Jumble Spoiler – 12/29/21

Visual Description:  Cheering up dad.

NUEOC  =  OUNCE,  LIHWE  =  WHILE,  ALSDIN  =  ISLAND,  RNLAMO  =  NORMAL   —   Giving us:  UEWSMA

Clue/Question:  When their son began to learn addition, his proud parents thought it was – – –

Answer:  “AWE–SUM“

(Ba-dum-tsss!  Yes, this is an extremely stinky pun!  If it was a Chinese family, and the son was NOT good at Math, and the clue/question was reworded . . . maybe the answer would be DIM SUM?  Aah, I don’t think the guys would risk a Jumble gag like that.  There might be some kind of backlash!

All of today’s clue words are tried and true . . . far from new.  Three of the jumbles did come up as new for me.  But we’ve definitely seen “lihwe” sometime before.  I didn’t find any of them difficult today.  The answer letter layout was a sweet six letter jumble.  But the short final answers are usually pretty simple solves.  Especially when there are quotation marks and a hyphen!

Nice homey domestic scene cartoon.  Mom, Dad and the little buckeroo, sitting at the kitchen table, on a Sunday morning . . . after the big game.  And, a contented pooch sleeping under the table.  It looks like Mom is a Wolverines fan, while Dad is a Spartans fan.  That’s probably why she looks so chipper, while he looks down in the dumps.  Not a big challenge, but a fun Jumble nonetheless.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Happy birthday to Glen Phillips of Toad The Wet Sprocket!

Cryptoquote Spoiler – 12/29/21

“So if you stay ready, you ain’t gotta get ready, and that is how I run my life.”   —   Will Smith

(A good philosophy . . . if not a little forced ghetto.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m as big a Will Smith fan as the next guy.  Good looking guy, with a lot of various talents!  I’ve just grown tired of all the forced Y’alls and various and assorted urbanics.  Will grew up in a diverse middle-class neighborhood, in a fairly stable family.  And, he was always a good student, who reportedly turned down a scholarship to MIT.  I get it, it’s hip to sound a little ignorant.  It’s been that way for a while.  I’m certainly not above dropping a few kindas, gonnas, and gottas, as you all – see, NOT y’all – know.  And of course, he can turn it on and off, as he pleases.  Another guy who plays up the urbanics is Nick Cannon.  He’s been hosting a bunch of talent type shows for a number of years, where he generally kept things straight/low key.  But on his new daytime talk show he’s all urban . . . ALL the time.  But at least he has the excuse of his projects housing upbringing.  I’m a big supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, but I hate it when someone asks me if I’m “woke”.  I just don’t appreciate the normalizing of bad English.  Languages are fairly fluid, but I certainly wouldn’t call it the evolution of the English language.  Just the opposite actually.  Can’t we all just show a little more respect for our native tongue?  This ends today’s Uncle Rave rant.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Happy birthday to Dexter Holland of The Offspring!  (One of my favorite ’90s songs!)