Cryptoquote Solved – 11/04/22

“Count your age by friends, not years, your life by smiles, not tears.”   —   John Lennon

(It’s hard to believe that John Lennon would now be 82 years old, had he not been shot and killed outside The Dakota, where he and Yoko Ono lived with their son Sean.  I lived across the street and about five buildings down from The Dakota back in December of 1980.  I didn’t hear the shots.  And sirens are a daily thing when you live in Manhattan.  But, at around 2:00 AM I was awakened by the sound of people singing “Give Peace a Chance” and “Imagine”.  I looked out my window, down the block, and saw the crowd of people, but I couldn’t imagine what was going on.  Later that morning, getting ready for work, I heard on the radio that John had been shot and killed.  In a bit of disbelief, I had to make my way through the crowd of mourners to get to my subway.  It’s one of the most memorable recollections of my life.  Some things always stay with you.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 11/04/22

Visual Description:  Lodge lizards.

COFER  =  FORCE,  ELFTE  =  FLEET,  KNWAEE  =  WEAKEN,  HELSIG  =  SLEIGH   —   Giving us:  RCEFETWEAESLE

Clue/Question:  The con man’s favorite article of clothing was his – – –

Answer:  FLEECE SWEATER

(I love it!  It’s a wonderful pun.  I’ll bet these guys have fleeced their way to many a freebie, and payday!  Of course, it helps that most people can be easily intimidated into thinking that someone is a big shot.  They’re afraid of offending them, so they take the phonies at their word.  Some are a little more subtle about it, like the Jimmy Buffet lookalike in an episode of “Blue Bloods” a couple of seasons ago.  He never said that he was Jimmy Buffet.  He just let everyone assume that he was, and accepted all the comps . . . and proposals from the lovely fan ladies!

All four clue words are on the ralis95 clue word database.  Two of the jumbles did come up as new, for me.  But we’ve definitely seen both “cofer” and “helsig” in previous Jumbles.  I was able to see all the clue words instantly.  The answer letter layout was a thrifty thirteen letter jumble.  Absolutely nothing obvious about it.  For me, I got the word SWEATER immediately.  The CEFELE got me to FLEECE.

Fun cartoon of the two con-men relaxing, with drinks, in front of a roaring fire, at the comfy ski lodge.  It’s probably best that they avoid actually hitting the slopes.  I’m sure even retired Olympic skiers would perform better on the slopes than the rest of us.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google