Cryptoquote Solved – 10/31/22

“I have never met a vampire personally, but I don’t know what might happen tomorrow.”   —   Bela Lugosi

(My first exposure to Bela Lugosi was in “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein”!  That’s where I also first saw Lon Chaney Jr., as The Wolf Man, and Glenn Strange as – Frankenstein’s – Monster too.  It wasn’t until some years later that I saw any of the original horror films.  It seems to me that a lot of actors are kind of shrimpy guys, but Bela Lugosi was 6′ 1″!  Bela was disappointed with the studio’s constant type-casting, but he made a decent living making horror films.  Happy Halloween, everybody!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Halloween Jumble Solved – 10/31/22

Visual Description:  Complete costume.

HMETE  =  THEME,  YORFE  =  FOYER,  OMSOHT  =  SMOOTH,  DMRADE  =  MADDER   —   Giving us:  TEEFOROOTHMAD

Clue/Question:  Sleepy hollow’s infamous horseman dressed up for Halloween – – –

Answer:  FROM HEAD TO TOE

(Like Edgar Allan Poe!  Or, Shoeless Joe . . . from Kokomo!  This is one of those literal puns, and one that I did NOT initially pick up on.  I think I was looking for something a little creepier/scarier.  Even though the jack-o-lantern head is not very menacing.  It’s kinda smiling!  But the whole thing works.  And, there appears to be some backstory to this Jumble.  In the actual Sleepy Hollow Middle School there is a sixth-grade teacher named Kirk Dietz, who has a working relationship with our very own David L. Hoyt.  They have collaborated on Word Roundup, and other Hoyt Word Search World Traveler type games.  It looks like David L. has done a tribute Jumble for Mr. Dietz and his class.  Nice going, Cuz!

All four of today’s clue words were . . . hauntingly familiar.  I guess that’s because they’re all on the world famous ralis95 clue word database!  Three of the jumbles are coming up as new, but our old friend “yorfe” appears to be . . . back from the dead.  They all came to me immediately, as if in a dream . . . or nightmare!  The answer letter layout was a foreboding thirteen letters long.  Coincidence???  I think not!  Well, I do think.  Not always as coherently as you guys might like, but the gears are turning.  I thought the answer letter layout was creepily cryptic.  It did not scream out the final answer.

Great Halloween cartoon!  David L. got Jeff to give us the facade of the current Sleepy Hollow combined High School/Middle School.  And, it’s featuring the actual Mr. Dietz!  I’m guessing he’s dressed as Ichabod Crane.  I’ll also venture a guess that our very own David L. Hoyt is inside the Headless Horseman costume.  Figuratively, that is!  Loads of fun.  Drive very carefully this evening!  Trick-or-treaters don’t always practice safe street etiquette on Halloween.  It’s the sugar rush, and/or the anticipation of such.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Sunday Jumble Solved – 10/30/22

Visual Description:  The Intentional Walk-ing Dead?

FDAARI  =  AFRAID,  MOINEC  =  INCOME,  GOLONA  =  LAGOON,  LYTSSU  =  STYLUS,  TFACEF  =  AFFECT,  PLUXED  =  DUPLEX   —   Giving us:  RAIMELOSSFFCDE

Clue/Question:  If Costner’s 1989 baseball movie had featured zombies, it could have been called – – –

Pre-Answer:  Three Words  (5-letters)  (2-letters)  “(7-letters)”

Answer:  FIELD OF “SCREAMS“

(Oooh!  A very scary Jumble pun!  And look, folks.  It’s just in time for Halloween.  This looks like one of Bucky B. Katt’s – of “Get Fuzzy” fame – movie mash-ups.  That stereotypical – selfish and mean spirited – Siamese cat is always looking to “improve” on things that are already popular.  Mainly because he doesn’t think that they’re “interesting enough”.  Ghosts can be benign, and even friendly, while zombies just want to eat our brains!  So, it would be infinitely harder to make a tender and heartfelt movie about connecting with your dead dad if you made the dead baseball players zombies, instead of ghosts.

All six of today’s clue words are on the ralis95 clue word database.  Five of the jumbles are coming up as new, for me.  But we’ve definitely seen “fdaari” in earlier Jumbles.  All the clue words came to me immediately.  The answer letter layout was an impressive fourteen letter jumble.  By itself, it was nicely cryptic.  But the cartoon and the clue/question set up the final answer as a pretty obvious slam dunk.  Oops!  Wrong sport.  Maybe an infield fly would be the better metaphor.

Super great cartoon!  Zombies coming out of a cornfield is definitely more scary than ghosts who look like regular baseball players.  But zombies all kind of stumble-walk, like Frankenstein’s monster.  Even at age 65, I think I could outrun those decaying boogers.  At least fast enough until I get to . . . the running car.  A very menacing looking Ray Kinsella too!  I don’t think Jeff’s – and Bucky’s? – reimagining of this modern day classic would appeal to me.  But the rest of the world seems to be zombie crazy, so who knows!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

PS.  I just wasted twenty minutes of my life reading a wholly over-analytical, negative review of “Field of Dreams”, by some cranky sports writer.  He attacked just about every aspect of the movie.  And, even though he had watched it at age 16, 31 and in his 40s, he came away each time with the same opinion . . . that the movie stinks.  I’m a life-long sports fan, who had only heard of Shoeless Joe Jackson a year before, with the movie “Eight Men Out”.  To me, it made absolutely no difference that Ray Liotta’s Shoeless Joe was a right-hander, with a slightly New York accent, even though the real one was a lefty from South Carolina.  “Field of Dreams” was NOT a baseball biopic, it was a light mystical fantasy.  I’m generally not a fan of “magical thinking”, and I’m a bit of a contrarian myself, but this guy’s assertions were just ridiculous.  He probably hated “Dancing With Wolves” too.  LOL!   —   YUR

Jumble Solved – 10/29/22

Visual Description:  Medieval Times?

YMHET  =  THYME,  PAATD  =  ADAPT,  LCNIPE  =  PENCIL,  CSYILK  =  SICKLY   —   Giving us:  TEDPILSIL

Clue/Question:  There was a rumor going around that she was a witch, and she wanted to – – –

Answer:  “DISPELL“ IT

(Of course she did!  Because those superstitious – and mainly just jealous – ninnies were vicious and vindictive vixens!  But it wasn’t just the *ladies*.  Oh, no.  Men also feared – and reviled – women who were more talented than them, and bolder than society allowed them to be.  So . . . just accuse them of witchcraft!  Then, give them some ridiculous test – that they’re doomed to fail – and sentence them to death!  Crap like that went on for thousands of years, even right here in the colonial days of the pre USA.  Puritanical minds can’t stand nonconformity!

Today’s clue words are all on the ralis95 clue word database.  However, three of the jumbles appear to be new.  We’ve definitely seen “paatd” in previous Jumbles though.  The answer letter layout was a tidy ten letter jumble.  Deviously cryptic!  Great little pun!

At first, I thought the cartoon was about the Middle East, and the women were wearing hijabs.  But I quickly picked up on the Middle Ages angle.  Much of the world has seen – and corrected – the error of subjugating women, but far too many places around the world still treat women atrociously!  It’s hard to dispel traditional sexist notions that have been around for many millennia.  Those powers that be don’t want to give up their power!  And, I’m not just talking about the far off places.  Some people right here in the U.S. want to take us back to the days when women had little control over their own bodies.  We cannot afford to go backwards, folks.  We need to elect those who WON’T  INFRINGE on a woman’s right to choose.  Don’t be complacent.  Get out and VOTE!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Solved – 10/29/22

“I sometimes feel that I’m impersonating the dark unconscious of the whole human race.”   —   Vincent Price

(Continuing this Halloween theme!  “The Merchant of Menace” was long the poster boy for this spooky season.  He was also known as a Renaissance Man, as besides being a fine actor he was also a graduate of Yale University, with a degree in Art History.  He was an art collector who wrote books on the subject.  And, he was a gourmet cook!  I thought we’d already seen quotes from him at the Cryptoquote before, but there was no Tag for him on my blog.  So, we welcome Vincent Price to the Cryptoquote Club – possibly again? – today!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Solved – 10/28/22

“There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly lit front porch.”   —  Robert Brault

(A beautiful metaphor.  As social creatures, we all want to feel welcome.  We also want to feel safe.  And, we’re all hopeful for the good things in life.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 10/28/22

Visual Description:  Cross-state rivals.

TNGUS  =  STUNG,  CLYEC  =  CYCLE,  JAINDO  =  ADJOIN,  SBULEH  =  BUSHEL   —   Giving us:  STGCCEAJNBUHE

Clue/Question:  Their current topic was resulting in an argument and was – – – 

Answer:  SUBJECT TO CHANGE

(Wow!  Talk about your misdirections.  I almost gave up on this one!  I even thought – for a while – that maybe some of the circles were wrong on the clue words.  You know, like a newspaper misprint, or something.  With the “N” and the “G” I was looking for an “I”.  Also, it’s fairly rare that we use a “J” in the final answer.  Even writing out all the letters in alphabetical order didn’t help me today.  What finally helped me was to look for synonyms for “current” . . . with no luck.  And then, for synonyms for “topic”!  BINGO!  First word that comes up is “subject”.  I’m getting too old for this!

All of today’s clue words are on the ralis95 clue word database.  I thought that “adjoin” might be new, but I guess we just haven’t seen it in a while.  Two of the jumbles came up as new for me, but we’ve seen “tngus” and – surprisingly – “jaindo” in previous Jumbles.  The answer letter layout was a masterful thirteen letter jumble!  It kept me clueless for quite some time.  Looking at the AECGHN – after figuring out SUBJECT – didn’t scream CHANGE to me right away either.  But I saw it after a few looks.

Fine cartoon of Jeff and some buddy at a bar, watching this week’s classic cross-state rivalry football game.  A lot of big games this Saturday!  Michigan would appear to be the favorite in this matchup.  They’re ranked #4 in the nation, and they are the Home team.  But Michigan State absolutely LIVES to mess up the Wolverines!  I can’t imagine this being a runaway for either one of them.  I actually like both of these teams, but I’m a big Penn State fan, so a Michigan State upset would be a little poetic justice for me.  LOL!  Sorry, Jeff!  Great Jumble.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Solved – 10/27/22

“Goblins and ghoulies from last Halloween, awaken the spirits with your tambourine!”   —   Madame Leota, Disney’s Haunted Mansion

(A cute little seasonal rhyme!  I took the kids – a couple of times – to Disney World many many years ago, but I don’t remember the Haunted Mansion!  So, I’m not familiar with Madame Leota.  It looks like a lotta fun though.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 10/27/22

Visual Description:  German engineering?

METOP  =  TEMPO,  SITOH  =  HOIST,  ODSWIM  =  WISDOM,  NUNESK  =  SUNKEN   —   Giving us:  TEOOISOMNN

Clue/Question:  When she asked when the clock would be repaired, he said – – –

Answer:  NO TIME SOON

(Cuckoo clocks are such fun little novelties.  They periodically entertain you, as they tell you the time.  And, they’re generally quite ornate.  They are well-engineered, useful works of art.  For some – like my Mom – they’re a little too kitschy, and they don’t always fit in with the rest of the decor, but like I said, they’re fun!

All of today’s clue words are present members of the ralis95 clue word database.  Which means they’ve been used in past Jumbles.  And, no doubt they’ll be used in future ones as well.  Three of the jumbles are coming up as new, for me.  But we’ve undeniably seen “sitoh” in previous Jumbles.  The clue word “tempo” fits right in with today’s theme.  And, the answer letter layout was a tense ten letter jumble.  Beautifully cryptic.  Initially, I was thinking ON something TIME, but that didn’t work out.  That did leave me letters for SOON, but it wasn’t until I wrote out the vowels and consonants, separately, in alpha order, that I figured it all out.  Hey, it is what it is!

Cute cartoon of the horologist – clockmaker – in his shop, telling his customer that she’s going to have a long wait.  Artisans like this are fairly rare in the Americas.  My Dad was a tool and die maker, and he was always in demand, as there are fewer of them in the U.S. these days, while most of them seem to be in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.  So many machines – like most older clocks – need custom made parts.  They don’t come cheap, but it’s more costly to replace the existing machines.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Solved – 10/26/22

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there . . . dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.”   —   Edgar Allan Poe

(“Master of the Macabre”.  Best known as a Baltimoreon, Poe was actually born in Boston, raised mainly in Virginia, and he spent a good amount of time in the state of New York.  Upstate in Saratoga Springs, the Turtle Bay section of Manhattan, and the Fordham section of the Bronx, just to name a few.  He had tumultuous life, and died at the age of 40, of some very speculative causes, although he was a known alcoholic.  I remember reading a bunch of his short stories in junior high, now called middle school.  Fun, creepy reads!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google