Cryptoquote Solved – 09/30/22

“Spread love everywhere you go.  Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”   —   Mother Teresa

(Oh, that we all should behave this way!  There is just so much fear and animosity in the world these days.  Maybe, the best thing we could all do is to turn off all the news, and just try to be a little more human to each other.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 09/30/22

Visual Description:  The Oracle of Orlando?

EGLAL  =  LEGAL,  RDOPU  =  PROUD,  TARROO  =  ORATOR,  MAAELF  =  AFLAME   —   Giving us:  LEPDRARAME

Clue/Question:  The tree wasn’t growing coconuts like it should.  To find out why, they hired a – – –

Answer:  PALM READER

(Sometimes on television they portray someone like this as eerily prescient, while other times they show them as the frauds that most of them are.  As a goof, one day I stopped along the road where it was advertised as a $10 Psychic Reading.  As soon as I sat down at the woman’s kitchen table she up-sold me to a $30 reading.  I could’ve said thanks, but no thanks, but I said what the heck, I’m here.  She told me THE most basic stuff I’ve ever heard!  To this day, I don’t remember what she said, because it was all such inconsequential, generic nonsense.  At least she didn’t give me any life altering bad news.  But now I definitely know better!

Even though I knew they were all there, I did consult the ralis95 clue word database.  Just to confirm.  Three of the jumbles are coming up as new though.  The only one we’ve definitely seen before is “tarroo”.  I thought that that jumble and “maaelf” were quite challenging.  The answer letter layout was a terse ten letter jumble.  By itself, I thought it was notably cryptic.  But this was one of those Jumbles where you didn’t even need to unscramble the jumbles to get the answer letters.

The cartoon really said it all.  The guy being clearly skeptical, and his overly accepting wife.  And, our small medium at large, with her hands on the . . . what kind of tree?  Oh, yeah.  A palm tree.  Do you think that she’ll be around in the spring to see her prediction come true?  If you believe that one, then I have some swampland in Florida to sell you.  Actually, far too much of Florida has been reduced to swampland.  That Hurricane Ian was brutal to so much of the state.  Poor Sanibel Island.  And, now it’s heading to South Carolina!  I hope that LindaLee, and everyone else there stays safe!  This is a good time to give a donation to the American Red Cross and other relief agencies.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

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Cryptoquote Solved – 09/29/22

“I like coffee because it gives me the illusion that I might be awake.”   —   Lewis Black

(Lewis is definitely one funny guy!  And, socially conscious too.  It looks like this is the first of his quotes to be used at the Cryptoquote.  So, we welcome Lewis Black to the Cryptoquote Club today!  Oddly, today’s Celebrity Cipher is by Miguel de Cervantes, who’s been dead for over 400 years, while Lewis Black is very much alive and well, and more fits today’s definition of a celebrity.  Did the newspaper get their wires crossed?  LOL!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 09/29/22

Visual Description:  The weekly poker game . . . maybe.

PRWIE  =  WIPER,  HLOSS =  SLOSH,  DTREVI  =  DIVERT,  SATHAM  =  ASTHMA   —   Giving us:  WELSDTAHA

Clue/Question:  When he couldn’t find the playing cards, the poker players said – – –

Answer:  WHAT‘S THE DEAL

(These poker Jumbles almost always make me think of “The Odd Couple”.  I can almost see Vinnie, Roy, Speed, and Murray . . . the cop!  Felix, making sure that everyone had – and used – a coaster, and an ashtray.  Complaining about anyone smoking, with his nasal honk-sneeze.  And, Oscar essentially ignoring every one of Felix’s directives.  The show was hilarious!  Two over-the-top extremes.  Felix and Oscar were almost like the cartoon angel and devil on some guy’s shoulders, one saying to be good, and the other saying to be bad.  Because – just about – nobody is really all that fussy, nor that messy.

None of the clue words are new, but all of the jumbles appear to be new!  I was able to get them all right away.  The answer letter layout was a nifty nine letter jumble.  Nothing obvious about it.  The final answer slots layout made for a quick solve though.

Great cartoon of a dad trying to find a full deck of cards amongst his kids’ toys, while the boys wait, not so patiently.  I remember as a small kid going to Grandma’s, and not playing with the cards – because I think she hid them – but playing with the chips and the rack/holder that they came in.  I don’t remember exactly what we were playing with them, but we all liked the way that they felt.  They weren’t the cheesy plastic ones that they make today.  They had some heft, and were slick.  Maybe they were some kind of ceramic?  Anyway, great Jumble, and great memories!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 09/28/22

Visual Description:  The human train wreck!

SEGSU  =  GUESS,  NUMDO  =  MOUND,  TTPIEE  =  PETITE,  SIWAGJ  =  JIGSAW   —   Giving us:  UEMDPTTJIA

Clue/Question:  When given the chance to perform a motorcycle stunt on TV, Evel Knievel – – –

Answer:  JUMPED AT IT

(Good ol’ Evel was essentially the 20th Century P. T. Barnum.  Plenty of hype and bombast, but he was a dedicated showman!  I think the guy profited from his – many – failures, more than his successes.  Allegedly, he broke every bone in his body, some more than once!  As a kid, growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, he was revered as kind of a rebel, or anti-hero.  He was always doing – or at least trying to do – what he was told couldn’t be done.  And, I can’t be certain of this, but I think that he had an influence on Elvis Presley’s later years.  They both loved Las Vegas, and they both wore those flashy jumpsuits, with capes and crazy belt buckles!  LOL!

Yes, we’ve seen all of today’s clue words before.  Two of the jumbles are coming up as new, but we’ve definitely seen “segsu” and “numdo” previously.  I guess you’d say there was nothing petite about any mound that Evel launched from.  More than once he ended up like a jigsaw puzzle . . . with a coupla pieces gone!  Thank you, Jim Croce!  The answer letter layout was a tensible ten letter jumble.  Cryptic enough.  Knowing what Evel was known for, and the final answer slots layout, made for a quick solve though.

Great cartoon of America’s favorite stuntman, on his Harley!  Not sure who the suit is.  Maybe a young Geraldo Rivera?  I guess it really doesn’t matter.  Fun Jumble.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Solved – 09/28/22

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”   —   Alice Walker

(And, that is exactly what the bastards want us to think!  That we don’t have any power.  We can either allow SCOTUS to weaken the Voting rights Act, undo Roe v. Wade, and possibly Gay Marriage – and maybe even Interracial Marriage – or we can fight back and elect the people who will codify these rights into law.  Then maybe we can overturn the abomination of Citizens United too!  If you’re not already registered to vote, do it as soon as possible.  And, then vote!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Solved – 09/27/22

“It’s not the voting that’s democracy; it’s the counting.“   —   Tom Stoppard

(According to a Gallup poll:  “31% of Americans identified as Democrats, 25% identified as Republican, and 41% as Independent.”  And, “Sixty-seven percent of independents said they do NOT want Trump to run again, while just 28% said they do.”  –  NPR/PBS poll.  And, these numbers aren’t really all that current.  With SCOTUS repealing Roe v. Wade, and hinting that they might look to repeal Gay marriages, and perhaps even interracial marriages, the January 6th hearings, and the Mar A Lago FBI raid findings, I think that Trump’s support is likely even less than above.  Sometimes it takes some time for – basically good – people to come to their senses.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 09/27/22

Visual Description:  Building on a bluff.

MHNUA  =  HUMAN,  DIUGE  =  GUIDE,  GIDSNI  –  SIDING,  RNIHED  =  HINDER   —   Giving us:  HMAGIDDINHNE

Clue/Question:  The land prices near the top of the mountain cost more and were – – –

Answer:  IN HIGH DEMAND

(Sure, you’ve always had your hillbillies.  But I think that the more affluent build up in the hills these days, and the less affluent end up in the valleys and lowlands.  Besides the great views, you’re less likely to be effected by the heavy rains up in the mountains.  But I guess there are also those wealthy folk who like to build along the beaches and shores, who risk damage from storm surges.  I usually have a little less sympathy for when they have losses.  If you don’t realize that the sea is unforgiving, then you kinda get what you deserve.

All of today’s clue words reside in the ralis95 Pantheon of Jumble clue words.  Three of the jumbles appear to be new, but we’ve definitely had “rnihed” sometime in the past.  No real toughies for me.  The answer letter layout was a towering twelve letter jumble.  It couldn’t possibly keep the final answer hidden from me though.  Not with all the D’s, H’s and I’s.

Fine Coming Soon, future development cartoon.  I really liked the cityscape down below them.  It looks like a river runs through it, and a nice bridge crosses it.  This couple must be doing very well, being able to build on high, and driving that snazzy Jumble-mobile!  Fun Jumble.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Solved – 09/26/22

“In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.”   —   Alex Haley

(Some internet sites include the article “a” before the word “link”.  This line could be from one of Alex’s books, spoken by a character who either isn’t educated, or just isn’t big on articles.  But that puts me in mind of the 1976 comedy movie “Murder By Death”.  It was a whodunnit send up to fictional book/movie detectives.  Truman Capote’s character finally goes off on Peter Seller’s Sidney Wang character for ALWAYS omitting the article when he speaks.  With today’s political correctness the movie probably couldn’t be made, as it uses the stereotypes of these famous fictional detectives, but it is still very funny in my book.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 09/26/22

Visual Description:  Camping co-workers.

CVAHO  =  HAVOC,  MLRUE  =  LEMUR,  MSERUM  =  SUMMER,  DONIWW  =  WINDOW   —   Giving us:  ACLERMMEWOW

Clue/Question:  When they arrived to see their friends by the campfire, they got a – – –

Answer:  WARM WELCOME

(Probably not that much of a pun, when you come to think about it!  I believe the origin/etymology of the phrase most likely goes back to early times, when being asked to sit by someone’s fire, or being asked into someone’s warm home, was considered a sign of acceptance and welcoming.  It probably evolved into the more emotional aspects of “warmth”.

Yes, we have seen all of today’s clue words in the past.  However, three of the jumbles are coming up as new, for me.  I can only verify that we have seen “msurem” in previous Jumbles.  The answer letter layout was an elusive eleven letter jumble.  By itself, I thought it was excellently cryptic.  The cartoon, and the leading nature of the clue/question, and the final answer slots, all made for a quick solve.

Great cartoon of Jumble’s two favorite couples:  Jeff and Kathy Knurek, and David and Claire Hoyt.  A scenic campsite, with a roaring campfire.  And, David is roasting a weenie/hotdog on a stick!  Lots of fun.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google