend ralis95 will be entering it into his world famous clue word database.  The jumbles all appeared to be new, but none of them stumped me.  The answer letter layout was a super duper seventeen letter jumble.  Nothing about it was obvious to me.

The cartoon is a great holiday scene, complete with a Christmas tree, a wreath, and a couple of really great ugly Christmas sweaters.  I hope they weren’t given to the ladies by Gonzo from the Muppets!  The ladies are arguing over turkey, or ham, but for Christmas I prefer prime rib!  Yum!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Belated Sunday Cryptoquote Spoiler – 12/22/19

“If the Romans had been obliged to learn Latin, they would never have found time to conquer the world.”   —   Heinrich Heine

(LOL!  I guess it’s not the easiest language to learn.  You’d think that it could help in learning French, Spanish and Italian.  And, Portuguese too.  But, it’s considered a “dead language” because no country speaks it anymore.  Other than some in the Catholic church, and scientific classifications it’s rarely seen.   I can barely speak my own language.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google