Jumble Spoiler – 01/31/22

Visual Description:  Une petite feat to beat the heat!

ATRGN  =  GRANT,  FOREF  =  OFFER,  DHINED  =  HIDDEN,  SBRUDA  =  ABSURD   —   Giving us:  GRTOFHDAUR

Clue/Question:  The invention of rotary ceiling fans in the mid-1860s began with a – – –

Answer:  ROUGH DRAFT 

(Actually, if there’d been any draft, at all, maybe the ceiling fan wouldn’t have been invented!  But what’s the point in arguing with a stinky pun?  However, since this was about thirty years before the invention of deodorant I’m sure that there was a pretty good amount of funk inside these steamy rooms.  Back then all the menfolk sweated profusely . . . while the ladies glistened.

Unsurprisingly, we have seen all of today’s clue words before.  Three of the jumbles are coming up as new for me.  But we’ve definitely seen “foref” in previous Jumbles.  No real toughies today.  The answer letter layout was another tidy ten letter jumble.  Marvelously cryptic!  The cartoon and its dialog were the subtle hints to the final answer.

The one guy must be some kind of inventor/draftsman, as he’s sitting at a drafting table.  Not an over-the-top period piece cartoon, but the one guy’s mustache and haircut looks olde timey!  And, the hand fans let you know what they were dealing with.  Fun Monday!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Happy birthdays to Harry Wayne Casey of KC and the Sunshine Band, and Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols!  (A little point/counterpoint!)

Cryptoquote Spoiler – 01/31/22

“Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.”   —   Ralph Waldo Emerson

(Too bad that corporate America does not ascribe to this wonderful truism.  Workers are a dime a dozen, and the schools keep cranking out more every year.  But since the pandemic hit, more and more folk are opting to start their own businesses, and not returning to their old jobs!  Hopefully, this will be a clarion call for the corporations to amend their ways.  Hey, a guy can dream . . . can’t he?  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Happy birthdays to Al Jaworski of Jesus Jones, and Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Sons!

Sunday Cryptoquote Spoiler – 01/30/22

“As wealth is power, so all power will infallibly draw wealth to itself by some means or other.”   —   Edmund Burke

(Words that Jeff Bezos lives by?  In my newspaper they smushed together “means” and “or” to make meansor!  That was the only thing though.  This was a relatively easy solve.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Sunday Jumble Spoiler – 01/30/22

Visual Description:  Parental patience.

ITWHNI  =  WITHIN,  GATUEO  =  OUTAGE,  SSUIME  =  MISUSE,  SANCIO  =  CASINO,  RYTAIR  =  RARITY,  TFREHA  =  FATHER   —   Giving us:  IHNOGIUCSNITFH

Clue/Question:  When her son put his hand on the wet lacquer, it added a – – –

Pre-Answer:  Two Words  (9-letters)  (5-letters)

Answer:  FINISHING TOUCH

(If I had done this, when I was a tyke,  I’m pretty sure I would’ve been shellacked!  But that was a long, long time ago.  Corporal punishment has been gradually growing in disfavor over the last six decades.  Many today seem to treat it like a capital offense.  Those folks seem to have zero tolerance for it, while many still ascribe to milder corporal punishment.  Many of those who think that all forms of corporal punishment are “harmful” to the child, refuse to even raise their voices with their children.  In my personal experience, with these kind of parents, their kids still demonstrate aggressive and antisocial behavior, which – ironically – is the argument for eschewing corporal punishment!

All of today’s clue words have been used before.  Four of the jumbles are coming up as new, but we’ve definitely seen both “ssuime” and “sancio” in previous Jumbles.  The only one to trip me up was “sancio”.  Definitely a psychological block kind of issue!  But at least I didn’t have to back into it!  The answer letter layout was a fabulous fourteen letter jumble.  Fittingly cryptic.

Cute cartoon of the Knureks, back when Cam was just a wee lad.  I wonder if they still have that coffee table?  It would be something to hand down to Cam some day.  A real conversation piece!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Jumble Spoiler – 01/29/22

Visual Description:  There’s always one in every class!

RIHLW  =  WHIRL,  LYURT  =  TRULY,  TANSAO  =  SONATA,  MRTIUA  =  ATRIUM   —   Giving us:  WRTYSAAATI

Clue/Question:  When asked what body of water was named after Magellan, he answered – – –

Answer:  “STRAIT“ AWAY

( . . . and sometimes it was even me!  Visual aides can be a tremendous hint when it comes to  answering some questions!  The young lad quickly recognized the waterway between Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, and just wanted to show off a little bit.  Jumping the gun is cool . . . every now and again.  But do it too often and you’re just plain being annoying.

I think that Hoyt has gotten tired of finding new clue words.  I’m sure that it’s kind of a hassle.  Not sure how far out in advance the guys put these together, but like I said a week or so ago SPOOK is still available!  Three of the jumbles did come up as new!  However, we have definitely seen “RIHLW” in the past.  The answer letter layout was the third 10-letter jumble in a row!  That’s kinda neat.  It was nicely cryptic.  Only the quotation marks and the cartoon gave it to me straight away.

Great cartoon of a middle-to-high school Geography/History class.  I’ve always heard that the Straits of Magellan were better than going below Tierra del Fuego, but it also presented its own perils.  I wonder if our pal Ken ever got down that way?  It’s pretty far down there!  Great Jumble!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Happy birthdays to Roddy Frame of Aztec Camera, and David Baynton-Power of James!

Cryptoquote Spoiler – 01/29/22

“Middle age is when you’ve met so many people that every new person you meet reminds you of someone else.”   —   Ogden Nash

(A humorous/truthful quote from Ogden Nash has been long overdo!  All of the E’s made for a quick solve.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Happy birthday to Johnny Spampinato, of NRBQ!

Cryptoquote Spoiler – 01/28/22

“Respect should be earned by actions, and not acquired by years.”   —   Source Unknown

(Another toughie!  No THE, and no words ending in E . . . until we got to SOURCE, which also took a while to get to.  We haven’t had any of the *Sources* in quite a while!  This quote has validity.  It just should never be used by a young person to an elder!  They haven’t earned the right.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Happy birthday to Dave Sharp of The Alarm!

Jumble Spoiler – 01/28/22

Visual Description:  Give her a round of applause!

VEAEL  =  LEAVE,  TBYAT  =  BATTY,  HORSDU  =  SHROUD,  ATNTIA  =  ATTAIN   —   Giving us:  EAETTSODTT

Clue/Question:  She correctly answered every question on her history exam, which her score – – –

Answer:  ATTESTED TO

(A regular Amy Schneider in the making!  Hey, how about Amy’s 40 game win streak on Jeopardy?!?!  In number of wins she’s second only to Ken Jennings, and fourth in – regular season – prize winnings!  And of course she’s the leading women’s money winner.  I remember the first episode she was on I was like:  Wait.  Isn’t she a dude?  It immediately struck me that she might be trans.  Then, a few days later, my daughter came home and essentially said the same thing.  Then, talking with one of my MNF buddies, who’s also a Jeopardy fan, he said that some of the online Jeopardy fan sites confirmed she was indeed transgender.  And, by that time it really didn’t phase me one bit.  I was never angry by it, just more curious, because I guess many of us have a kind of sixth sense for these kind of things.  I know I never rooted against her, and I can’t say that about all Jeopardy champions.  I think with her long winning performance she opened a lot of eyes about how normal transgender folk are, and hopefully she has opened doors for people in the transgender community.  She gets a big Congrats from me!

No surprises on the clue word front.  Two of the jumbles appear to be new, however we’ve definitely seen “tbyat” and “horsdu” in previous Jumbles.  All the clue words came to me quickly.  The answer letter layout was a tidy ten letter jumble.  Sufficiently cryptic.  Hey!  Did you see the Final Jeopardy answer that ended Amy’s run?  It tripped me up too, and I think it was – in part – due to the unusual phrasing of it.  “The only nation in the world whose name in English ends in an ‘H’, it’s also one of the 10 most populous.”  Even right now I don’t understand why they chose to insert “in English”!  It just seems totally superfluous to me.  Would I have gotten Bangladesh without the “in English”?  I can’t say with 100% certainty.  But I am old enough to remember when it was known as East Pakistan!  And, I remember George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh.  And, for a time I had a Bengali woman who reported to me, back in my banking days.  Knowing that a lot of Jeopardy “answers” contain little clues that can help you get the correct “question” I think that this one was designed to raise a little doubt!

Cute cartoon of the proud little girl showing her delighted parents her grand achievement.  Pigtails, backpack, and the tail end of a school bus pulling away.  Like the teacher’s note says, Great Job!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Happy birthday to Jeremy Ruzumna of Fitz and the Tantrums!

Jumble Spoiler – 01/27/22

Visual Description:  Way to participate, girls!

LEYID  =  YIELD,  PZTAO  =  TOPAZ,  NOIWDW  =  WINDOW,  ONBTEN  =  BONNET   —   Giving us:  YLDOAWNONN

Clue/Question:  They ended the season with just a single victory, which was their – – –

Answer:  “WON“ AND ONLY

(Better than finishing 0 and . . . whatever!  If the guys had gone for the E in YIELD, instead of the L, and had gotten rid of the Y, and then added the D in WINDOW the answer could’ve also been “WON” AND DONE, as it was the last game of the season.  Yeah, they’d have to tweak the clue/question too, but Hoyt and Knurek are no slouches.  They can store this idea away for future usage.  Gratis.

Of course we have seen all of these clue words before.  We’ve even seen the jumble “LEYID” in previous Jumbles.  But the other three jumbles appear to be new.  None of them tripped me up any.  The answer letter layout was a tony ten letter jumble.  I thought it was WONderfully cryptic!  I think quotation marks always make for a quicker solve.

Cute cartoon of the young girls’ basketball team, and their coach.  The smiles on their faces say it all.  Winning feels good!  LOL!  Fun Jumble.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Happy birthdays to Margo Timmins of Cowboy Junkies, and Gillian Gilbert of New Order!

Cryptoquote Spoiler – 01/27/22

“Modern diplomats approach every problem with an open mouth.”   —   Arthur Goldberg

(As with most people I agree with some things that he said and did, but disagree with others.  I really wish that he had stayed on the Supreme Court, and not become the Ambassador to the United Nations.  I think – overall – he would have been a greater asset to the world as a Supreme Court Justice.  This was a difficult Cryptoquote to get started.  No single letter words, and no words ending in E.  The OIOBS sure looked like it was going to be EVERY, but I wasn’t sure until I saw ARTHUR.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Happy Birthdays to Mike Patton of Faith No More, and Michael Kulas of James!