Jumble Solved – 01/31/23

Visual Description:  Evens vs. primes.

DUJEG  =  JUDGE,  LIHCL  =  CHILL,  DRANPO  =  PARDON,  OMAOBB  =  BAMBOO   —   Giving us:  UDECLPDNAOO

Clue/Question:  When the 3 started dating the 5, the result was – – –

Answer:  AN ODD COUPLE

(But together they make eight!  They’re really more odd individuals!  But THAT can’t be made into a silly pun, now can it?  It has been some time since the guys have given us one of their – primarily – numeric Jumbles.  I’m not quite sure what part that lonely letter A is playing in this gag.  I think he’s lost, and maybe he was looking for an A bar!  Hopefully, all are welcome in this establishment!

I say – with great confidence – that all of today’s clue words have been used before.  And, I also assert that all of today’s jumbles are coming up as new.  However, none of them were really very tough for yer dear ol’ uncle.  The answer letter layout though was an elegant eleven letter jumble.  Wonderfully cryptic.  I saw AN ODD right away, and the remainder gave me COUPLE.

Fine cartoon of numbers, and a letter, on some kind of graphic plane!  I think this must be one of Jeff’s rules when it comes to these numeric cartoons.  I like that they’re all drinking though.  It looks like the number 6 is kinda jealous!  Don’t worry, pal.  I’m sure that there is a 9 in your future out there.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Solved – 01/31/23

“Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”   —   “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”

(Good advice . . . from a hedonistic teenage slacker!  That being said, I’m a BIG fan of the movie!  It’s exceedingly funny, and a star-turning role for Matthew Broderick.  He’s had many other notable roles, but he will be forever remembered as Ferris Bueller.  Like I said to hal, I think we might be in for a series of movie quotes.  Change is good.  And that Mia Sara is a pretty little thing!  “Oh, yeah!”  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Solved – 01/30/23

“You’ve failed, your highness.  I am a Jedi, like my father before me.”   —  “Return of the Jedi”

(WOW!  What an inspirational quote!  Truly life altering . . . NOT!  LOL!  I guess every now and then they throw in a totally irrelevant zinger, just to keep us on our toes.  I think that was the third of the original “Star Wars” movies, before they got cute, and came up with all the pre-quels and back story nonsense.  I gave up after the Jar Jar Binks fiasco, but I hear from some die-hards that the other films were much better.  My tolerance for “fantasy” has decreased over the years.  And I was never a fan of “Use the force, Luke!” to begin with.  It’s just a very thinly veiled: Have faith.  Don’t trust your eyes, or your own skills, just “use the force”.  Bleah!  Mystic nonsense!  The best thing about that movie was the Ewoks.  They were like bad-ass Teddy Bears!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

PS. Apologies for the erroneous Morgan Freeman birthday greetings the other day!  I thought that the Celebrity Cipher always used quotes from a celeb celebrating a birthday.  My bad.   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 01/30/23

Visual Description:  A SeniorMatch meetup?

NMISU  =  MINUS,  NHHUC  =  HUNCH,  MMNTEO  =  MOMENT,  TMDOHE  =  METHOD   —   Giving us:  INHONO

Clue/Question:  When they greeted each other at the restaurant at 12 PM, it was – – –

Answer:  “HI“ NOON

(A lunchtime liaison for latent lovers???  Perhaps!  Hey, everyone needs a little companionship!  And chances are that this is a widower and a widow.  Both consenting adults, trying to make a connection.  A lunchtime date is perfect because it gives them both enough time to make their afternoon naps!  I’m sure that one, or both will order the blue-plate special.  Do restaurants still offer those???

We have most definitely seen all four of today’s clue words in previous Jumbles!  Three of the jumbles are coming up as new, for me.  But we’ve definitely seen “nmisu” some time in the past.  No real toughies today, for me.  The answer letter layout was a slant six letter jumble.  Kinda hard disguising a two letter and four letter word answer, but it was sufficiently cryptic.  The quotation marks always help too.

Cute cartoon of the two vertical seniors, greeting each other at the restaurant.  One using a walker, and the other a tripod cane.  Hey, all things will be equal if they get horizontal!  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  First they have to compare photos of their grandchildren, and exchange a laundry list of their aches and pains.  The gent is more impressed with her timeliness, but she seems a little hot to trot, throwing out the “handsome” right off the bat!  It’s a ballroom dancing term, kids.  It has something to do with the Foxtrot.  LOL.  I hope the date works out for both of them.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Sunday Jumble Solved – 01/29/23

Visual Description:  Scratch-off counter.

LNBOOG  =  OBLONG,  ADARIF  =  AFRAID,  DRUYEL  =  RUDELY,  TUWLOA  =  OUTLAW,  CRUYSR  =  SCURRY,  AHINEL  =  INHALE   —   Giving us:  OLOFDRDLOLARRAL

Clue/Question:  A coin worth 100 cents and a bill worth 100 cents are the same, – – –

Pre-Answer:  Three Words  (6-letters)  (3-letters)  (6-letters)

Answer:  DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR

(Dollars to donuts this is an urban scene, as opposed to a suburban or rural one!  It’s mainly in the cities that you get a clerk behind a piece of plexiglass.  But folks play the lottery just about everywhere, especially when the jackpots grow into these insane amounts.  Even though I don’t care for gambling, I’ll jump on board occasionally.  The odds of winning the grand prize are ridiculously long, and even winning some of the much lesser prizes are tough to come by.  I used to win $2 or $4 bucks every now and then, but the last few ones I’ve played have gotten me goose-eggs!  I think if I do play again, I’ll just play a single game.  Your odds do NOT improve when you play more games.

We have what looks like another new clue word to add to the world famous ralis95 clue word database, in SCURRY.  Now, it is possible, prior to the L.A. Times carrying the Sunday Jumble, that we have had it some time ago, in an earlier Sunday Jumble, but I cannot confirm this.  The jumble is definitely new, along with four others.  But we have surely seen “ahinel” in previous Jumbles.  The final answer layout was a fantastic fifteen letter jumble.  All the L’s and O’s and R’s and D’s made for a very quick solve though.

Great cartoon of people queuing up to pay for their lottery tickets, energy drinks and coffees and such.  I never cared much for the Susan B. Anthony dollars.  They were too easily confused for a quarter.  I much preferred the Sacagawea dollars.  The color alone made them stand out.  It’s been a while now since I’ve seen either one.  I guess neither one really caught on with the general public.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 01/28/23

Visual Description:  “A Hard Day’s Night”

GRIRO  =  RIGOR,  TYPET  =  PETTY,  WLLUAF  =  LAWFUL,  GHNIKT  =  KNIGHT   —   Giving us:  IGOETTLAULKIH

Clue/Question:  The bulb was being shut off at the end of a long day and was ready to go – – –

Answer:  OUT LIKE A LIGHT

(The two of them should be sleeping like a log!  Reading in bed . . . all day, well that’s just plain lazy.  I’ll read a few online news articles on my phone when I first wake up, but that’s just a few minutes, to half an hour, tops.  You gotta get up and get the blood flowing, folks.  If I don’t take the old Wally-boy out for a nice long walk first thing, my aching back will never loosen up.  Maybe this poor schmuck is sick, or otherwise bed bound.  I don’t know how well I’d be able to sleep if I spent all day in bed.  Well, alone at least.

Yes, we have seen all of today’s clue words many times before.  But three of the jumbles are coming up as new, for me.  We have definitely seen “ghnikt” in at least one previous Jumble.  They all came to me very quickly though.  The answer letter layout was a thriftless thirteen letter jumble.  Brilliantly cryptic!  I sussed out A LIGHT right away, and from the OETULKI the words OUT LIKE shone vividly.  Another great usage of an aging idiom.

Fine cartoon of a laze-about and his anthropomorphic lamp.  Maybe the dude is in a hospital, or something?  Not sure how the guy can be tired, but that light bulb has been working like a dog!   Too much juice and he’ll burn out his filament.  Silly Jumble using a great pun.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

PS.  Happy birthday to Morgan Freeman!   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Solved – 01/28/23

“It’s better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times.”   —   Asian Proverb

(Not sure if I completely agree with this.  If it’s something pleasant, sure.  But if it’s the footage of the police beating/killing of Tyre Nichols, or the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, I think I can do without watching.  Sudden graphic violence turns off people like me.  I remember when I first watched “Goodfellas”, I had to turn away when Joe Pesci was stabbing that guy in the trunk of the car.  I found it horrendous, and it left a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the film.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the movie now.  It’s a modern classic.  But I was very happy that it lost out to “Dances With Wolves” that year.  “Asian proverb” is a pretty vague attribution, don’t you think?  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Solved – 01/27/23

“Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience:  this is the ideal life.”   —   Mark Twain

(“Sleepy conscience” kind of threw me.  I had to look it up.  All it means is to chill.  Take it easy.  And to live and let live.  You don’t need to confront someone because they have a different idea, or opinion, of things.  You’ve heard people say never discuss religion or politics, right?  Those two things can very often start an argument, even amongst great friends.  Jonathan Swift once famously said: “You cannot reason someone out of something he or she was not reasoned into”.  Like they say:  Ya gots ta go along ta git along!  We’re just better off keeping somethings to ourselves.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR   

Jumble Solved – 01/27/23

Visual Description:  Pre-Google Googling.

VNYEO  =  ENVOY,  PLESL  =  SPELL,  GAUTEO  =  OUTAGE,  KUANSM  =  UNMASK   —   Giving us:  EVOSPLOUEMSK

Clue/Question:  They were selling lots of encyclopedias and expanding their business, which – – –

Answer:  SPOKE VOLUMES

(A satisfyingly stinky pun!  So . . . look THAT up in your Funk & Wagnalls!  A VERY dated, silly tagline that Dan Rowan used to use on the late ’60s to early ’70s hit comedy TV show, “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”.  Usually followed up with Dick Martin saying:  You bet your sweet bippy!  That showed spawned a number of popular one liners that entered the American vernacular.  Most of them now long forgotten, unfortunately.  If you remember any of them then you’re old . . . like me.  But the show also spawned a lot of pretty successful careers!  Many/most of them have passed on, but Pamela Austin, Barbara Feldon, Ruth Buzzi, Jo Anne Worley, Lily Tomlin and Goldie Hawn are still with us.  Hmm.  All women!

STOP THE PRESSES!  Unless it has appeared in a much earlier Sunday Jumble, it looks like we have a new addition to the world famous ralis95 clue word database, in “UNMASK”!  I do not remember seeing it before, and coincidentally the jumble “kuansm” was the only one to give me pause.  The only jumble I can verify we have seen before is “gauteo”.  The answer letter layout was a twisty twelve letter jumble.  Absolutely nothing obvious about it.  Being old enough to remember using encyclopedias was a big help in getting the final answer.

Fine cartoon of some period encyclopedia publishers.  Can’t tell if this is American encyclopedias, or British encyclopedias.  I remember World Book, Britannica, Collier’s and Funk & Wagnall’s encyclopedias.  I grew up with a set of Collier’s.  I always enjoyed looking things up in them.  Nowadays we Google everything.  My only problem with most internet info is that you rarely know if, or when, something may have been changed.  They don’t usually reference earlier iterations.  We still need actual hardcover books.  Harrumph!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Solved – 01/26/23

“You can’t get too much winter in the winter.”   —   Robert Frost

(I think that the folks in the Buffalo/Hamburg area of Western New York would beg to differ!  Five to six feet of snow, in one storm, is a bit of an overkill.  While down around the NYC area we really haven’t received any measurable snow.  Very strange for January the 26th!  I wonder if Robert Frost and Andy Rooney were related?  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google