unclerave

Jumble Spoiler – 07/07/20

Bob Ross Painting by Zenon Matias Jimenez

Visual Description:  Bob Ross redux?

RIHTD  =  THIRD,  ESBLS  =  BLESS,  KAQUWS  =  SQUAWK,  CRLOED  =  COLDER   —   Giving us:  THRBSSSUKOER

Clue/Question:  To complete the painting of the golf course’s thicket, the artist took – – –

A happy little mystery. Where are the original Bob Ross paintings ...

Answer:  BRUSH STROKES

(Another excellent, stinky pun.  We don’t really hear the word “thicket” all that much these days, so I’m glad that the boys are using it here today.  Keep Vocabulary Alive!  Maybe they can come up with a Python-esque Jumble, giving us a “shrubbery” some day?  Or, for our Southwestern friends – or amigos – maybe a “chaparral”.  Ooh, now we’re talkin’!

There were no new clue words today.  And/but, all the jumbles did come up as new, for me.  I noticed that David L. Hoyt has never used the word “squaw” before.  It’s from the Algonquin, and it simply means woman/wife.  Although NOW, the dictionaries say the word is dated, usually disparaging, and usually offensive.  Our American forebears ran with the word for a few hundred years, kind of figuring all “Indians” were alike.  But, they were/are actually quite diverse.  So, don’t hold yer breath, waiting for Hoyt to use “squaw”!  The answer letter layout was another very impressive twelve letter jumble.  The first thing I noticed – even before glancing at the cartoon and clue/question – was that there were only three vowels!  I think this played a factor in my getting the final answer so quickly.

Great cartoon of a Bob Ross wannabe!  I can hardly believe the real Bob Ross has been dead for 25 years now.  Not exactly high art, he was more known for the speed in which he created very serviceable paintings.  He was also know for his quiet tones, and saying things like “happy little trees”, or “happy little clouds” and “There are no mistakes, only happy accidents.”  And, he regularly used brushes that most of us would use to paint a room with!  His show was on PBS, and it ran for 11 years, in the ’80s and ’90s.  It’s funny, because in some ways he’s even bigger today than when he was alive.  People be funny!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google and Fine Art America and Art and Design Inspiration

 

 

38 comments

  1. One of my all time favorites is COPSE…Especially in light of today’s climate…Be well, UR, and stay safe…🌲🌳🌲🙋🏻‍♀️

  2. So I wonder what politically-correct term will have to be used for the dark, semi-sweet sandwich bread that is a fairly common deli option.

  3. As golf answers go, I give this one a thumb’s up. No thumbs up for the golf answer on June 26th, yet another pun pivoting on the word “course.” This one felt original to me, though, and gave me a minute’s trouble. You think DLH and JK are obsessed with the British royal family, but I think golf is their #1 frequent-flyer theme for final answers.

    Despite the benign original definition for “squaw,” I’d say that word is too offensive generally for Jumble, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it appeared in Jumble back in the 1950s or even 1960s. But this kind of standard can be taken too far.

    The NYTimes Crossword Puzzle crowd has a minor revolt going in their blog column because the puzzle used the word NIP as an answer today. No, it wasn’t clued as Elaine Benes’ Christmas card wardrobe malfunction, or as a person of Japanese descent. It was clued as “It may be in the autumn air;” a benign clue with a benign answer in common English usage. Yet on the blog many commenters are charging the Times with “racism” because the word was commonly used to denigrate Japanese people particularly during the 1940s. Most people who have responded or rated comments have in effect told the complainers to get a life; the complainers are definitely in the minority. But still, quite a few solvers are objecting and even threatening to cancel subscription(s) to puzzle and newspaper. Political Correctness run amok.

  4. COPSE is a word you really rarely hear, Ange! And, kudos to your pun! — YUR

  5. Art,

    You avoid us like the plague, and then – all of a sudden – you pop up with a pumpernickel gag??? LOL! How have you been, buddy. It really has been a long time no hear from you. I think Pumpernickel is safe . . . as long as no one asks for its translation!

    —YUR

  6. Thank you. An oldie, but a goodie…And it is an arresting word…😉 Be well, UR…and stay safe out there. 🙋🏻‍♀️

  7. I think you went right over my proverbial head, or you didn’t recognize that I was referring to SQUAW BREAD.

  8. It’s been so long since I used to watch Bob Ross early Saturday mornings on public television. He was the “Mr Rogers” of the art world. He made art look easy.

    “Dark, semi-sweet sandwich bread” ? You mean you weren’t talking about “whole-wheat bread” ?

    Of course, you know that “pumpernickel” in German means “devil’s fart”.
    I’m not sure is that’s where you were going with that.

  9. On another note, Bob Ross is indeed a mystery for the endurance of, well, not his ‘art,’ not of that kind anyway, but something. But that is how far we are from understanding what will ultimately outlast us. It’s easier when the works or life of the celebrated are blatantly self-explanatory. Someone’s charm to enchant us with a lifetime of nothings. And we’re just so happy to abide. Bob had charm but again not the same kind. Deep inside he was probably just a good guy, and that should be it.
    Feel that everyone above knew better than me what they were talking about. lol

  10. I came up with shrub strokes because I figured that’s why he said thicket instead of shrub. It kinda makes sense and the letters work !😂

  11. So, you’re saying that the boys gave us a DOUBLE PUN, because besides the thicket/brush tie in there’s also the golf/strokes angle? I completely overlooked the golf aspect, David!

    But, I’m completely with you on the “political correctness” run amok! I actually can appreciate the objections to “SQUAW”. But, if some folks, ignorantly, went off on “NIP” like that, then what do you think they would do with “CHINK”, “SLOPE” or “NIGGARDLY”? Too many of these “offended parties” fail to understand context. The inmates are running the asylum! — YUR

  12. Ooh! That works too, Anne! I guess we’ll have to wait for tomorrow! — YUR

  14. I’ve never heard of SQUAW BREAD, Art! I thought you were talking about PUMPERNICKEL, which allegedly translates to “DEVIL’S FART”! — YUR

  15. That’s where I though Art was taking it, lwc! Turns out I was way off base! “Squaw bread” has never been in my purview. — YUR

  16. I think it was more a matter of his demeanor, mixed with the ease/speed of his painting, Wes. I was never a big fan, but he was moderately interesting. Why some believe he was more is beyond me. — YUR

  17. Hi, UR…Shrub, despite the anagram working, wouldn’t prove valid, since Jeff as a rule, doesn’t put a word into dialogue that David uses as part of the solution.😂

  18. Ooh! That’s true, and I’ll just have to trust you, Ange, because today’s paper is already out with the recycles. They used the word shrub in the dialog? I must be getting old. — YUR

  20. I had no reason to think you were lying to me Ange! LOL! But, thanks. — YUR

  21. YW…And I didn’t take it as you doubting me…LOL! Just thought you’d like to see…Have a good night, UR…Pleasant dreams…🙋🏻‍♀️

  22. UR,

    Chaparral, Really>>>You roll – on big guy…A bunch of terrific comments today*^…….Very interesting Answer to the Jumble☆…My first
    job, ever {redundant, No?¿} was as a caddy, 12 yrs old, Oak Hills Country Club, high class? That may be the last time I heard Thicket used semi-regularly, for the rough was extra challenging!!

    As for politically correct: Boo, Hiss, Phooey &
    PooPoo…….■in♤s

    Lattttter… ¥£

  23. Agreed Unc. If a constructor used one of those words in a crossword puzzle with a clue referencing ethnicity, then I’d agree with the objections. But not with NIP as clued. We’re too on edge and ready to argue.

    Hey you’re right! I too missed that this answer really could be read as a double pun. I saw the golf angle and connected paintBRUSH with golf STROKES but overlooked that BRUSH could refer to the shrubs in the painting as well. Now I like this answer even more. Our puzzlers are as diabolical as a sandtrap.

  24. Ken,

    Were you pulling some of my bio/info from an old post, or something???

    I don’t want to offend anyone, but some of these “sensibilities” are just too much! How can you have a free society with this amount of censorship? — YUR

  25. I wonder if they actually planned it that way? I’d think Yes, because they could’ve used another setting if it was just the BRUSH gag. — YUR

  26. UR,

    Bio/info…….Nah…?

    By the way, Bob Ross was really good at what he did…I enjoyed watching him…The only thing I am able to draw/write with any artistic degree
    is my name on a check endorsed to me!!!

    So looong

  27. We need to specify which “nip/Nip” we’re talking about ?

    The pejorative from WWII referring to people of Japan as I heard in the old WWII movies I watched as a child. In their own language, the people of Japan refer to themselves as Nippon. Our GIs abbreviated it to Nip.

    However, the informal word “nip” is an English/Dutch abbreviation that’s centuries old and has a variety of meanings.

  29. Angela, you’re right ! I never even noticed that. Or maybe I did unconsciously and that’s how I came up with the word ! 😂

  30. Can’t say as I’ve ever had it, lwc. It looks tasty though. And, certainly Art has had it. — YUR

  31. I think I still have a piece of Nipponware somewhere around here, lwc. And, the most common usage of the word “nip” is as in BITE. I guess soon we won’t be able to say chink in the armor, or say that something is spic and span! And, watch out for that slippery . . . er, never mind! — YUR

  33. Hi Anne. And I, on the other hand didn’t even fully concentrate on the foliage…I was going more with the brush being the paintbrush. And more taken with the man’s resemblance to Bob Ross! Different STROKES for different Folks, I guess! 😉 Have a good night, Anne. Be well and stay safe out there…🙋🏻‍♀️

  35. This Unclerave column, comments, cartoon, and final answer have attracted more response from the peanut gallery (that includes me!) than any other in recent memory. I love it!

    Bob Ross is a PBS wonder. Check him out if you’ve never seen him (skip ahead a minute or two through the intro to get to the content). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLWEXRAnQd0
    /mesmerizing… almost enough to make me want to take up art painting.

  38. UR,

    Better late than never…I made two mistakes I thought you might get a kick out of…first was
    Caddy instead of Caddie: The former, the folks of the Royal and Ancient…would cringe over it…actually, it is in the rule book of the R&A and the USGA, the definition of what a “Caddie” is/does …The other was “Four” instead of “Fore”…
    actually(again?) in ancient Scotland the caddie
    who went down the course was called the Forecaddie & that’s where “Fore” came about, as a warning to anyone who may be struck or scared by the flight of the golf ball…….Gees, so much info¿☆Ha*

    Byyyyy…….

    PS 38 posts…WoW***¥

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